Hot data storage technologies for SMBs: Storage trends for 2010

By Marc Staimer | Jan 14, 2010

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Data storage, data backup and recovery, and disaster recovery (DR) in the small- to medium-sized business (SMB) market saw many changes in 2009. Data deduplication made its way into SMB data storage environments, many SMBs adopted cloud backup technology as part of their data backup plans, and many vendors altered their products to fit the specific needs of an SMB. But what's going to change in 2010? This tip predicts the top SMB data storage technologies and storage trends that will have the biggest impact on SMBs this year.

Cloud-based storage use will increase among SMBs.

SMBs are the targets for many of the Web-based applications coming online from Google, Microsoft and others. The more that SMBs utilize those services, the more cloud storage they will consume as a result.

Cloud-based data backup and disaster recovery (DR) will be fastest-growing SMB data backup alternatives.

Cloud-based backup, data recovery, and DR has become more efficient with built-in block-level incremental, data deduplication, compression and encryption. Cloud-based backup and recovery also offers high-performance local recoveries via appliances, recoveries at the file, volume, and application layer, database and email brick-level recoveries plus disaster recovery (natural or human based) capabilities. And all of this is usually available in bundled packages from cloud-based data backup and recovery vendors. On top of that, their top-notch service and cost-effective pricing makes cloud-based backup an attractive alternative for SMBs.

Cloud-based data archiving tools will be stiff competition for SMB users.

Historically, SMBs have rarely implemented onsite or offsite data archives. Cloud-based data archiving is for compliance and permanent archive. However, as e-discovery becomes more prevalent at the SMB level, and regulatory compliance starting to rear its head down the business food chain, archiving has moved up on many SMBs' to-do lists.

Data deduplication will be bigger in SMB data backup software than specialized appliances or storage.

Data deduplication has primarily been talked about as a target storage or appliance with most SMBs. Lost in the discussion is the fact that deduplication has quietly slipped into most (25 vendors at last count) of the data backup and recovery applications the target appliance/storage was aimed at. Furthermore, few software vendors charge for it. It's also included in the majority of cloud-based backup and recovery services as well. So why should SMBs pay a premium for a service they can get "good enough" for free?

Primary storage data reduction will increase in importance.

Most data reduction technology is aimed at secondary data backup storage where it has the most impact and where performance is not an issue. Dedupe will add noticeable latency to most reads. Although primary storage is more expensive than secondary storage, it is growing almost as rapidly as secondary storage because of duplicate virtual server and workstation images, video files and audio files. New data reduction products aimed at SMBs, such as Storwize Inc. transparent compression appliances, Neuxpower Solutions for Microsoft Office files and Ocarina Networks will all help address primary storage reduction problems.