Too much Data

Article I wrote for HP, can be found at http://h71028.www7.hp.com/erc/library/GetPage.aspx?pageid=321045&audienceid=0&statusid=0&ccid=0&langid=121&ERL=true&pageTitle=Enterprise%20library:%20Too%20much%20data


The world is overflowing with information—avalanches of e-mail, ever-expanding databases and volumes of archived documents. Buried in there is the data you need to keep your company on top of the market.
Faced with the task of managing these massive volumes of data, companies are developing strategies for information lifecycle management (ILM), a long-term strategic approach that helps them capture, manage, retain and deliver data from the time it is collected until it becomes obsolete. An ILM strategy puts information to work, allowing businesses to capitalize on mission-critical information while reducing costs, generating new revenue streams and addressing compliance issues.

The Case for ILM
According to a report issued in 2003 by researchers at the University of California at Berkeley, the storage of new information grew by about 30 percent each year between 1999 and 2002. An effective ILM strategy helps you manage all those terabytes of data, whether they reside in the datacenter, on paper, handheld and laptop devices, or elsewhere. ILM can help create an efficient, cost-effective way to address archiving requirements of data associated with key enterprise applications.
IT professionals are recognizing the value and importance of such dynamic IT environments, reports research firm IDC in its June 2005 study “Dynamic IT for Enterprise Computing: Understanding the Impact of Dynamic IT Infrastructure on the Data Center.” According to the report, more flexible technologies will result in an IT organization that can more easily adapt and support the inevitable changes in evolving business environments.
"As companies strive to rebuild their post-recession business models, CIOs are under constant pressure to deliver high-quality IT services, improve speed to market, control costs and improve IT operational efficiencies," says Michelle Bailey, IDC’s research director for Enterprise Computing. "To meet these often conflicting demands, IT organizations are beginning to embrace dynamic IT as a viable solution."

ILM: Critical Business Requirements
CEOs need critical business information at their fingertips to help them make informed business decisions. Data also should be leveraged to help identify trends, respond more quickly to customers and optimize day-to-day operations. Information must be accessible according to its business relevance—but that relevance can change quickly.
An ILM strategy helps you manage data within a dynamic IT. By making that information available, your ILM strategy helps you meet rapidly changing business demands, manage information from different sources and address compliance issues.
To unleash the power of a dynamic IT, an effective ILM strategy must:
Include both the information in the datacenter and the information that lies beyond the datacenter in remote offices and on desktops and other devices
Accelerate information archival and retrieval to increase worker productivity
Simplify protection of the information that runs your business
An ILM strategy also addresses backup of your business information, and includes solutions that help restore data easily in the event of a failure, with minimal impact on your business. Maintaining high productivity is critical, too. It is not uncommon for multiple applications to have the same data and yet separately store that data many times, even within the same storage array.
“Silos of information need a good ILM strategy to manage the information,” says Gary Lyng, director of HP ILM and StorageWorks Solutions. “The goal of the strategy is to reduce cost and adapt to business change. For example, one of our financial services industry customers will be saving $7 million over the next three years by deploying an HP StorageWorks Reference Information Storage System archiving platform with the HP StorageWorks Reference Information Manager for Messaging software.”
Consider the costs and impact of missing information on the enterprise: time spent recreating information that already exists, decisions based on faulty or incomplete information—and missed opportunities.
Timely access to the right information is critical to gain a competitive advantage. That means you must simplify the process of keeping your information secure and easily accessible, whenever and wherever it is needed.
“By developing an ILM strategy, organizations can become proactive in managing information,” says Lyng. “That requires partnering with a vendor who brings a thorough understanding of the business and technology environment, the value of the information, the application environment, as well as of the data.”

Case Study: ILM in Action
Case in point: Aurora Health Care, a not-for-profit health system in the United States serving 3.5 million patients. Aurora originated around a single goal: Find better ways to provide better heath care.
Medical professionals at Aurora see information technology as an essential tool for improving the quality of patient care. To help them meet that goal, Aurora selected centralized clinical information solutions from an HP partner, Cerner Corp., in conjunction with a total solution from HP. The well-integrated solution from HP provides a foundation for ILM strategies, helps senior officers comply with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), and mitigates risks associated with potential lawsuits.
Aurora now stores, retrieves, archives and backs up patient records quickly and easily using the new HP infrastructure.

Extending ILM Beyond the Datacenter
HP’s ILM solutions support you in improving agility and responding to changing business requirements. They also help you capitalize on business information. HP uses a consistent methodology to capture, manage, retain and deliver information throughout its lifecycle – in the datacenter and beyond.
HP offers comprehensive ILM solutions—from collaborating with you to define an ILM strategy that meets your needs to establishing how ILM can help improve business process effectiveness. HP uses a variety of technologies to implement a tailored ILM solution.
HP leverages deep application and information management expertise in key areas such as Oracle® databases and Microsoft® Exchange-based e-mail, as well as strength in imaging, printing, and personal systems with scanning, printing, iPAQs and mobile devices. With its partners, HP provides integrated, end-to-end ILM solutions that support applications, tiered storage, a full suite of services, and robust information capture, management, retention and delivery solutions to capture and deliver documents to a wide range of devices, from hand-held devices to printers.
In today’s business environment, information is power. How you manage your information can make the difference between becoming a market leader or being just another competitor