10 Nov 2008

Consolidation technologies 'faster and cheaper'

Businesses which adapt consolidation solutions as part of their storage infrastructure will benefit from cheaper and improved results, an expert has suggested.

At present, firms are increasing their storage capacity by at least 50 per cent each year at a time when energy costs are high, said Behzad Behtash, writing at Information Week.

The solution could be for companies to consolidate their storage structure by streamlining their data centres and disaster recovery sites which would cut costs, Mr Behtash suggested.

He added: "Technology that enables consolidation is now better, faster and less expensive, and options such as cloud storage can help as well."

By eliminating duplicate data across their branches, firms also cut the costs of additional hardware and improve their environmental impact by minimising - or eliminating - their need for tape-based backups, the article noted.

Wide area networks can also be used to reduce power consumption and remove the need for local storage in branch offices, according to the news provider.

In related news, the US Environmental Protection Agency has completed its third draft of the Energy Star specifications which will be introduced in February 2009.