Storage Management Strategies for the CIO
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STRATEGIZING STORAGE to meet future demand is an ongoing dilemma, but only 30% of Storage readers are using capacity-planning tools to analyze their usage and anticipate needs. Apparently, available software isn't doing the trick, at least not entirely: Many readers are patching together a combination of software and spreadsheets to address the problem. "Even though I want tools bundled with my storage system, I can expect that it won't have the history depth that I need, or the right metrics for a comprehensive report," writes one reader.
Nor do most capacity-planning tools provide adequate support for heterogeneous environments. "Tools to integrate capacity info and consumption trends for heterogeneous hardware types into a single image are lacking or woefully inadequate," writes another reader.
Meanwhile, purchasing a capacity-planning solution seems easier said than done. The majority of readers say they couldn't get budget approval or that other IT projects had a higher priority.
Even when there's budget approval, 33% of readers indicate they don't have the time to research and test capacity-planning tools. Some vendors are trying to address these issues by offering to come onsite to perform capacity forecasting themselves. But most readers don't see that as an option. Of those who said they're using capacity-planning tools, only 10% say they're using a capacity-planning service. And of those who are investigating
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capacity planning going forward, only 11% said they would consider using a service to do the job.
--Trina MacDonald
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This was first published in August 2006
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