IT Must Take Control of Archiving Throughout the Enterprise
Bridgehead Software rolls out new Microsoft Office SharePoint Server (MOSS) archiving capability to support move to enterprise wide archiving
[USPRwire, Wed Oct 17 2007] The benefits of archiving will only be maximized when IT organizations take control at an enterprise level and replace point archiving products with a single, all-in-one enterprise archiving solution, bringing together all archiving activities regardless of data type, storage media or physical storage location.
This is the basis of the new Enterprise Data Archiving (EDA) strategy being rolled out by storage software management specialist, Bridgehead Software, which is announcing the introduction of a new Microsoft SharePoint data archiving product to add to its existing file, database and email archiving capabilities. .
“HT ShareStore is the latest development in our EDA strategy, designed to give users a centrally managed enterprise wide archiving system for long-term retention and access of all data types,” said Patrick Dowling, senior vice president business development & product strategy, BridgeHead Software. “As we aggregate all archiving activities into a single system managed from a single console, we’re turning archiving into a core technology that helps IT solve the financial and management problems resulting from out of control data growth.”
“BridgeHead’s EDA platform will allow IT organizations to take a variety of unchanging business data off of expensive primary storage and keep it accessible on lower cost media, in one fell swoop cutting data storage costs and the expense of operational tasks such as backup and replication as well as addressing compliance requirements. A centralized enterprise wide approach reduces complexity, eliminates duplication and delivers scale economies, enabling IT to set and monitor high levels of performance,” said Dowling.
BridgeHead’s HT ShareStore will provide intelligent, automated scanning of the Microsoft Office SharePoint Server (MOSS) environment. It is able to perform sophisticated analysis of SharePoint file attributes so that SharePoint data is brought under the control of BridgeHead’s common enterprise data archive infrastructure along with data from file shares, email attachments and other applications.
BridgeHead’s common archiving infrastructure is a distributed environment which virtually maps to wherever data is physically archived, regardless of format, storage device or location. It provides for indexing and de-duplicating data upon ingression. It also supports retention, access and security management according to operational and compliance regulations and has a sophisticated media management system which tracks the precise physical location of all media holding archive data. Its enterprise media management dynamically allocates the correct media according to user rules and oversees the complete management policy for media maintenance, offsite rotation, migration and retirement, right through to physical shredding at end of life.
Archiving is not only about securing data on lower cost media for the long-term. BridgeHead’s EDA platform is just as much concerned with making data highly searchable and accessible as if it were still on primary storage. It allows archived data to be moved to secondary storage, at the same time as supporting namespace abstraction so that users and applications can access the data as if it were still online. And because the system also provides support for metadata cataloging and content indexing of the data, end users have a powerful search facility which works for all data types.
A major differentiator for the BridgeHead EDA platform is that it provides its own in-built operational and disaster recovery capability to protect the archive. By simultaneously writing multiple archive copies to multiple locations on different media, the EDA platform ensures that data can be immediately available in the event of operational difficulties or major disaster without the need for routine backup and replication of the archive repository.
BridgeHead’s unique approach towards multiple archive copies within a self-managing repository provides an alternative to routine and expensive backup and replication. This is validated by the views of Brian Babineau, Senior Analyst, Enterprise Strategy Group “Archives contain information that is business critical and should be protected from corruption or data loss in the event of a disaster,” said Babineau. “In addition, because approximately 50 per cent of organizations believe that their corporate archives will involve a blend of disk, tape, and optical systems, there is a dire need for solutions that can help customers track where their information is at any point in time.”
“Archiving at the enterprise level is where the solution to ‘out-of-control data growth’ will be resolved,” concludes Dowling. “Archiving initiatives are currently very fragmented across most organizations, limited to addressing specific data types such as email or driven by departmental groups outside of IT focused on a particular piece of the puzzle, such as financial compliance. By bringing archiving together through a core enterprise system as we’re trying to do, you start to enjoy a real critical mass in terms of the data on the archive. You also create management efficiencies by streamlining and simplifying processes, cutting out duplication and improving control.”
About BridgeHead Software
BridgeHead Software is focused on developing software to enhance the ways in which medium to large organizations manage their data and storage infrastructures. The goal is to help you find the most intelligent approach to investing in and deploying storage; simplifying administrative processes and optimizing scarce time and resources. A key part of the company’s philosophy is remaining storage and vendor agnostic, enabling it to tie into your current and future mix of storage platforms. By the same token BridgeHead recognizes that software solutions cannot work in isolation. They have to integrate with and maximize the underlying storage and workflow and business processes that surround your information. To address this, BridgeHead has developed strong relationships with key storage and application technology vendors and is able to deliver integrated solutions through partnerships with leading systems integrators and providers of valued added services. For more information visit www.BridgeHeadSoftware.com.
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Media Contact:
Mark Rieger
Stanton & Associates Marketing & Public Relations
mrieger@stantonpr.com
303-520-4524
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