Are you aware of where all of your data resides? Do you know if you have too much? How about your retention schedule? Any idea as to the risks this data represents?
If you’re like most businesses, it’s as if a giant barrel of data was poured out and, naturally taking the path of least resistance, has found its way into every nook and cranny in your network. For years, companies have dealt with the proliferation of data by adding infrastructure. The server is slow? Add RAM or upgrade the processor(s). We are running out of storage? Space is cheap, so just add a server or a drive. Archive it, you know, just in case we need it some time. Inexpensive hardware has helped companies postpone the need for an effective and sustainable approach to data management.
Smart Business learned more from Dan Mallory, an IT audit and assurance manager with Habif, Arogeti & Wynne, LLP, about why businesses need more than piecemeal hardware additions to track and store their data: They require a solution that will address the risks and opportunities that this flood of data presents.
Why is data management such a critical business issue at this time?
According to a recent report in The Economist, the estimated amount of data generated in 2010 compared to the amount of data generated in 2005 represents a 700 percent increase. Chances are, if you could measure it, you would find a similar trend occurring in your business. (Have you purchased more storage recently?)
While the average business is struggling to cope with all this data, few have made fundamental changes necessary to effectively control the flood of data hitting their business. The effects and risks of the proliferation of data are very significant. Some are obvious, such as the inefficiencies (e.g. search, application performance) brought about by storing much more data than necessary for much longer than necessary. Others are not as obvious, such as the risk this data represents. In addition, the introduction of cloud computing has uncovered new risk as your data is moved to the Internet and/or shared with other cloud apps and vendors.