In recent years firms have required increasing integration between computer systems to process growing amounts of data. In particular, customer-centric models, such as those using customer relationship management (CRM) solutions, have required good links between front and back-office functions. And for e-business systems to work well, integration with a firm's applications and data infrastructure is usually needed.
But whatever the project--be it enterprise resource planning (ERP) implementation, an e-business initiative or system integration--the common denominator is data. Without accurate, reliable, high-quality data, major IT initiatives will fail to meet their full potential. Yet despite its importance, data management is usually low on the list of IT managers' competencies. But a sensible data management policy is essential to protect what some describe as the most valuable corporate asset. On average, UK firms are seeing their data storage needs increase at a rate of 80 percent a year, according to research firm IDC.
It is vital that IT managers become more efficient at managing this data, as the resources allocated to data storage are not being increased in line with growing demands, according to IDC analysts.
Data warehousing specialist NCR Teradata agreed that demand for storage is growing fast. It now has 300 customers that need more than a terabyte of capacity.
IT analyst Gartner has pointed out that many firms are unable to promptly analyse incoming data, because there is too much of it. Other analysts estimate that storage is growing at a compound rate of more than 100 percent a year--so 1TB of data today will grow to 32TB within five years.
Tom Lahive, director of European marketing at storage services firm Storage Networks, said that data growth will continue, so firms need better methods to deal with it. "Any firm that is not increasing data by 100 percent isn't growing its market share, because data is a measure of the level of business being transacted. A company not growing its data by at least 80 percent is in a dangerous position," he said.
Lahive said that sharing data to build a competitive advantage calls for sophisticated storage facilities. But adding storage hardware without a coherent policy will cause integration problems.
In a report on this subject, analyst firm Butler Group argues that data is the most valuable asset of an organisation. And it has drawn up some guidelines to improve management.
"[Good data management] is partly about honing your business efficiency to retain a competitive advantage over your rivals," said Susan Clarke, senior research analyst and author of the Butler Group report. "Organisations are accumulating vast quantities of data, but should ask themselves whether it is actually required."
According to Ray Norman of Alchemy Data Solutions, "Data delivery  one of the most complex, least glamorous and critical areas of enterprise computing  can be reduced to ABC. The ABC stands for analysis, building and cleaning, and refers to the processes applied to data to make it fit the purposes of the target application."
Lahive warned that the lack of an efficient data management system can cost organisations dearly. "We guarantee our customers 30 percent cost savings as well as better control and use of assets  and we write that into an agreement," he added.
