Demystifying ILM
Another article I put together in 2005. HP.COM version can be found at http://h71028.www7.hp.com/ERC/cache/268892-0-0-0-121.html
November 2005 – In 2003, Computerworld identified information lifecycle management (ILM) as a major trend poised to sweep the industry.1 By 2004, numerous vendors had rushed to "jump on the ILM bandwagon,"2 -- often without a clear strategy or appropriate products and services, which has led to confusion about ILM.
Even today, according to The 451 Group, "despite the attention ILM is receiving, users remain confused and/or skeptical about the benefits that implementing an ILM strategy will provide for their businesses."3
There are a number of clear market facts about ILM. Please consider the following:
Fact 1: ILM is the wave of the future
Leading analysts recognize that ILM represents the way that storage will be deployed and managed in the future.
"The future of storage management is about making infrastructure intelligent enough so that IT shops can make more informed and efficient decisions about how to store, protect and make available the massive amounts of structured and unstructured data that their organizations generate,"3 according to The 451 Group. Furthermore, “the principles driving the storage infrastructure over the coming years will permeate and influence the development of ILM, shaping the way it is developed and perceived."3
Fact 2: ILM delivers significant enterprise benefits
Over time, analysts see ILM delivering numerous benefits to the enterprise. These include the close alignment of storage with applications and business objectives, reduced cost of managing increasing amounts of data, and access to the information needed to meet regulatory and legal requirements.
For example, ILM will finally allow enterprises to establish "the hitherto missing link between the storage environment and the server/application environment, and exposing enterprise data to content management and other applications in order to ensure it is being stored in a way that meets the most relevant protection, availability and compliance requirements, over its entire lifetime."3
Organizations also will benefit from "new ways to protect their most critical data, starting with virtual tape and disk-based backup."3 This will speed data backup while increasing reliability and flexibility.
From there, researchers see ILM resulting in "a single logical view of a file system that, in reality, is scattered across multiple media types in multiple locations."3 Companies will be able "to move data fluidly within the storage infrastructure as their policies dictate, while shielding administrators and users from the underlying complexity." This will reduce administrative overhead.
Fact 3: ILM is a process, not a particular technology
"ILM is as significant a business process as CRM and ERP, considering an effective ILM implementation can significantly streamline costs and management efficiencies. Actually, IT organizations can use ILM processes to more effectively implement CRM and ERP solutions, making sure that critical data has resource priorities and is always available," states the Enterprise Strategy Group.4
The 451 Group concurs: "ILM is not a technology, but a business process.3
Leading analysts see ILM as a broader discipline: "ILM is more than just archiving and HSM software and tiered disk storage. It is a holistic approach involving software, hardware, policies, and practices."5 A successful ILM infrastructure consists of consulting and integration services as well as hardware and software. According to IDC: "The right software and hardware must be available, interoperate, and be affordable. In addition, many customers will require some assistance in the form of consulting or integration services to get their ILM-enabled infrastructure designed and then implemented. A number of companies offer solutions, either as a suite (such as HP's) or individually, to enable ILM."6
HP understands that ILM is not simply another term for storage. HP's broad portfolio of ILM solutions leverages common technologies and design protocols to enhance interoperability, ease of management and solution integrity. HP minimizes the complexity of ILM solutions with a dedicated practice that includes consulting, support and services, workshops, data discovery, business analysis, blueprints, and more.
Fact 4: Enterprises face a confusing array of ILM offerings
Commenting in Network World about the surge of ILM product offerings, Richard Scannell, vice president of consulting for GlassHouse Technologies, was quoted as saying: "If you sell dog food today, you've got an ILM story. Even people with the most obscure product have an ILM story."2 Many vendors continue to tie their products -- appropriately or not -- to ILM. This makes it difficult for enterprises to identify legitimate ILM products to implement their ILM strategies.
The 451 Group found that it could narrow the range of options by examining which vendors are actually delivering products as part of a clearly articulated ILM strategy. It identified HP, EMC, and StorageTek (recently acquired by Sun Microsystems) as ILM leaders.3
Fact 5: HP offers a broad array of ILM offerings
IDC, a leading leading provider of global IT research and advice, states: "HP <...> offers a full suite of products covering the spectrum of solutions necessary to deploy a full-fledged ILM infrastructure. It is this suite of solutions that HP has updated. At the top of the list is its software, HP OpenView Data Protector 5.5."6
The IDC researchers add: "We believe that HP has a significant opportunity to leverage its PCs and imaging products to extend the value of its ILM offerings."7
Fact 6: HP provides necessary services for ILM
Services are as important in the ILM process as hardware and software. According to IDC, HP delivers the services necessary for successful ILM: "Based on its breadth of services, HP is in a good position to capture ILM-related business by combining services offerings with the products discussed in this study."6
Fact 7: HP is a leader in ILM
HP stands apart from its competition, according to IDC: "Based on its technological expertise and services breadth, HP is in a position to market and deliver an end-to-end suite of ILM-related services - something few other firms can do."7
Bottom Line:
HP has the vision, products, services, experience, and capabilities to deliver what customers need for ILM today. "Unlike its rivals in the storage world, HP has unique breadth of products and services - consulting and integration services, printers, scanners, PCs, handheld devices, and so on - that can be effectively integrated in the ILM value chain," according to IDC.7
Enterprises need look no further than HP to execute their ILM strategies. For more information: www.hp.com/go/ilm
For details on HP's ILM customer successes, download:Aurora Health Care case studyNASDAQ case study
1 Computerworld, March 31, 20032 Network World, Oct. 11, 20043 Source: The 451 Group, ILM: a Strategy Opportunity for Storage Vendors, May 20044 Source: Enterprise Strategy Group, Technology Brief: Information Lifecycle Management, March 20035 Source: Enterprise Strategy Group, HP Infrastructure ILM Product Enhancement, December 8, 20046 Source: IDC, HP Refreshes its ILM Strategy, IDC #32604, December 20047 Source: IDC, HP Storage Systems: Creating a Separation between Business Offerings and Technological Enablers is Critical, IDC #33306, April 2005
No comments:
Post a Comment