Archiving misunderstood and poorly executed

Archiving data is being abandoned in the face of mountains of data and pressure to deliver business continuity capabilities, a survey suggests. Some users may even be confusing archiving with back-up. The survey, commissioned by BridgeHead Software shows 28% of users not archiving data, while of those that do, 67% use manual processes, with only 25% having some kind of automated approach. 72% say they archive, but 54% still declare that at least 20% of server-based storage comprises unstructured user data, with 15% suggesting that’s greater than half. Two thirds of respondents report that on average at least 20% of their primary storage is email. “Given these figures, you have to question the effectiveness of the archiving techniques, where they are in use,” says Tony Cotterill, BridgeHead CEO. “It’s inconceivable that such a volume of email and other one-off files need to stay on primary storage to the extent that it occupies such a high proportion of space.” Incredibly, 15% of respondents don’t know how long it would take them to retrieve a lost file. “This suggests that some people are confusing back-up and archiving,” continues Cotterill. “Archiving involves indexing content such that it can be retrieved easily using a keyword search. Anything else is just back-up, and ineffectual backup at that.” Tape remains, for now, king of archive media. 73% of respondents employ tape-based media although, at 48%, disk must be closing the gap. WORM media is reported by 22% of respondents.