Storage critical for 'peace of mind'

According to a survey published today by Mori, 90 per cent of senior IT decision makers see storage technologies as an essential part of overall business planning instead of a plain technical matter.

The shift in attitude has happened over the past decade, fuelled by the demands of ecommerce on internal systems, the study claims.

Alnoor Samji, partner at Mori, explained the shift in attitude: "The majority of IT decision makers now see their business continuity heavily relying on constant access to data, both inside and outside the business," he said. "Had we asked the same question a decade ago, only a minority would have realised the importance of storage".

Claus Egge, storage analyst at IDC, said in many instances storage is directly related to business because companies are terrified of downtime. "Companies' IT strategies are being changed to facilitate storage. Directors are buying peace of mind," he said.

David Smith, storage manager at HP, said storage technologies need to be implemented properly. "It is good that the importance of storage technologies gets highlighted in theory, but it doesn't guarantee companies are making the right steps in practice," he said.

The survey interviewed 150 senior decision-makers across all industries who are in charge of the corporate IT buying.