NetApp study finds IT managers are unprepared for future storage challenges
LONDON, UK - Oct, 12, 2011 - On average, only 17% of IT managers in the UK feel that their IT infrastructure is ready for the future according to a study commissioned by data storage and management specialist NetApp.
The independent research, conducted by Vanson Bourne, polled the opinions of 200 IT decision makers across the UK, and found that 83% of respondents were aware that their IT infrastructure was not ready for the future. Of the largest organisations surveyed, 6% agreed that they had a number of aging legacy systems and that they were by no means ready for future challenges.
The survey revealed that 66% of organisations with more than 3000 employees, was substantially unprepared for the future, and yet 28% of them were solely responsible for growth and demand.
Laurence James, UK Product Alliances and Solutions Marketing Manager for NetApp UK said: “The findings from this survey are not surprising. There are a number of organisations, both large and small who are uncertain of their future infrastructure requirements. This is something they will undoubtedly have to tackle and I suggest they look to implement a cost-effective agnostic solution that enables them to simplify data management to help lower risk while increasing control. This will ultimately enable them to adapt quicker in response to change.”
According to the survey, 41% of organisations existing software is not restricted or tied into being used with other vendor’s products. 39% of organisations existing software restricts them from integrating with other vendor’s software, and 20 % said they would like to include more products than they are currently able to.
The survey findings show that the need for organisations to review their IT infrastructure and prepare for the future is paramount to their success. 59% of respondents are inhibited from expanding their infrastructure due to contracts, software and hardware they already have in place. If providers of their current solution are not expanding into an area that is of interest to the IT department, such as virtualisation, then there is no easy way for the department to adequately investigate that technology.
