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HOW TO AVOID DATA OVERLOAD!

From STORAGE Magazine Vol 7, Issue 7 - October 2007

Storage Expo 2007 is where you can find out about all of the new data storage technologies available for organisations seeking to cope with the massive data growth they are now encountering

Now in its 7th year, Storage Expo, the UK dedicated data storage event, provides visitors with the opportunity to compare the most comprehensive range of data storage solutions from all the leading suppliers. The show features more than 100 of the world's top storage vendors. The event enables organisations to compare the latest products and services, providing the ideal opportunity to assess how to incorporate the latest storage technology into their IT infrastructure.

Storage Expo also addresses today's key issues in a wide-ranging free education programme, with 62 experts speaking in the keynote conference, and technical and business strategy seminars.

At the keynote conference, there's a huge diversity of presentations from some of the industry's top experts, who look at the latest business advantages that sound application of storage strategy can deliver for an organisation. Storage practice has traditionally been driven by the push of regulation, legislation and business continuity, rather than the pull of sound business practice. The impetus is now changing from push to pull, due to the emphasis on increasingly business efficiency, utilisation of intelligence, process management and productivity benefits. The keynotes at Storage Expo reflect the change in the data storage landscape.

Michael Faber, vice chair, Institute of Operational Risk, will chair a panel on business continuity data protection strategies. Long gone are the days when business continuity was synonymous with disaster recovery. Today's business continuity practitioners are using data storage and retrieval techniques that provide not just remedial cover, but solid-state advantages for everyday data handling.

The implementation of business continuity practices by an organisation can provide huge benefits for productivity, efficiency and governance - not just in the event of a disaster, but also in the day-to-day functioning of IT services. In this session, the techniques that can be employed to ensure that your intellectual property is protected and available under all circumstances will be explored by the panel which includes Ian Wood, head of IT, Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust; Sagar Vadher, head of IT, I Want One of Those.com; Najaab Ahmad, technical projects and support manager, Sunlight Service Group.

A recent survey of 335 companies by Storage Expo has found that 95% of organisations are making investments in IT infrastructure to reduce their carbon footprint. The Green IT Debate is an issue that everyone is discussing at the moment: with storage facilities and data centres consuming vast amounts of power (some claim as much as the aviation industry). Handling data uses vast amounts of energy - and this unequivocally already has a massive environmental impact. Experts from the world's largest data storage companies will debate why this trend is not sustainable, and how many organisations are now looking to reduce the footprint of their electronic activities. Among the leading storage providers explaining how they are addressing this most serious of issues will be Hu Yoshida, vice president and chief technology officer, Hitachi Data Systems; John Rollason, product marketing EMEA, Network Appliance; Thomas Langkjaer, manager enterprise StorageWorks, EMEA, HP; and Mark Vargo, IBM Storage, chief strategy officer.

There's also a packed seminar programme presented by some of the leading lights in the storage industry. The seminar programme is divided into two streams - 'Technical' and 'Business Strategy' - to ensure visitors get the most from the event. The technical stream includes:

• 'Storage Efficiencies for Messaging and Collaboration tools in the Enterprise' by Paul Hargreaves, consulting engineer, Network Appliance
• 'Back-up on Mt Everest' by Ben Clowes, film maker and Tom Clowes, expedition organiser
• 'The Next Big Thing' by Hu Yoshida, VP & CTO, Hitachi Data Systems

The Business Strategy stream includes:

• 'Increasing the Productivity and Reducing the Environmental Impact of your Data Centre' by Ian Bond, consulting systems architect, Cisco
• 'Green up your Storage' by Thomas Langkjaar, manager enterprise StorageWorks EMEA, HP
• 'The Green Data Centre: BT's Learning in Reducing Carbon Footprint' by Steve O'Donnell, global head of data centres and customer experience management, BT
• 'Simplifying Storage for Business Continuity' by John Coulston, head of enterprise & solutions marketing, Dell UK & Ireland

Storage Expo is co-located alongside Documation UK, the only dedicated end-to-end content, business process and information management event. The show brings together professionals who are actively seeking how best to manage their business information with the industry's leading technology and service suppliers. Visitors who attend Storage Expo can also attend Documation UK without having to pre-register. ST
www.storage-expo.com