How to manage large data more effectively

Does your business development depend on your data? If so, how can you make better use of this data information?

Today, the total information storage for all businesses is 2.2zettabytes, according to a new Symantec research report. On average, each enterprise has 100000 trillion bytes of data information. The average information store for small and medium enterprises is 563 trillion bytes. In addition, this figure is expected to grow by 67% per cent in the coming year, while the information storage capacity of small and medium-sized enterprises will increase by 178%.

These figures are too large to be imagined. So try this: 10KB is about the equivalent of a single sheet of paper filled with text. If you're using a stack of paper, 1 million TB stacks, the paper is about the same height (1,454 feet) as the Empire State Building. 2.2zettabytes of data is enough to stack up to about 374 miles as high as 1287 Empire State buildings.

"Information has become so important. "said CJ Desai, senior vice president of Symantec Information Management Group. "Information is growing very quickly. Companies need to be fully confident about how these data are growing, where they are growing, and why they are growing. ”

The veteran, who has 20 years of experience as an IT manager at a financial services company, says he is now adding more data to the data center every day than the 1990s.

Companies spend 38 million of dollars a year on data

The reason why companies need to understand the growth of their information is fairly clear, Desai said: "Now, the annual cost of business information in the world is $1.1 trillion." In other words, large enterprises spend an average of 38 million dollars a year on data information storage processing. The average SME spends 332000 of dollars, according to Symantec's report.

"Today, companies generate a lot of information that can help them better serve their customers and increase productivity." "Symantec Group products and Services Vice President Francis de Susa said. However, the same information, if not properly protected, can also become a major corporate responsibility. Enterprises that can effectively use their data information will have more major competitive advantages than those that cannot be used effectively. Even in some cases, the difference between success and failure. As the value of data information increases and costs rise, successful companies will find ways to protect their data more effectively and release more productivity. “

Respondents said that, on average, data information represented 49% of the value of their business. This means that loss of data information can result in loss of customers, damage to corporate branding, reduced revenue, and associated costs, which can be disastrous.

"The data information is almost half the value of its business," says the company. "said Desai. "All of their IP is in their data information." If the data information is lost based on some natural disaster or machine malfunction, you have no chance of recovery. “

Companies are still actively trying to get the data

However, there is a risk that businesses will store these data. Symantec found in the last 12 months:

69% of enterprises lost important business information due to human error, hardware failure, software failure and mobile device lost or stolen

69% of companies have exposed confidential information about the company

31% of enterprises do not comply with the relevant regulations

When it comes to confidential information and non-compliance with the rules, the most striking point is the spread of information. 30% of respondents said the information spread or caused an important factor in the accident. "Our biggest focus on it information is its ability to control information and to truly standardize our understanding of ourselves." "says an IT manager who works for a large financial services firm. "We have so much information that it's hard to bring them together. After all, in the financial sector, there are different rules, which makes the concentration of data information very difficult. “

In fact, as much as 42% of the data stored in the enterprise is duplicated, the data is stored on file shares, backed up on desktops, attached to an email attachment, or copied to a mobile device, Desai said.

Given the increasing volume of information and the increasing potential dangers of not protecting these data messages, how should companies handle these data?

"You have to focus on managing data information, not storage devices or data centers." "said Desai. "Tracks your flow of information. Where do you store information? Do you track your sensitive information? “

Five steps to help you manage your data better

There are five major steps to help you better manage your data:

Focus on information, not devices or data centers. Focus on building information infrastructure to optimize your business's ability to find, access, and use critical business information. Key technologies include the adoption of virtualization technologies, cloud computing and mobile devices and applications.

Get a complete understanding. Fully understand your data and acknowledge that not all information is equally important. Many enterprises lack the basic knowledge, such as those departments have specific information, the importance of relevant data, or even can not tell whether the relevant data information is private data or business data. You need to map and classify information to find its relative value. Once you have done so, you can more easily prioritize the consideration of truly important information security, protection and management of resources.

Ensure the effectiveness of data information. Use duplicate data deletion and archiving technology to protect more important information while storing less information. This means storing only the data you really need.

Set a consistent policy. This is the policy information that must be basically consistent, that is, no matter where the information is stored, whether it is in the physical environment, the virtual environment or the cloud environment, it is imperative to enforce consistent policies. Unified information Classification, automatic discovery of the department with the data information and use of specific information, access control and allocation, automatic information retention and deletion, and accelerate the process of electronic discovery.

(Responsible editor: The good of the Legacy)