HP adds to information management portfolio in face of data overload

HP has announced a series of revisions and updates to its information management tools in the face of growing evidence that organisations are failing to handle data efficiently.

The company has improved its Integrated Archive Platform (IAP) to handle up to 1PB of data, 300,000 users and 20 million email messages a day.

The system also now supports VMware's vSphere, which HP suggests will help small and medium sized firms integrate with the software.

HP's TRIM Enterprise Records Management suite has been fully integrated with the company's Database Archiving applications, and now includes faster bulk data loading capabilities, multi-jurisdictional retention of data and the ability to add localised data policies.

Meanwhile, HP's Data Protection software and management platform have been upgraded to reduce total cost of ownership by 30 per cent, and now include snapshot recovery for HP StorageWorks P4000 systems.

"For information to be a strategic asset, enterprises must have an integrated, complete view of their information," said Robin Purohit, vice president and general manager of products and software at HP.

"New enhancements to our HP portfolio help reduce risk and increase efficiency while moving clients toward a holistic information management strategy."

A recent global survey into information management conducted by Coleman Parker found widespread confusion over information management process and practices.

Two thirds of the 640 companies surveyed said that the increase in data loads is harming efficiency, and this problem is being exacerbated by growth as companies come out of recession.

Nearly four out of five companies had no enforced standard archiving strategy, while 73 per cent had no central information handling strategy.

Some 43 per cent assign data management to the IT department, while 38 per cent leave it to the board or chief executive.

The survey found an almost even split between companies that use a central facility for storage, and those that leave it to individual departments or use dispersed silos.

"It appears that companies are living with marginal to adequate processes. These companies acknowledge that substantial changes could and should be made," the report said.

"Lack of clear, consistent policies and processes for information management and a lack of common ownership of information management within today's companies clearly result in major inefficiencies and higher costs."