Drew Robb

Buying a new car isn’t about getting the best-engineered engine or the finest-quality steel in the lug nuts. It’s about the goodies. Sure the engine matters, but what really sells are the 16-speaker Bose audio system, the leather-trimmed seats and the GPS navigation system. The buyer can drive out of the showroom with a complete […]

Data centers already account for over half of corporate IT budgets and META Group projects a 70% increase in data center budgets over the next decade. But where that money is going has changed drastically. While servers and storage together comprised 20% of 2002 expenditures, those figures will drop in both relative and absolute terms […]

With such attractions as lower costs and flexibility, it was only a matter of time before the success of Linux in the server sector translated into broader application within the storage market. This doesn’t mean there aren’t still doubts and questions about its viability as a storage platform. But when a company that boasts the […]

Storage consolidation and server consolidation sound great in theory. Reduce the number of servers, cut down on management complexity, and improve return on investment. But does this work out in reality? Should every organization adopt networked storage? Are there parameters that must be met before organizations implement a Storage Area Network (SAN)? ”Networked storage doesn’t […]

The horror stories on storage insecurity keep rolling in. Just in the past month, someone stole personal information about 120,000 Canadians from Revenue Canada; a bank inadvertently sent detailed information on hundreds of thousands of customers to eBay for auction; and two men posing as computer technicians walked into Sydney Airport, wheeling two computers containing […]

Databases usually have two things in common. They have grown far larger than envisioned by their creators and they are filled with unneeded data. Many companies, therefore, are seeking to pare them down to the essentials and archive little used content. But what should you archive, how should you do it and what best practices […]

Based on the success of last week’s Storage Networking World (SNW) conference in Orlando, Florida, the future of the storage world looks fairly bright. Despite a continuance of tough times for IT in general and faltering attendances at other industry events, SNW experienced highest ever attendance once again. Over 2500 attendees and 109 vendors visited […]

Instant Messaging can speed critical communications across the corporate network, saving time and giving an edge to team projects. The trouble is that IM also can speed viruses into the network, and shoot corporate secrets out to competitors without leaving any trail behind it. IM technology, at this point in its maturity level, isn’t the […]

There is no doubt that choosing the wrong software path can place severe strain on a company’s budget. Many have tried to make do with commercial off-the-shelf software (COTS), for example, only to find after a prolonged battle that their specific needs demanded professionally developed software. Others insist on reinventing the wheel by developing software […]

A few years ago, good customer service meant someone to answer the phone 40 hours a week. And as long as you replied to messages or faxes within 48 hours, nobody got too upset. Those days are gone. That’s why small and mid-sized firms are looking at Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software as a way […]