With several major
IT suppliers discussing their Web 2.0 strategies over the past
few weeks, it seems that soon everyone will be jumping on the
Web 2.0 bandwagon as a way to sell users more IT
systems.
At first, it may not be obvious where storage fits with Web 2.0.
Although it is a given that user-generated content - a pillar of
Web 2.0 - will increase storage requirements, possibly in a less
predictable way than internal content, unless you are planning to
be the next
MySpace or YouTube, that is unlikely to be a big issue.
The impact on storage is quite the reverse. On the
consumer-facing web there are any number of ways to share
information. Sites such as Gmail and Yahoo Mail offer users an
almost unlimited amount of e-mail storage. In contrast,
corporate e-mail is crippled by wholly impractical inbox size
limits.
The next generation of employees, brought up on Web 2.0
technologies and unlimited inbox sizes, will find corporate e-mail
counter-productive. And when the corporate e-mail system begins to
creak or the inbox is full, users will simply switch to personal
e-mail accounts.
It may not suit everyone, but web e-mail does have its
advantages, particularly given the attraction of a third-party
managing the storage and archiving.
Now let's take this to another level. E-mail is one thing, but
the same principles apply to storage. There is no reason why
storage cannot be accessed via an internet connection.
Every day thousands of people log onto
Salesforce.com's pay-per-use customer relationship management
application via a web browser. Is it that far-fetched to expect
that storage will be delivered in a similar way in the future?
Yes, internet access to applications - particularly
browser-based applications - may have its drawbacks, as such
applications tend to be restricted by the limitations of the web.
But internet storage is completely different. Documents and folders
are accessed the same way and shared disc drives look the same.
Thanks to the IP revolution, the network administrator simply
routes all storage access to the external provider's servers.
There are many people who will argue that this could never work,
it is insecure, not robust enough for business, and users will
never accept it. But it can be secured and users are happy with
remote access. The virtual private network has made it possible to
connect to remote servers over the internet in a safe and secure
manner.
As for robustness, let us not forget that the internet's
forefather, Arpanet, was conceived as a resilient network for the
US military that could maintain communications if parts of the
network failed.
So while the industry continues to develop the next big concept
in storage, it is easy to forget that sometimes a less
sophisticated approach - based on proven concepts and technology -
can often solve modern storage problems elegantly.
MySpace, YouTube successes open door to Web 2.0 dangers
>>
Web development pay rates surge as Web 2.0 takes off
>>
Listen to Cliff Saran speak to Don Tapscott, author of Wikinomics -
How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything, on the economics of Web
2.0 >>
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