Survey of senior ICT decision makers shows Australian and New Zealand organisations require ‘Information Intervention’

Sydney & Auckland — September 15, 2009 — Independent research released today has identified one in three organisations are unable to recover files from backup tape and a similar proportion would not be able to easily respond to a court ordered discovery audit for emails sent and received 18 months ago. In addition, 82 per cent of companies are putting their e-mail retention strategy in the hands of their employees.

According to Hitachi Data Systems, these findings underline an epidemic, which have been addressed in a new report titled ‘The Great Information Glut.’ This has prompted Hitachi to call for what it terms an ‘information intervention’.

Defining the Information Glut

Hitachi defines the ‘information glut’ as the situation where growth and rising costs has led to inefficiency and inflexibility when it comes to information management. The research shows that one in every three companies across Australia and New Zealand with more than 100 full-time employees is suffering under the burden of excessive growth in digital information and/or the mismanagement of that information.

The impact of the ‘information glut’ is considerable – only five per cent of organisations who are experiencing an information overload say it has no impact at all, 69 per cent say it has a moderate impact; 15 per cent say it has a lot of impact and 11 per cent say it has a great deal of impact on their organisation.

“The research shows that managing both the growth and cost of storing digital information remain important organisational priorities across Australia and New Zealand. In fact, keeping the growth of digital information under control is currently a slightly higher priority than keeping costs under control,” said Neville Vincent, Chief Executive, Hitachi Data Systems Australia.

“Unfortunately, there is still evidence that a significant proportion of organisations are suffering from what Hitachi calls the ‘information glut’ – which is leaving organisations at the heart of the Australian and New Zealand economies exposed,” Mr Vincent said.

“Information continues to be a key asset for every organisation. Managed correctly, it can fundamentally enhance a customer’s business, and it’s one of the keys to long-term business sustainability and growth.”

The main causes of the ‘information glut’ are inadequate budget and staffing resources, and the very fact that organisations simply have too much information.

“As would be expected, the larger the organisation the larger the burden, with government organisations more likely to experience the ‘information glut’ than primary production and trade and the service sectors,” said Mr Vincent.

An Information Intervention

The findings from the report indicate the need for what Hitachi terms an ‘information intervention’, calling on Australian and New Zealand organisations to take a big picture look at existing systems and improving them to better manage growth, reduce total cost of ownership, improve utilisation and enhance information governance.

Mitigating risk is a major consideration, particularly in the evolving regulatory environment. Not only are a third of organisations unable to recover files from backup tape or respond to a court ordered discovery audit for emails more than 18 months old, but the vast majority (82 per cent) of companies are putting their e-mail retention strategy in the hands of their employees, by charging staff with managing a mailbox quota at the risk of losing legally binding records.

While the research identified the three most effective solutions to the ‘information glut’ – as identified by ICT decision makers – were an increase in ICT budget, improved storage hardware architecture and new storage hardware, it is a position Hitachi doesn’t necessarily agree with.

“We don’t necessarily agree with the premise that more hardware is the best solution. Better management of existing infrastructure could provide the best return on investment,” Mr Vincent said.

Economic impact on information management innovation
According to the survey, the current economic climate seems to be having little impact on the decision making of the majority of organisations. The survey showed 65 per cent of organisations have not put their plans for information technology investment on hold; two thirds of organisations are planning to invest in information technology; and 32 per cent of organisations believe the current climate is an opportunity to develop a competitive advantage over other organisations within their sector, while only 24 per cent of organisations saying it is a risk.

It also shows a direct relationship between an organisation’s spending on innovation and its information management performance – organisations that deploy new technology across its operations are less likely to be stuck in the ‘information glut’ than those that don’t have the budget available.

According to Hitachi, moving from economic downturn to recovery is the perfect time to recreate an organisation’s information roadmap. “Organisations that prepare now will be in a stronger, more competitive position when the global economy returns to bull market conditions,” said Mr Vincent.

While a majority of organisations have ICT budgets that accommodate for future needs, the research shows around one-in-four are only able to accommodate current requirements and about one-in-ten have budgets that do not even meet current requirements.

Intervention required for growth and economic sustainability

“The information glut facing organisations in Australia and New Zealand presents more than just a barrier to competitive edge. Mismanaging information results in pressure on infrastructure, financial burden, information downtime, compliance issues and increased risk,” said Mr Vincent.

According to the research, ten per cent of organisations have information infrastructure that cannot accommodate growth. Only half can dynamically alter the performance or the cost characteristics of their applications when business requirements change, or have the capability to reduce multiple copies of the same files for efficiency (single instance storage).

On the other hand, there is a clear correlation between organisations whose IT budgets accommodate future needs and organisations whose share of IT budget for innovation has increased – those spending more on innovation are more likely to have an ICT budget that accommodates future needs.

Organisations that increase innovation spending are less likely to experience the information glut and those that are spending less on innovation are more likely to suffer from it.

About the research

The independent research report was commissioned by Hitachi Data Systems from Sweeney Research. The survey was conducted in July 2009 among 400 senior information and communications technology decision makers in Australia and New Zealand who are familiar with the ICT operations of their organisations. Participants included Chief Information Officers, Chief Executive Officers, Directors of ICT and Managing Directors.

Copies of the report can be downloaded from: http://www.hds.com/assets/pdf/apac-site/anz/research-report-great-information-glut.pdf

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About Hitachi Data Systems
Hitachi Data Systems Corporation provides Services Oriented Storage Solutions that enable heterogeneous storage to be dynamically provisioned according to business needs and centrally managed via industry-leading Hitachi storage virtualization software. With over 4,100 employees, and as an integral part of the Hitachi Storage Solutions Group, Hitachi Data Systems delivers storage infrastructure platforms, storage management software, and storage consulting services through direct and indirect channels in over 170 countries and regions. Its customers include nearly 60-percent of Fortune 100 companies. For more information, visit the company’s Web site at http://www.hds.com.

About Hitachi, Ltd.

Hitachi, Ltd., (NYSE: HIT / TSE: 6501), headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is a leading global electronics company with approximately 400,000 employees worldwide. Fiscal 2008 (ended March 31, 2009) consolidated revenues totaled 10,000 billion yen ($102.0 billion). The company offers a wide range of systems, products and services in market sectors including information systems, electronic devices, power and industrial systems, consumer products, materials, logistics and financial services. For more information on Hitachi, please visit the company’s website at http://www.hitachi.com.

© 2009, Hitachi Data Systems Corporation. Hitachi is a registered trademark of Hitachi, Ltd. and/or its affiliates in the United States and other countries. Hitachi Data Systems is a registered trademark and service mark of Hitachi, Ltd. in the United States and other countries.

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