It's best to store remote-office data and host remote-office applications in the central data center. Various products can eliminate TCP/IP transmission issues that might hinder those moves.
Several recent surveys by analyst firms document the perception that the amount of data within remote offices and branch offices (ROBOs) is greater than the amount of data within the data center. In an era of growing compliance regulation, and increased internal and external threats to data, managing and protecting ROBO data has become a big problem.
ROBO users require and expect the same level of services and support as users in the primary data center. This means ROBO data accessibility, data protection and application response times must be equivalent to those local to the data center. The requirements are simple. Delivering on those requirements isn't.
Storage managers have two main ways to protect ROBO data: create a mini data center for each ROBO, or centralize ROBO applications and data at the primary data center. The first option is very expensive, management is complex, highly qualified IT staffers are required at each ROBO and things rarely work well.
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This was first published in January 2007