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CriticalStepsinStorageManagement:HowBusinessRequirementsShapePolicyDecisionsProf.PaulP.TallonCarrollSchoolofManagement,BostonCollegeChestnutHill,MA02467-3808©2003GlassHouseTechnologies,Inc.page1GlassHouseWhitepaperIntroductionTheterm“drowningindata”isparticularlyaptindescribingthegrowingvolumesofdatabeingcollectedbycorporationstoday.Asstoragehardwarecostsdecline,informationtechnology(IT)executivesinthesedata-intensivecorporationshavefeltnoneedtorationalizetheirstoragecosts,andsostoragepoliciesandprocedureshaveevolvedinahaphazardmanner.Unfortunately,manyoftheseITexecutivesareonlynowbeginningtorealizethatwhilehardwarecostshavefallen,overallstoragecosts–ofwhichhardwarecostsarebutonepart1–haveincreasedataratethatparallelsthegrowthinthevolumeofdata.Inanattempttocutcosts,hardwarevendorshavecontinuedtofocusontotalcostofownership(TCO)butthislargelyignorestheissuethatTCOisasymptomofalargerstorageenvironmentproblem–TCOitselfisnottheproblem.Anassessmentofthestorageenvironmentinmanycorporationswouldrevealthatthetrueproblemisalackofappropriatestoragepoliciesandprocedures,orinparticular,amismatchbetweenbusinessrequirementsandthepoliciesandproceduresthatareputinplacetomeetthoserequirements.Anexampleofthiscanbeseeninthebackupproceduresimplementedbymanycorporations,wherefailuretosegmentdataaccordingtoitsvaluehasgivenrisetosignificantwasteandinefficiencyasdataisbacked-upontoinappropriatemediaorworsestill,criticaldataisnotbacked-upinamannerthatreducesbusinessrisk.Inappropriateprocedures,suchasthis,areattheheartofthecostexplosionthatmanycorporationsareonlynowbeginningtoacknowledge.Fixingtheseproceduresisnon-trivial,however.Asshowninthefollowingdiagram,proceduressuchasprovisioningorbackupandrecoveryareanoutcomeofaprocessthatextendsallthewaybacktobusinessrequirementsandbusinessstrategy.Theexecutionofeachstepinthisprocessiswhatwillultimatelydeterminethesuccessofstoragemanagement.1Hardwarecostsaccountforonly20%oftotalstoragecosts(GartnerReport:Com-13-1217,2001).Costsrelatedtoadministration,downtime,hardwaremanagementandbackup/recoveryproceduresaccountforanadditional66%oftotalstoragecosts.©2003GlassHouseTechnologies,Inc.page2Figure:CriticalStepsintheStorageManagementProcessTheLinkBetweenBusinessStrategy,BusinessRequirementsandDataTheissueofbusinessstrategymayseemveryremotefromadiscussionofstoragemanagementbutasITexecutivesareincreasinglyseeing,dataultimatelyservebusinessneedsthatarelinkedtotheactivitiesinthebusinessstrategy.Forexample,indescribingstrategythroughthelensofvaluedisciplines2,wecanseethateachdiscipline(operationalexcellence,productinnovationorcustomerintimacy)canbemappedintotheprocessesinthevaluechain.Adecisiontofocusonanyonedisciplinewillcreateaprioritylistingofprocesses,whichwill,inturn,definebusinessrequirementsarounddata.Forexample,corporationspursuingcustomerintimacycanexpecttofocusontwocoreprocesses:salesandmarketing,andservice.Datageneratedwithintheseprocesseswill,therefore,bemoreimportantthandatageneratedininboundlogistics,forinstance.Businessrequirementswill,therefore,varythroughoutthevaluechainandsodatacollectedateachpointneednotbetreatedinaconsistentmanner.Someofthesedatawillbecriticaltothesuccessofthebusiness–otherdata,whileimportant,maybeofsecondaryvalueonly.Choiceofstrategyandthenatureoftheindustrymayalsobringsomeexternalfactorstobearonbusinessrequirements.Forexample,regulatoryrequirementsforfirmsinthehealthcareandbiotechnologysectorsmeansthatdatamustbestoredforspecificperiodsoftime.Thepossibilityofadataaudit,particularlyinthebiotechnologysector,wherehistoricaldataonclinicaltrialsandotherformsoftestingarerequiredforFDAapproval,meansthatbusinessrequirementsareparticularlystringent.Businessrequirementscanalsobeshapedbyinternalfactors.Thelossofkeydataforanyextendedperiodoftimecanposeasignificantproblemtobusinesscontinuity,leavingopenthepossibilityofbadpressandthelossofcompetitiveadvantage.Value-at-risk–atechniquefromthefieldoffinancial2“TheDisciplineofMarketLeaders”byMichaelTreacyandFredWiersema,Addison-Wesley,1995.DataPoliciesProceduresBusinessRequirementsStrategyExternal:RegulatoryInternal:ValueatRiskValueChain©2003GlassHouseTechnologies,Inc.page3managementthatmodelsthevaluethatafirmstandstoloseintheeventofadisaster–canbeusedasaninputintobusinessrequirements.Companieswhoareunwillingtoaccepthighlevelsofvalue-at-risk,eitherbecauseofstrictregulatoryneeds(e.g.,FDAmandatedperiodsofdataretention)orbecauseofstrategicconcerns(e.g.,thelossofdataatapointalongthevaluechaincouldhaveseriousripple-effectsonprocesseselsewhereinthevaluechain)willfaceverydifferentbusinessrequirementsfromcompanieswherevalue-at-riskisloworofnoconsequence.Interestingly,corporationswhotriedtomovetowardsalowerTCOenvironmentmayhaverunfouloftheirdesiretomaintainvalue-at-riskatanacceptablelevel3.Also,theimplementationofstoragepoliciesandproceduresmayhavebeeninconsistentwithvalue-at-riskrequirements;forexample,valuabledataisbacked-upinfrequently,isnotreplicatedorisstoredinaninsecurelocation.Data-drivenStoragePoliciesOncecorporationshaveanunderstandi