The IT System Diet: 5 Ways to Slim Down Your Information Overload

SHERWOOD, PARK, AB, May 22, 2011 (Press-News.org) Nearly half of all data stored within company IT system backups cannot be reasonably justified, reports Symantec and Applied Research in their Information Management Health Check Survey, which sampled over 1,600 senior IT executives.

"Many business owners and even IT managers have a poor understanding of the difference between IT system backups and archiving," David Papp states, author of "IT Survival Guide: Conquering Information Technology in Your Organization." "As a result, everything gets stored and IT systems reach capacity, causing poor performance."

Backups are copies of system files while archives are simply "snapshots" of data, according to Mr. Papp. In essence they serve different functions. Backups allow file replacement in case of IT disasters while archives provide a reference for information present at a specific time.

"Because companies fail to spend time determining backup and archiving procedures, they commonly overshoot the mark," David explains. The 2010 Information Management Health Check Survey supports this statement, with "obese" IT storage systems resulting in poor efficiency, increased expenses and rampant storage growth.

David Papp suggests these five best practices when considering IT backup and archiving procedures:

* Determine if full, differential or selective backups are needed
* Identify industry-specific standards for archiving to meet documentation goals
* Involve executives and legal consultants in conversations
* Optimize storage solutions for long-term IT growth
* Define backup and archiving schedules and revisit periodically

"With minimal effort, organizations can decrease risk and save significant costs when it comes to data storage," Mr. Papp explains. "Defining backup and archiving goals and creating an IT procedure accordingly are time and energy investments that businesses will be very thankful they made."

About the author:
David Papp is an international IT consultant with over twenty years' experience in IT systems. He is a popular keynote speaker on numerous IT topics. Mr. Papp has a computer engineering degree from the University of Alberta and holds multiple industry certifications.