Storage management grips UK IT chiefs

Storage management is becoming a top priority for UK IT directors, with investment in the technology jumping 20 per cent in the past six months.

A report by Hitachi Data Systems (HDS) said that 52 per cent of IT directors in the UK see storage management as the most important area for investment.

The number of companies in the UK that have already implemented some storage management software has risen to 74 per cent from 66 per cent six months ago.

HDS conducted 630 interviews with IT directors across 14 countries in EMEA and found that enterprise storage networks, IP-based storage area networks and network attached storage are hot areas for investment.

The survey also showed that 70 per cent of companies in EMEA anticipate an increase in storage capacity demands over the next 12 months, with the majority expecting a rise in the region of 16 to 30 per cent.

The two main drivers remain business continuity and data availability, but meeting compliance regulations is a rising concern, according to the report.

John Taffinder, EMEA executive vice president at HDS, said: "If a company manages multiple storage systems in different ways, it is wasting money in terms of utilising capacity, administration time and training."