63% of IT directors believe storage consolidation woulddeliver annual cost savings
CeBIT, Hannover, Germany— 12 March 2003— 63 per cent ofEuropean IT directors believe storage consolidation would deliversignificant annual cost savings, according to independent researchcommissioned by Hitachi Data Systems.
The `Hitachi Data Systems European Storage Index'*, producedfrom 570 interviews with IT directors across 12 European countries,reveals that 44 per cent of European businesses believe they couldsave up to 10 per cent of their IT storage budgets throughconsolidation, equivalent to a total saving by European businessesof around €2.4 billion annually.
"In effect, consolidation is the same as the choice betweenowning 200 horses or a car with 200 bhp (brake horse power). Whilethe power is the same, the cost of ownership and management of thecar is much lower," said John Taffinder, executive vice presidentEMEA, Hitachi Data Systems.
"Typically 80 per cent of the total storage budget is allocatedto storage hardware and management. The average SAN [Storage AreaNetwork], for example, utilises between 600-700 fibre channelports. Each of these costs €150 per year tomanage. Deploying a more effective infrastructure could reduce thenumber of ports by up to 25 per cent, simplify management andreduce overall cost," said Tony Reid, Director of InfrastructureSolutions, EMEA.
The survey also examined how IT directors would tackle theserious shortage of storage administrators, which industry analystspredict will face Europe's businesses by 2004. Consolidation toppedthe poll with 38 per cent citing this as their principal solutionto managing the situation. 34 per cent of IT directors would trainexisting staff to take on this additional role and a further 25 percent would consider outsourcing storage management.
*Research note
The `Hitachi Data Systems European Storage Index' is third partyresearch, commissioned and owned by Hitachi Data Systems. Datareproduced from the `Hitachi Data Systems European Storage Index'must be sourced `Hitachi Data Systems European Storage Index'.
Findings are based on 570 IT director interviews, coveringAustria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands,Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK. The full `HitachiData Systems European Storage Index' is now available online at:http://www.eu.hds.com/pdf/eu_storage_feb_2003.pdf
Further Reading
Storage Consolidation: A Solution for Runaway Data Growth andLimited Management Resources' - a white paper by Jeff Coffed,Hitachi Data Systems (May 2002): http://www.eu.hds.com/pdf/wp122_consolidation.pdf
Hitachi Data Systems is committed to enabling organizationsworldwide to exploit the full potential of information. Byfollowing and deploying our TrueNorth™ strategy, we providecustomers with a broad range of storage solutions to simplify,protect and optimize their information infrastructures. Ourofferings include centralized and distributed storage systems andsoftware, professional services, complemented by best-of-breedproducts through channel partners and industry alliances.
With 2,700 employees, Hitachi Data Systems conducts businessthrough direct and indirect channels in the public, government andprivate sectors in over 170 countries and regions. Its customersinclude more than 50 percent of Fortune 100 companies. For moreinformation, please visit our Web site at www.eu.hds.com.
Hitachi, Ltd., headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is a leadingglobal electronics company, with approximately 320,000 employeesworldwide. Fiscal 2001 (ended March 31, 2002) consolidated salestotaled 7,994 billion yen ($60.1 billion). The company offers awide range of systems, products and services in market sectors,including information systems, electronic devices, power andindustrial systems, consumer products, materials and financialservices. For more information on Hitachi, please visit thecompany's Web site at http://global.hitachi.com.
Contacts: PR
Shirley Virando, Hitachi Data Systems, + 44 (0) 1753 618682,shirley.virando@hds.com
© Hitachi Data Systems isregistered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office as a trademarkand service mark of Hitachi, Ltd.
Newsroom
