Data, and its generation, is an inescapable fact of life. Thomson Reuters recently noted that, within the next three years, every human being on the planet will create 1.7 megabytes of data per second. That translates into a planet-wide data creation rate of 44 trillion gigabytes per second. Thankfully, most businesses won’t have to accommodate that kind of data, but with data generation universally on the rise, businesses have to consider the next step in what to do about all of it.

What Principles of Data Storage Management Should I Consider?

The right data storage management principles represent perhaps the best way to handle the growing explosion of data.

Prioritize incoming data. CERN, the group behind the Large Hadron Collider, generates somewhere around one petabyte of data every second. They quickly delete 99.9975 percent of it, recording only one in 40,000 collisions. If CERN can dump data at that rate, surely more of us can do the same.

Focus on cost and benefit. It’s easy to say build more, but building costs money. Consider the costs of storing data against the potential value it generates. Consider consolidating data into monthly or yearly pictures instead of daily or hourly profiles. Use insights generated from analysis then remove the data involved in generating the analysis, using summaries to approximate older data.

Don’t forget scalability. If you’re going it alone with regard to data storage, remember to focus on scalability. You’ll need a solution that can be quickly ramped up as needed, because chances are you’re storing a lot of data that needs to be accessed in hours, if not minutes or less. You’ll need data storage that’s flexible with the rates of access needed to make the storage worthwhile.

Consider calling in help. Sometimes, the use of a third-party maintenance provider can make a critical difference. Keeping storage offsite can allow a company to take advantage of economies of scale—storage is commonly cheaper in bulk—and at the same time protect valuable data against disaster later on. This means predictable monthly expenses and a better way to consider future upgrades.

How Do I Start Establishing Better Data Storage Management Principles?

If the data explosion has you concerned about what to do with all that data, there’s good news. At EmconIT, we have excellent data storage management techniques and technologies to help keep your data flowing smoothly and readily available. Drop us a line to get started on better data storage management today.