REDUCE STORAGE COSTS
DATA IS EVERYWHERE...
Businesses today need to manage the exponentially increasing
volume of data and content within the enterprise. They must
work with all sorts of structured and unstructured data stored in
different applications and silos such as file shares, SharePoint,
email, enterprise applications such as ERP and CRM systems, as
well as any number of in-house applications.
AND IT IS GROWING!
Content is exploding at an exponential rate while IT budgets to
manage the data is not keeping pace. CIO’s are asked to manage
more content with less every year. Roughly 65% of the total
volume of many mid-size and enterprise organizations is rarely
used, which is commonly referred to as inactive information.
THREE WAYS TO START SAVING MONEY AND STORAGE SPACE NOW:
1. Eliminate ROT– Redundant, Obsolete and Trivial Information
2. Enable HSM or Tiered Storage
3. Integrate Compression and Archival
www.DocuLynx.com
#1
ELIMINATE R.O.T. - REDUNDANT, OBSOLETE, TRIVIAL DATA
STEP 1: Identify where your information resides
Often, the biggest hurdle to reducing storage costs is understanding what information you have and where it resides. Use
the list below to help you determine where your information resides:
• Servers
• External Hard Drives
• Network Attached Storage (NAS)
• FileShare
• Database
• Enterprise Applications – SharePoint, SAP, Cognos, etc.
• Cloud Hosting
• Flash Storage (NetApp)
• Email
• Tapes
• CD/USB/DVD
STEP 2: Analyze the external attributes and metadata of the information on those storage devices
Install a data crawler, such as DocuAnalyze, to analyze and generate a report about your data. It is important to look
at these external attributes and metadata to help you build your strategy. Viewing this data in a well-organized report will
allow you to understand where to focus your efforts:
•
•
•
•
Last modified date
Last opened/accessed date
Size of files
Types of files
STEP 3: Identify redundant, obsolete and trivial information and DELETE IT
If you have a retention schedule or taxonomy already created, then you can cross-reference your report from step #2 to
easily find ROT. Delete these files! Holding on to information too long can pose a risk to your organization in the event of
litigation, as it will be subject to Discovery. To automate this task and to ensure your information is constantly monitored
for continual optimization, use a software solution like DocuFile. It can automatically apply your retention schedules to
your document types, de-duplicate files and delete or migrate files automatically based on your policies.
2
#2
ENABLE HSM OR TIERED STORAGE
A widely used tactic for reducing storage costs is to put less valuable and dormant files on cheaper storage and retain
your valuable, active files on primary storage. Similar to identifying R.O.T, you can use DocuFile, to pinpoint the files that
are dormant and automatically migrate them to a cheaper storage solution such as the cloud.
However, identifying valuable information is much more difficult for organizations because the value is typically located
in the full content of the document. Using a product called, DocuClassify, you can automatically scan the CONTENT of
all of your documents and classify them according to your policies.
For example, you have a valuable contract with Mattel that is titled “Mattel – Final.doc”. The contract hasn’t been
touched in three years, but it contains sensitive customer information that should only be viewed by your finance team.
According to your compliance policies this document should:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Remain on primary storage
Be encrypted because it contains sensitive data
Restrict user access because your finance team are the only authorized viewers of contracts
Be tagged in a way that it can be easily identified as a contract
DocuClassify would be able to read the content of the document, be able to identify it as a contract and then
automatically apply the four critical tasks listed above. Then, you can rest assured that all of your data is treated
properly according to its true value.
3
#3
INTEGRATE COMPRESSION AND ARCHIVAL
Using the information above, you will have already identify what information is a good candidate for archival. This tactic
has been around for years – make big things small and move it to a cold storage location. But, most times, this tactic
means a loss of accessibility for the end user because the original file must move before the compression is completed in
the archival. This leaves a gap or learning curve for the end user to access their documents (which might still provide real
value to your company). Using DocuFile for archiving, the appearance and accessibility of your files never changes for
the end user. DocuFile expands this concept with connector for not only File Shares but SharePoint, SAP, email, and many
other enterprise applications.
DocuFile makes your archival active and accessible while still providing the same cost saving benefits. Again, DocuFile and
DocuClassify can automatically identify the right data and migrate that data to archival and it will retain and secure that
data according to your centrally set policies.
DocuAnalyze, DocuFile and DocuClassify are available from DocuLynx along with many other
Information Management solutions. Contact us today for a demo or for more information.
Key Questions To Answer Before You Move or Delete Data:
1. What information is rarely used and accessed?
2. What information is relevant and should reside on primary storage?
3. How do we transport inactive data away from the primary storage environment?
4. And at the same time, how do we make it and keep it available for users and
applications as needs arise?
5. How do we do this in a way that optimizes storage utilization?
6. How do we reduce the amount of administrative work that we have on an
ongoing basis?
7. How do we accomplish these tasks while remaining compliant?
4
Contact Us:
www.DocuLynx.com
800.991.3704
CAPTURE
WORKFLOW
MANAGE
STORE
PRESENT
GOVERN
PROVE