Changing Storage Priorities, Practices

Byte and Switch and InformationWeek are partnering to host a Virtual Event on "Innovations in Storage," where a star-studded lineup will discuss the technological advances that have revolutionized the industry. More than just a Webcast, this virtual event will not only discuss storage technologies on the vanguard of innovation, but also the business issues that companies face in optimally storing, protecting, retrieving, and using corporate data. It also will provide you with ample opportunity to chat with our distinguished speakers and your peers. It happens March 25. Read on to learn more.

Some of the most important advances in storage today include improvements in backup, disaster recovery, storage virtualization, cloud storage, and data deduplication. All these concepts are enabling companies to derive greater value from their data, thereby improving company performance. For example, increases in complex regulations are prompting IT executives to find better ways to back up and protect data while at the same time ensuring it is available to more people and applications in a timely fashion. They also have to have a strategic and leading-edge disaster recovery plan. And one of the most anticipated advances in storage -- virtualization -- is helping break the chains that directly link storage space to servers and applications, allowing administrators to reclaim unused or idle storage. Many companies have started to explore the concept of cloud storage, which has the potential to transform the way businesses buy and use storage.

Learn more about these and other crucial storage issues. The virtual doors to the virtual event open at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, March 25. Attendees will gain insights from innovative business-technology executives and InformationWeek and ByteandSwitch editors on how to leverage the latest storage innovations in your business. You also will be able to download informative research, white papers, and other resources straight to your "Virtual Briefcase." The engaging and life-like virtual event environment will give you the opportunity to interact with your peers through real-time chat and networking tools. You also will be able to visit vendor booths, browse through products and solutions, and join Q&A sessions in our unique, interactive, and entertaining environment. Plus, you can win prizes when you attend and participate in the show -- all from the convenience of your desktop!

Check out the agenda below, circle the date on your calendar, and sign up now. (registration required).

10:30-11:15: Opening Keynote with Dr. Kenneth Thibodeau, Director of the Electronic Records Archives (ERA), National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)

As the nation prepared to usher in its 44th president, the National Archives and Records Administration faced an intimidating assignment: The massive responsibility of sorting, indexing, protecting, preserving, and providing secure access to the massive volumes of paper and electronic records created by the federal government during eight years of the Bush administration. So daunting is the task that NARA enacted an emergency plan to take over parts of the White House storage system and freeze its contents one day prior to the Obama inauguration. Join Dr. Kenneth Thibodeau, Director of NARA's ERA program, as he describes how his organization is applying the latest innovations in archival technologies to pursue its monumental mission of preserving and safeguarding some of our nation's most precious and sensitive data.1:00-1:45: The State of Enterprise Storage
Continuing to throw precious resources at escalating storage and bandwidth demands isn't a strategy, it's a recipe for disaster. Diverse drivers -- from environmental concerns to regulation and from data security to business continuity -- mandate a new path. Are you ready? Join Steve Delahunty, senior associate at Booz Allen Hamilton, as he discusses the latest research from Byte and Switch and InformationWeek Analytics, and highlights ways to help you avoid disaster.

2:15-3:00: Avoiding a Compliance Catastrophe: Storage Innovations for Surviving the Messaging Avalanche
In today's enterprise, storage management executives are increasingly concerned with clearing regulatory and legal hurdles relating to the retention and destruction of data. The biggest headache is managing written communications records, namely the rapidly expanding volume of email and instant and mobile messaging that clogs inboxes and burdens even the most voluminous storage systems. Join a panel of experts and industry practitioners as they weigh the latest innovations in storage architecture designed to meet stringent compliance standards while keeping up with the merciless pace of email accumulation in your companys data center.

Presenters: Drew Martin, Senior Vice President and CIO, Sony Electronics; Michael Osterman, Principal Analyst, Osterman Research; Betsy Lefler, Deputy Director of Compliance, Piper Jaffray & Co.; James Hughes, Chair, IEEE Security In Storage Workgroup, Principal at CryptoClarityLLC.

4:45-5:30: Building a Real-World Case for Storage Virtualization

Virtualization has taken the data center by storm, promising huge gains in efficiency and cost effectiveness. However, delivering on virtualization’s promise of enabling IT managers to do more with less is dependent on a host of contributing technologies, from more comprehensive data deduplication to advanced replication-based backup. Some companies are taking this to the limit by constructing their own storage “clouds,” using a software abstraction layer to allocate and provision a virtualized storage array across a broad range of physical devices and locations. Get an update on how researchers are pushing the envelope of storage virtualization technology, and find out how you can cash in on compelling ROI advantages over more conventional storage architectures.

Presenters: Merritt E. Jones, Chairman, IEEE Technical Committee for Mass Storage; Dr. Arcot Rajasekar, Professor, School of Information and Library Sciences, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; Greg Schulz, Founder and Senior Analyst, StorageIO, Author of The Green and Virtual Data Center; Ryan Floyd, Founding Member, Storm Ventures.To register for the event and learn more about the speakers, the contest rules, and the sponsors, visit http://techweb.com/innovations-virtual.