The Four Cs of File Management: Knowing What Is in Store

Not all files are equal. Some are critical to the business. Others could be archived. Still others should be deleted. Files used by desktop applications in particular tend to be under-managed and out of control.

What’s more, the needs of certain files supporting essential business processes — such as files that should influence the design and implementation of a larger IT infrastructure — frequently fly under the IT radar. Files created in older software versions, for example, may not function properly unless you convert the files successfully and image the new desktop operating environment appropriately. Furthermore, files that may be subject to compliance regulations such as Sarbanes-Oxley or HIPAA go undiscovered, undocumented and unprotected.

Fortunately, new methods and technologies have emerged that help IT identify which files and applications have high business value for an organization. By determining which files contain critical information or support important business processes, IT can properly support and protect them. In the end, the company reduces waste, protects itself against compliance breaches and fines, and lowers IT deployment and infrastructure costs.

Separate the wheat from chaff

To better manage large IT projects, start by identifying business-critical files. For example, an international power utility recently discovered over two million files existing in duplicate during an enterprise-wide software migration. Of the15 million files on the enterprise’s servers, only five million had been touched in the 18 months preceding the inventory. Nearly 15 percent of all files were for applications no longer part of the enterprise’s standard operating environment.

And 1.9 million legacy documents, spreadsheets and database files were at risk of malfunctioning upon being upgraded to a new version of desktop software.

Each of these data points helped managers better plan and execute a major server consolidation and desktop application upgrade. For example:

Identifying duplicate files helped managers find ways to conserve disk storage space and reduce confusion among file users.

Flagging at-risk business-critical files helped make sure they could be converted to function properly when deployed for use with the new software.

Identifying previously unknown files that tracked key financial data facilitated compliance with regulatory requirements.

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Source: Computer Technology Review