Enterprise Data Management

Government agencies have struggled for years to become paperless. Now, their success in eliminating paper documents is sparking new data management challenges.

With most of the world's data now created in digital form, government records retention and storage management must adapt to an environment where physical copies no longer exist. What's more, today's government agencies cope with stricter record-keeping and accountability rules--and rapidly escalating costs for violating those mandates.

These demands make storage a strategic issue for agency managers and decision-makers, on par with key enterprise concerns such as network infrastructure and information security, according to a new report from the Center for Digital Government.

The report--Public Trust and Public Value through Effective Stewardship of Public Records--says state and local agencies must deploy strategies for:

• Retaining digital records securely and for as long as required.
  
• Locating digital records when needed.
  
• Proving digital records are accurate and authentic when necessary.
  

Just as important, government agencies need processes that let them safely dispose of data that's outlived its usefulness, the report says. Unnecessary data retention is an expense today's governments can't afford, yet ineffective data management often forces agencies to store information they don't need for fear of violating record-keeping regulations.

Lifecycle Approach
StorageTek's Information Lifecycle Management (ILM) concept prepares government to meet these challenges. ILM creates a sustainable storage strategy that balances the cost of storing and managing information with its changing value over time.

The concept uses sophisticated software to shift electronic records among various tiers of storage based on an agency's business needs for the data.

• Online magnetic disk storage is used for newly created information and highly active data, such as records that support agency ERP or CRM systems. Online is the most expensive storage platform, but also provides immediate data access, making it the most appropriate solution for information that's frequently accessed and updated.
  
• Inline disk storage gives agencies immediate access to massive amounts of data that's not interactive. This is the best platform for distributing fixed content, mirroring data or providing disk-based backup.
  
• As the need for immediate access diminishes, data can be moved to near-line tape storage platforms. Near-line storage provides cost-effective data backup and recovery. It's also a good choice for supporting streaming data solutions.
  
• The last stop for data is archived tape storage, a low-cost solution for information that's rarely accessed, but must be stored for disaster recovery, records retention or legal compliance. Archived information typically is stored on un-editable tape media to preserve its authenticity.
  

StorageTek is one of the few companies to provide a full array of storage solutions including tape, disk, storage networking, software and services. The company's ILM concept combines classes of storage to balance performance and budget requirements with data's value at each stage of its life.

StorageTek service experts work with public agencies to meet end-to-end data protection and retention needs, provide automation tools to reduce management complexity and recommend the right storage technology to enhance overall performance.

Strengthening Compliance
StorageTek helps agencies create archiving strategies that enable effective retention, recall and deletion of large volumes of information. ILM uses intelligent software to automatically comply with record-retention policies, regulatory mandates, access requirements and other business demands.

Complying with applicable regulations and industry standards represents a key -- and increasingly complex -- data management concern for state and local agencies, the Center for Digital Government report says. Compliance is governed by a wide range of federal, state and local laws and regulations, along with industry-specific regulations and best practices.

According to the report, requirements