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'DATA DISASTER LOOMS' - Is your business safe?

From STORAGE Magazine Vol 7, Issue 7 - October 2007

Some 65% of mid-size European enterprises are not properly prepared for data loss, with government, health services, financial service providers and utility companies most at risk of what could be catastrophic consequences

A potential data disaster awaits a vast number of businesses across Europe, including the UK, according to a new European survey. In fact, only 35% of organisations admit to being fully prepared for the loss of stored data, according to a recent survey commissioned by Network Appliance (NetApp). The survey was conducted among 1,000 IT managers in eight countries, and looks into the ways in which midsize enterprises deal with data storage and what challenges they are facing.

The survey produced some stark and worrying results, including:
• 26% of UK IT managers say that finding the right personnel is a challenge

• More than half of European IT managers indicate the need for data storage rose by more than 20% over the last year

• The main reason for this is the increase in the flow of documents within organisations, particularly the government and commercial companies

• 85% take the environment into account when making purchasing decisions for ICT systems

SHARP RISE IN storage NEEDs
The survey shows that more than half the European IT managers saw a rise in excess of 20% in storage capacity requirements over the last year. Only 1% encountered a drop in storage capacity. The biggest rise in the need for data storage over the last year was in Sweden, Germany and Spain, and in organisations with more than 500 employees.

In government and health care particularly, the need for data storage capacity rose sharply in the past year. This increased requirement for storage capacity is mainly due to a sharp rise in the flow of documents, with countries like Sweden, Germany and Switzerland in the lead. Two other major reasons for the increased need are the higher number of users and the increase in email traffic.

The survey further indicates that nearly two-thirds of organisations are not properly prepared for dealing with a possible loss of stored data. In fact, some 5% of European organisations are actually not prepared at all, while the remaining 60% say that they are taking steps to prepare for this or are improving their plans. The sectors of government, health care, financial services and utilities are the least prepared for possible data losses.

In Europe, France runs the greatest risk, with 12% of organisations insufficiently prepared. Most organisations have a backup and recovery strategy, based on a combination of tape and disk. The greatest use of tape alone is to be seen in Germany and Switzerland; disk alone for backups is to be seen mostly in Spain and The Netherlands. Governments are lagging behind in backup and recovery strategies, as more than a quarter of them are still using only tapes.

Organisations encounter various challenges in managing storage capacity. The biggest challenge - particularly in France, Germany and Italy - is keeping up with the latest developments in technology.

Finding the right staff and development of a user-friendly infrastructure seems to be a major factor, too. When organisations get external help while building and managing their infrastructure, they mainly consult system integrators. These are certainly the main sources in Germany and The Netherlands. However, the UK and Sweden prefer to turn to their resellers, while Swiss and Italian organisations just tend to bring in external consultants.

ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCES
Some 85% of all respondents indicate that the environment influences the decision on purchasing ICT systems, with nearly one-third even seeing the environment as a very important indicator. It is striking that Dutch and German organisations consider the environment relatively least often in their decision-making. Moreover, 38% of respondents think it very important that storage hardware should use reduced electric power and require less cooling. Of the remainder, Swiss and Swedish organisations consider this aspect the least important. ST