News Release
July 25, 2007

UK businesses struggling to predict storage needs
~ Pillar Data Systems reveals tips to data storage planning~

Around 84 per cent of UK-based companies are unable to forecast their future storage demands, according to a survey carried out by the National Computer Centre and Pillar Data Systems.

The majority of respondents reported experiencing problems with storage planning and management. Approximately 47 per cent have had a major problem with forecasting their future storage requirements, while 37 per cent find estimating the total cost of storage required, to achieve the level of performance needed, a serious concern.

"UK companies are struggling with over-complex storage and data environments now, so it's not surprising they're finding it difficult to plan for future needs and predict requirements and costs," said Chris Jones, VP of EMEA, Pillar Data Systems. "The industry is partly to blame. It has been heavily pushing an ILM strategy using different physical storage tiers. This only serves to accentuate the problem by encouraging more devices, more points of management and more costs."

"This shouldn't be the case. Customers need to demand more from storage vendors. They should be asking questions regarding the total cost of ownership of the storage system such as, what are the costs of adding more storage or software licences as the company grows? Any vendor should be more than happy to provide this information."

"These data storage problems are not limited to any one sector. Around 69 per cent of respondents from the finance sector cited major problems with forecasting their future requirements, followed by 67 per cent from the manufacturing sector and half the Government sector respondents," added Jones.

For those with concerns around forecasting storage growth, Pillar Data Systems has put together the following tips to consider when planning for the future:

• Storage has gone from the backroom to the boardroom - IT storage is not just an administrator�s issue it is now a CIO issue. Storage already accounts for approximately 10 per cent of the overall IT budget and it will grow. So, look at new ways of preserving costs whether it is reducing maintenance costs, reducing annual software costs and looking to invest in flexible systems that can be repurposed.
• Conduct an audit of your storage and system growth - Technology has moved on, it should be getting easier to manage storage growth not harder, with predictable costs too
• Consolidation is key - Try to consolidate as much as possible onto a single system, space is a premium and energy costs are increasing; multiple applications on the same system will save money and make life easier
• Think green - Greener IT is not just about saving the planet; it is about reducing your space, energy consumption and sweating your assets as much as possible before having to replace them. Challenge your vendors on their energy efficiency credentials and their system flexibility, can they be repurposed?

Notes to Editors

About Pillar Data Systems
Founded in 2001, Pillar Data Systems develops enterprise network storage systems. The company's Pillar Axiom solution, driven by its innovative policy-based management capabilities, integrates SAN and NAS into a centrally managed storage platform. Pillar Axiom systems consolidate multiple tiers of enterprise network storage into a single, easily managed system capable of scaling to hundreds of terabytes of capacity.

Pillar Data Systems is privately funded by Tako Ventures, LLC, the venture arm of Larry Ellison. The company is headquartered in San Jose.. The EMEA headquarters is in Ireland, with initial operations across Ireland, UK, Germany and France.