StorEdge 2004 showcases future of storage

The World Wide Web contains 92,000 terabytes (TB) of data, including surface Web and deep Web. If one were to add to this 400,000 TB of new information generated by e-mail every year and the 274 TB of messages generated through instant messaging, the figures are mind numbing. Within a few years, the storage systems that are currently deployed by most corporates would soon be incapable of handling this growing load. Corporates are today looking at a system that would enable them to deploy information wherever they need it, whenever they need it and in whichever format they need it. And a solution to this problem was on offer at StorEdge 2004, jointly organised by Network Magazine and Sun Microsystems. The exclusive two-city forum brought together the nation’s leading IT strategists and decision-makers to discuss newer, more cost-effective ways to leverage data storage.

Speaking at the event, Balint Fleischer, VP—network storage and chief technologist, Sun Microsystems, said that of late there has been a rapid growth of fixed content data, especially images, rich media, medical records, legal documents and financial documents. In fact, according to him, 75 percent of all new digital content is fixed content.

Val Souza, editor of Express Computer, said that print, film, magnetic and optical storage media produced about five exabytes of new info in 2002. This would mean that there is about 800 MB of recorded information produced for each person on earth, each year. 92 percent of new media was stored on magnetic media, mostly in hard disks; film accounted for 7 percent and the rest on paper and other optical media.

Factors driving growth for enterprise storage include regulatory rules like the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, HIPAA, Basel II, and closer home, RBI and SEBI guidelines. Enterprise applications like ERP, CRM, etc, have also been driving growth in a big way.

This calls for systems that are adaptable to different kinds of applications. Most enterprises today require a storage architecture that will enable them to address various compliance requirements and repository requirements with the same system. Having a fixed architecture doesn’t give enterprises that flexibility. The storage system should be able to adapt to a specific industry.

The Next Generation storage system would have to scale up to handle petabytes of information. The system should have the ability to search and retrieve information based on both content as well its attributes. The system would also call for quicker query response time. According to Fleischer, as part of the network computer architecture, Sun is developing a series of technologies, products and solutions to address these emerging trends. But the key would be to meet all these needs and at the same time lower administrative costs.

Balint Fleischer of Sun Microsystems addressing delegates