It is an interesting environment: squeezing costs out of storage and all of IT, while still maintaining the level of availability and performance that your organization expects and/or requires. The variable that really makes this interesting is that data growth is greater than at any other time in history; challenging for any CIO, director, manager or staff, for certain.

The easy answer is to throw “more" of the fastest and most reliable medium and software at the problem. While this accomplishes the IT goals, it fails to meet the fiscal goals and responsibility of the organization. The other historical option is to build a solution with the lowest cost to hardware and software. Again, this meets the financial obligations but often fails to meet the performance and reliability measures required. This strategy also puts an organization at serious long-term risk…think, house of cards.

So, how do we balance these conflicting and challenging goals? First, we need to understand that no two organizations are exactly the same. Sure, the challenges are the same, but the variables that exist are ALWAYS different:

Different budgets
Different levels of staff experience
Different SLAs
Different time perspectives
Different sizes
Different locations and number of locations

As an industry we are developing products and solutions that address these challenges. For example, tiered storage is a great way to meet all of your objectives, but now, more questions arise as to how many tiers might be “right" before it gets too complicated. Many people believe that because a system can put different types of media under the same processers, this is all that is available.

While this is a good start for some, it doesn't always end here for others. Tiered media is good, but automating data to flow between these medias is better. Staying within a single system is good, but using multiple homogeneous systems is better, while using multiple heterogeneous systems is arguably the best. This also allows us to repurpose technology, thus lowering cost.

Other technologies that help with the riddle are:

Disk backup versus virtual tape libraries versus D-to-D duplication versus tape
Fibre channel versus serial attached disk (SATA) versus SAS drives
iSCSI versus fibre channel connectivity
Synchronous versus CDP versus asynchronous replication

The lists go on and on. I would argue that backup versus disaster recovery versus business continuity are “tiered" solutions of each other.

If you are interested in solving these riddles, there are many other questions and answers that must be addressed—application priorities, recovery point objective, recovery time objective—per application. We can go as granular as your organization desires.

The sands are always shifting, and it's vital to remember that one solution does not fit every organization or its goals. As data growth continues to reach historical levels, solving your data management riddles become paramount. Data management is what Sanity Solutions does, and we look forward to uncovering the answers to your greatest data challenges.

"Anything that gets us moving—we're doing it." Barrett and her family enjoy the active lifestyle that Colorado offers.

Sanity Spotlight Lisa Barrett

Originally from Cheyenne, Wyoming, Lisa Barrett graduated from the University of Wyoming. With a biology degree and Juris Doctorate, Barrett spent 12 years as an attorney before making a transition into sales and criminal investigation software and being named rookie of the year. Later, she would find herself a part of the Sanity team in Denver, Colorado.

I moved to Colorado last August. I had friends in the sales industry that happened to work with Overland, a Sanity partner. This is how I was referred to Jason. Once I met Jason, I knew Sanity was a company I wanted to be a part of. Jason is very focused and a sensible businessperson with clear goals, and it was exciting to think of myself as being a part of his team.

As a member of Sanity's outside sales team, I meet with people and get to know them in their environments. Every time I meet a new client, it is a chance for me to grow, to learn, and to interact and help other companies find the right solution for their needs. Whether I can help them today or in a year from now, I make it my role to ensure the client knows I am here for solutions to their urgent problems and for the duration of their long-term goals.

The most important things for clients to remember when working with me or other members of the Sanity team, is that we are here to help. Even if it's not something Sanity usually deals with, we will find a solution.

Financing With Sanity
Provides Relief to Your Bottom Line

On any given day, your bottom line matters. When markets and economies start to come apart at the seams, the bottom line is everything. Sanity Solutions provides relief by giving you the option to pay for only what you use, when you use it. Additionally, you have the freedom to swap or exchange equipment at any time and to upgrade indefinitely. By leasing your equipment with Sanity Solutions, you can:

Get 100% financing, which preserves your working capital
Take care of an application in as little as 5 minutes over the phone
Get credit decisions in hours, not days
Work with a bank who is often more competitive than big name computer vendors
Take advantage of a unique program that offers you up to an additional 15% funding for soft costs and 25% more for general working capital, and
Structure a lease to help you qualify for Section 179 tax treatment (call your tax advisor for details).

Give your bottom line some relief. Contact us at contact@sanitysoltions.com or 720-570-1668 x 620 today.

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Monday, August 30 - September 2, 2010

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Sept 23, 2010 9:00AM - 4:30PM

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Data News

Third Quarter 2008

Compos Mentis Sanity Speaks

Sanity Spotlight Lisa Barrett

Financing With Sanity Provides Relief to Your Bottom Line

Storage Resource Links

Compos Mentis
Sanity Speaks

Financing With Sanity
Provides Relief to Your Bottom Line