Network Storage from A to Z

Data storage solutions for the small to medium-sized business

Not so long ago, there was a clear distinction between the data storage needs of small businesses and those of their larger counterparts. Small businesses depended mostly on storage contained in PCs scattered around the office, with maybe a small Windows PC or server used to share files and print services. Most small businesses lacked an IT staff or anyone with the expertise to dive into any complex technology. If files were unavailable for a few hours or even a day, it was an inconvenience, not a disaster. Mostly large enterprises had complex networking infrastructures, with stringent security and performance requirements.

The line between the storage needs of small and larger businesses has blurred dramatically in the past decade. Today's small organizations find themselves tackling many of the same storage issues as their larger counterparts, including:

How to Meet Exploding Storage Requirements - The storage needs of small businesses have mushroomed thanks to the digitization of formerly paper documents; increased use of voice, video, and other rich media; the Internet; and regulations requiring years of data and file retention. Many businesses have seen their storage requirements double and triple annually year after year. They need efficient ways to store and share much larger volumes of data without busting their budget or hiring an IT department.

How to Protect Mission-Critical Data - As with their larger counterparts, many small businesses rely on processes that are so PC-, software-, and data-dependent that they can barely function without data access for even a few hours. They need to find workable, low-cost ways to backup and protect access to the information that drives their business.

How to Reduce or Eliminate Downtime - Small businesses increasingly partner with larger enterprises in a global environment, or work with customers across time zones. They need simple, low cost, efficient ways to keep their data accessible on a 24 by 7 basis without sacrificing backup and maintenance.

How to Fulfill Stringent Audit and Regulatory Requirements - It's not just large businesses that are affected by audits and federal regulations such as HIPAA and the Sarbanes Oxley Act. Scores of smaller businesses need simple, workable strategies for storing and protecting sensitive information with a level of effectiveness and sophistication equivalent to that of their enterprise counterparts.

How to Use Storage Effectively in a Virtual Infrastructure - As they take advantage of the Web and server based applications such as email and CRM, many small businesses have jumped on the server virtualization bandwagon to reduce hardware and server management costs. These businesses need to find storage that works easily in a virtualized environment.

While these issues can seem daunting to small organizations with few dollars and resources to spare, the good news is that new and evolving small business storage solutions can meet all of these requirements without overwhelming complexity or the need for IT expertise.

In this eBook you will learn about the efficient, economical ways to address the small business storage issues outlined above without busting the small business budget or hiring an IT department.

 

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