Premium Content

Access "Backup reporting tools cast wider nets"

Published: 20 Oct 2012
Tips for lowering the cost of storage support contracts

This article is part of the Vol. 6 No. 3 May 2007 issue of Tips for lowering the cost of storage support contracts

Users looking for more sophisticated backup reporting take note: Vendors are beefing up their tools--in some cases going beyond the boundaries of data protection. Storage resource management (SRM) tools have traditionally fallen short on reporting, and until recently that's been true of most backup software products as well. Randell Eck, a senior technical services professional at a major airline company, has been using Tek-Tools' StorageProfiler reporting tool to augment his use of Symantec's Veritas NetBackup because for real-time, consolidated reporting, he says, backup software is generally "lacking--they're just lacking." But backup software companies may be catching on to what backup reporting vendors seem to know already--users need predictive analysis, real-time monitoring, insight into disk utilization and performance, and the ability to integrate business user policies into their reports. Feeding this demand is the growing alignment between business and IT. Compliance laws, service-level agreements (SLAs) and new tiered storage architectures are ... Access >>>

Access TechTarget
Premium Content for Free.

By submitting you agree to receive email from TechTarget and its partners. If you reside outside of the United States, you consent to having your personal data transferred to and processed in the United States. Privacy

Already a member? Login to access this content.

What's Inside

Features
    • Survey Says: WAFS adoption picks up

      WAFS adoption picks up

    • Storage rethinks power strategies

    • Midrange rivals top dog

      Midrange arrays are encroaching on enterprise storage territory. Today's high-end midrange arrays and low-end enterprise arrays might look very similar. Features like clustering, mirrored cache, replication and snapshots have trickled down from enterprise arrays, while low-priced SATA drives have moved up to enterprise arrays.

    • Users test deduplication limits

    • Negotiating for support

      Over a period of just a few years, the amount you spend on support contracts could equal or even exceed the price of the product itself. But storage support contracts are usually optional, and both the extent of coverage and its cost are definitely negotiable. A little hard bargaining and creativity, along with the leverage of seeking maintenance from a third-party support company, can go a long way toward knocking down your support costs.

    • Storage managers in control

      For the first time in five years, the amount of capacity storage managers plan to add this year dropped, according to the results of Storage magazine's latest Purchasing Intentions Survey. To be sure, the decrease was more of a sign that relief may be on the way for storage managers who have spent the last few years trying to keep up with runaway storage growth.

  • Columns
    • Hot Spots: Time to learn from Microsoft's mistakes by Jon Oltsik

      Security is a cradle-to-grave commitment that spans products, processes and personnel. Microsoft has proved that you can turn on a dime and remedy security shortcomings, and now some leading storage vendors are following its example.

    • Storage Bin: 50 years of right is now very wrong

      A huge portion of the issues we face today in storage and throughout our infrastructure are caused by us trying to use the same systems, architectures and methodologies we're used to for data that has all new requirements.

    • Editorial: Top 10 reasons to find another vendor

      Top 10 reasons to find another vendor

    • Best Practices: Protecting SharePoint data

      SharePoint's collaboration framework is gaining in popularity, but it has a number of data protection challenges that can result in significant levels of complexity rather quickly. Storage and data protection groups must work with application teams to plan an effective data protection strategy.

More Premium Content Accessible For Free

Back to top