Welcome to Enterprise Storage UPDATE!

In this first issue of Enterprise Storage UPDATE, I want to briefly introduce myself and say a little about this online newsletter that I hope will be appearing regularly in your Inbox. I've been the News Editor for Windows NT Magazine for the past year and am now the Research Editor for Windows 2000 Magazine. With this assignment, I get to focus on one of my growing interests—enterprise storage.

These times are exciting for the Windows OS. Server-side Windows is beginning to experience the kind of ramp-up that UNIX once followed. Windows 2000 (Win2K) will become a favored corporate OS in data-intensive operations, such as application service providers (ASPs) and ISPs, large Web sites, and data centers. Wherever you see Windows NT technology, enterprise storage will be a complementary partner.

The growth in enterprise storage solutions is nothing short of stunning. Over the past few years, the need for storage has seemingly doubled every year. This trend is likely to continue. I'll present some analysts' projections in upcoming issues.

Underlying this trend is a storage industry that's both dynamic and innovative. New products appear nearly every day with new approaches to managing and storing data. Although data has been an afterthought in many organizations, it's being recognized as the enterprise's most tangible asset. An enterprise typically spends more money on enterprise storage than on the computers deployed to connect to it. Enterprises are recognizing that storage has a much longer life cycle than the computers and that the data contained in enterprise storage is any company's lifeblood. Where IT staff once designed information systems around computers, many enterprises will design systems around storage needs in the future.

Enterprise Storage UPDATE will pay special attention to Storage Area Networks (SANs) and network attached storage (NAS). Other areas that we expect to see develop in the coming year are storage appliances, intelligent switches and routers for storage, and high-speed interconnects to tie things all together. These devices, which will interface to and supplement enterprise storage, will interest organizations of all sizes. This newsletter will also cover storage subsystem design and management issues such as storage consolidation and migration.

Enterprise storage provides so much material to write about—RAID, backup, tape libraries, interface devices, fibre channel, and the software required to use these devices—that the hardest job I'll face with each issue is selecting from the embarrassment of riches.

I invite you to write to me and tell me what interests you. Your experiences are undoubtedly going to be different. Share your successes and failures and your discoveries with me, and let me know what your needs are. Together, we'll make Enterprise Storage UPDATE a valuable read, one that's helpful in your daily work.