Data compression reduces the cost of big data storage

As companies make the move to big data, they're encountering new issues: the cost of storage and continuously expanding volume. Big storage, explained The Register's Dave Cartwright, doesn't come cheap. Companies need to consider more sensible ways to store their data so it takes up less space and costs less money.

"The volume of data is making [storage] economically unsustainable," explained one industry analyst about companies' data storage methods in an interview with Business Spectator, "and when they don't understand the economics around storage then they are not really managing their assets very effectively and big data doesn't become a solution."

One way for companies to manage this problem is to delete old or unused data. But there are risks associated with this method, pointed out Cartwright. It's not always clear whether a file will be valuable in the future, or how other departments could use it. And in some regulated industries, companies are expected to keep certain types of data for decades.

A much safer and more practical way of dealing with this problem is for companies to use data compression software, which reduces the size of files. While this could make a difference for many companies, Cartwright explained that especially for enterprise-class storage, compression adds up quickly and can result in much greater efficiency.

Business Spectator explained that data compression is an investment that all businesses should make. If companies move to virtualization, de-duplication and compression of their data, they can achieve as much as a 30 to 40 percent unit cost reduction for storage. Data compression is not only advantageous in the short-term, but also in the long-term, as companies realize even greater cost savings over time.