Active Archiving to Become More Integral to Information Management Initiatives, According to IDC

Business Wire, March 11, 2008

FRAMINGHAM, Mass. -- Active archiving approaches, long directed at email, are becoming more comprehensive and including additional content, starting first with other unstructured information. Archiving will become more integral to information management initiatives, particularly for larger organizations, and non-technology stakeholders will continue to play a large role in purchasing decisions, a new IDC multiclient study reveals.

"The initiatives driving active archiving spending are more about information management than about archiving, although archiving may be a technology that is used to achieve policy objectives," said Laura DuBois, program director for Storage Software at IDC. "Projects form around information management, records management, and electronic discovery."

"Archiving is a priority for midsize to the largest firms", added Vivian Tero, research manager, for Compliance Infrastructure at IDC. "However, larger firms view archiving in the broader context of information management, in particular for non-technical stakeholders. The far greater opportunity for suppliers is in providing a larger information management portfolio of solutions rather than just providing a solution for archiving."

Among other key findings from the study include the following:

* The drivers for archiving will continue to include compliance with record retention requirements, improving the efficiency and accuracy of ediscovery, and achieving overall IT optimization gains.

* Information reuse is a sophisticated sell. Leveraging information in an archive for innovation, new product development, or improved customer service aligns with business unit or C-level executive objectives.

* Future archiving solutions need to address a broad spectrum of content types, initially more unstructured than structured content.

* The role of ediscovery in archiving purchases is important across firms of all sizes because it presents the greatest risk, disruption, and unknown to the firm.

This new IDC multiclient study, Active Archiving: Retention, Preservation, and Reuse, presents the results of quantitative and qualitative research on current and future adoption of active archiving solutions based upon retention, preservation, and knowledge management drivers fueled by regulatory compliance, legal ediscovery, and increased market competitiveness. Also examined are key requirements, vendor and hosted/on-premise preference, adoption drivers, and purchasing inhibitors for different archiving strategies and intentions. Data is analyzed by company size and functional role.

To purchase this multiclient study report, call IDC's Sales hotline at 508-988-7988 or email sales@idc.com.

About IDC

IDC is the premier global provider of market intelligence, advisory services, and events for the information technology, telecommunications, and consumer technology markets. IDC helps IT professionals, business executives, and the investment community make fact-based decisions on technology purchases and business strategy. More than 900 IDC analysts provide global, regional, and local expertise on technology and industry opportunities and trends in over 90 countries worldwide. For more than 43 years, IDC has provided strategic insights to help our clients achieve their key business objectives. IDC is a subsidiary of IDG, the world's leading technology media, research, and events company. You can learn more about IDC by visiting www.idc.com.

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