Divide and Conquer—Adding a Small-Scale Data Storage Platform
Rather than replacing older equipment in a single large purchase, consider introducing one new platform, a smaller-scale solution in parallel with the existing systems. We’re splitting the difference here.
It may be less expensive to add a new platform than to grow an existing one. It can take a little pressure off an older storage array and give it just the breathing room it needs in terms of capacity and performance, to stretch it one more year.
Just remember to balance lower equipment costs against the people time.
Fortunately, the ease of use and simple set up of some of the latest storage solutions give you a win-win on cost and training.
Just adding a stand-alone solution won’t help in the long run. It needs to be a data storage platform that will be able to scale, without further rework or equipment swaps. As it grows, replace your old system and support the new storage.
Another interesting tactic in this category is to look at archiving tools for file systems and email. While these solutions typically are costly, they may be less expensive than alternatives of growing storage, servers, bandwidth, etc. It depends on what you have and where you’re going, but it’s worth consideration.
