Cost effectiveness 'crucial in data storage'

Cost-effectiveness has become central to storing data due to the economic downturn, a research firm has claimed.

Andrew Reichman, senior analyst at the independent technology and market consultancy Forrester, said storage efficiency has always been an "important topic," but is more so now than ever due to the ongoing recession.

It is a "real challenge to keep things efficient" in terms of information storage, he claimed, because most organisations are now dealing with "continuous and significant data growth".

However, Mr Reichman said that due to business pressures, firms are not prepared to wait for storage or application performance – potentially highlighting the benefits of using a shared hosting model.

He added: "It's not a valid choice anymore to throw more disk at the proble...Building too much performance is a good insurance policy, but it's a very costly one," he added.

Last week, small business commentator Jennifer Walzer told the New York Times that business continuity provisions such as data storage are crucial to all firms.

Written by Tim Dunton