2005 SNIA End User Council Survey Examines State of Storage Management; Reliability and Business Continuity Rated as Their Top Issues.

SAN FRANCISCO -- The Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA) End User Council (EUC) today announced the results of the second EUC Survey, titled "Storage Management, Where Are We Now?" These findings, available in full on the EUC website (www.snia.org/euc), represent the continuing commitment by the EUC to prioritize the most important issues facing storage and networking end users today.

"The entire EUC membership, StorageNetworking.org User Group members, and Storage Networking World attendees have been extremely forthcoming in describing the issues that affect their daily IT operations," said Norman Owens, Storage Architect, Thomson Corporation and Vice Chair of the EUC, who headed the EUC Survey Committee. "While the 2004 Survey respondents identified cost containment as the most important issue in their organization, 2005 Survey respondents rated reliability (92%) and recovery or business continuity (85%) above cost containment (80%). Compliance also gained importance over last year's survey, but is more important in the large and medium business sectors than in small business."

Among the results found in the 2005 EUC Survey were that one in four survey respondents matched a profile of a user struggling with a lack of integrated or interoperable solutions, with respondents identifying "certification and testing efforts" as a significant barrier to adopting new technologies. Additionally, one in six survey respondents matched the profile of a user struggling with difficulty managing storage assets and infrastructure, with respondents identifying "decreased cost of management and maintenance" and "increased multi-vendor interoperability" as offering the most help.

"End users are a vital part of our SNIA community," said Wayne M. Adams, Chair of the SNIA. "We applaud the EUC's efforts, and the 2005 results will be addressed with new SNIA programs and initiatives in 2006. We welcome the voice of the end user as we continue our mission to advance the adoption of storage networks as complete and trusted solutions."

The 2005 EUC survey was launched in April 2005, six months after the release of the 2004 EUC "Top Ten Pain Points (TTPP) Survey" results. The 2004 EUC Survey highlighted storage management pain points of cost, increasing demand for storage resources, poor management tools, limited options, and increasing complexity. Digging deeper into the results from 2004, the 2005 EUC Survey sought clarification on the challenges of managing storage assets and infrastructure, the lack of integrated or interoperable solutions as well as providing a forum for respondents to state publicly the barriers to their adoption of storage solutions.

EUC members, StorageNetworking.org User Group (SNUG) members, and Storage Networking World (SNW) end user attendees were among the 252 respondents who completed the 2005 EUC Survey online questionnaire, preserving continuity with the same target audiences as the 2004 Survey. Respondents provided sufficient demographic details to allow comparisons between end users in small businesses (under 1,000 employees), medium businesses (1,000 - 4,999 employees), and large businesses (5,000 or more employees).

The 2005 EUC Survey Report includes analysis and answers to the survey's 38 questions, and reflects responses from North American end users. The 2005 EUC Survey was also made available to the SNIA-Europe End Users Advisory Board (EUAB), and was used by the EUAB to create an abridged European edition delivered at the Storage Networking World - Europe conference in September 2005.

About the EUC

The SNIA End User Council (EUC) is a collaboration between end consumers and suppliers to advance the development of storage networking technology and solutions. The EUC provides a direct voice into the storage networking industry to assert their shared storage requirements and goals. End users benefit within the EUC by sharing ideas and participating in a number of programs designed to provide in-depth information on current and future storage networking technologies and solutions. The SNIA industry members benefit from a broader exposure to the customer base and its needs, and accurate definition of end-user requirements and priorities to accelerate the development of features and functionality that meet customer needs.

Membership in the EUC is free and open to all IT professionals who use and manage storage and networking environments. More information on the EUC can be found at their website www.snia.org/euc.

About the SNIA

The Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA) is a not-for-profit global organization, made up of more than 460 member companies and close to 7,000 active individuals spanning virtually the entire storage industry. SNIA members share the common goal of advancing the adoption of storage networks as complete and trusted solutions. To this end, the SNIA is uniquely committed to delivering standards, education and services that will propel open storage networking solutions into the broader market. For additional information, visit the SNIA website at http://www.snia.org.