Broadway

Complete News World

“Reduction creates space” |  Backup storage

“Reduction creates space” | Backup storage

ITM: Mr. Rudolph, how would midsize companies prefer to store their corporate data in 2022? What storage solutions are used?
Mirko Rudolph: Physical storage devices that run on electricity, and in most cases need cooling, are being used more and more often. Associated storage operations are usually more complex than necessary, meaning that the data must be stored in a folder. Complete business processes are included.

ITM: What does file size have to do with sustainability? Why is it worth taking a closer look at the companies?
Rudolph: Sustainability also means efficiency and in this case efficient use of resources – and it’s not just about storage space. Resource-intensive factors such as electricity and cooling, which are essential when archiving documents in an archiving system, also play a role in meeting legal retention periods.

ITM: How do you effectively reduce storage space?
Rudolph: From our point of view, this is a future perspective. What is in the archive today usually cannot be changed due to the security of revision. However, it is worth looking at what is stored today and will require material and business-related resources tomorrow – in addition to what is used today and requires resources. A document that goes out by e-mail can actually be sent and opened faster today if it were 500KB in size instead of fiveMB in size.

ITM: What tools and solutions can support this process?
Rudolph: There are a variety of approaches here, even MFPs can now compress and send documents using built-in resources. If it’s usually direct compression, we tend to look at indirect compression: it’s server-side and takes into account paper documents as well as electronic documents. In the first inclination to digitize, there is no difference between the source of the document in question. Postcompression is part of the downstream process and not just embedded in the analog document. However, efficient use of resources is not only a technical issue but also an organizational issue. It is also important to consider what exactly should or should be archived or to what extent.

ITM: Ultimately, what are the effects of reducing storage space on sustainability?
Rudolph: Minimizing creates space or ensures that the same storage space can be used for more information. Less physical storage space ensures long-term environmental sustainability, and ease of use of reduced documents ensures sustainability in an immediately observable way of working.

Image source: Exapture GmbH