Information Lifecycle Management - Storage Management

Computer Technology Review,  August, 2003  by Todd Rief

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The events of recent years have opened the world's eyes to the importance of maintaining, retrieving and replicating critical information. All industries have the need to store information. But when it comes to homeland security, our very safety is at heart. The office of Homeland Security knows all too well the value of its information--information that it needs to have readily available to retrieve, reference and share with other government agencies at any given moment. Information contributes to every aspect of homeland security and is a vital foundation for the homeland security effort. Every government official performing every homeland security mission depends upon information and information technology.

Although American information technology is the most advanced in the world, our country's information systems have not adequately supported the homeland security mission. Today, there is no single agency or computer network that integrates all homeland security information nationwide, nor is it likely that there ever will be. Instead, much of the information exists in disparate databases scattered among federal, state, and local entities. In many cases, these computer systems cannot share information--either "horizontally" (across the same level of government) or "vertically" (between federal, state, and local governments). Databases used for law enforcement, immigration, intelligence, and public health surveillance have not been connected in ways that allow us to recognize information gaps or redundancies. As a result, government agencies storing terrorism information, such as terrorist "watch lists," have not been able to systematically share that information with other agencies. These differences can sometimes result in errors if, for example, visa applications and border controls are not checked against consistent "watch lists." It is crucial to link the vast amounts of knowledge resident within each agency at all levels of government.

Despite spending some $50 billion on information technology per year, two fundamental problems have prevented the federal government from building an efficient government-wide information system. First, government acquisition of information systems has not been routinely coordinated. Over time, hundreds of new systems were acquired to address specific agency requirements. Agencies have not pursued compatibility across the federal government or with state and local entities. Organizations have evolved into islands of technology--distinct networks that obstruct efficient collaboration. Second, legal and cultural barriers often prevent agencies from exchanging and integrating information.

National Vision

We will build a national environment that enables the sharing of essential homeland security information. We must build a "system of systems" that can provide the right information to the right people at all times. Information will be shared "horizontally" across each level of government and "vertically" among federal, state, and local governments, private industry and citizens. With the proper use of people, processes, and technology, homeland security officials throughout the U. S. can have complete and common awareness of threats and vulnerabilities as well as knowledge of the personnel and resources available to address these threats. Officials will receive the information they need so they can anticipate threats and respond rapidly and effectively. The incorporation of data from all sources across the spectrum of homeland security will assist in border management, critical infrastructure protection, law enforcement, incident management, medical care, and intelligence. In every" instance, sensitive and classified information will be scrupulously protected. We will leverage America's leading-edge information technology to develop an information architecture that will effectively secure the homeland.

A National Strategy For Homeland Security

Information Lifecycle Management (ILM) is a strategy that allows businesses (in this sense, the government is a business) to solve one of their most pressing strategic business issues: how to manage the flood of information, yet lower cost and improve the efficiency of their storage operations. ILM is a solid foundation on which to plan for growth.

ILM is based on two concepts: the business decisions that customers need to make about their information, and the changing value of information over time. There's no good reason to store less valuable, aging information on the same storage device as more valuable, new information--especially when a range of devices exists, and that range provides secure data storage, acceptable data recall times and different price points. The actual implementation of ILM is relatively straightforward. Where we believe the greatest opportunity initially exists with ILM is to help customers begin to assign value to their data. Then, various kinds of data can be stored on different but appropriate devices throughout the lifecycle. For example, video surveillance images are useful for a short period of time. If no crime, accident or injury occurs, the images can be deleted.