A service oriented storage solution enables businesses to make use of their storage infrastructure as a service and reduce IT overheads. Service oriented storage solutions are built on platforms that allow IT to simplify and automate processes thereby improving business efficiency and containing costs. A key to efficient utilization of storage infrastructure is to know that not everyone will utilize data at the same time.

In order to enable an environment in which a service oriented storage solution can work, the storage system has to be highly reliable and offer a high degree of interoperability. Of course, a lot depends on selecting the right vendor. Key features of a service oriented storage solution include external and internal storage virtualization, tiered storage, thin provisioning, logical partitions, read-only as well as writable snapshots, and QOS.

Storage virtualization can take place in two ways ? external storage virtualization and internal storage virtualization. With an external storage system you can manage and leverage individual storage systems and network them successfully. Management becomes easier as the external virtualization allows for tighter control and management of different storage systems. Networking allows for the movement of data between storage systems in a transparent and efficient manner. Elimination of individual management of storage systems improves communication between discrete storage devices and raises the collective efficiency of the system. Utilization is improved and this helps to cut costs and reduce complexity.

Internal storage virtualization helps your IT to better manage the physical assets present in a storage system by providing logical partitioning, clustering, and thin provisioning. Logical portioning eliminates the need to dedicate storage space for exclusive use and still provide guaranteed availability for every circumstance. Thin provisioning lets you work with a larger number of applications without having to purchase storage space in advance. Along with external storage virtualization, internal storage virtualization enables your storage components to add up to more than what they have been previously.

Enterprise storage when executed the virtual way brings the following benefits to the company ?

1.Elimination of media errors to increase system availability.

2.Electronic distribution of data and software is easy; savings on data migration costs

3.Better utilization of capacity to save capital costs.

4.Streamlining of routine tasks such as backup and archiving.

5.Improved database performance and application availability.

6.Virtualization can be done at different levels ? array, server, or at the network level.

7.No vendor lock-in and you can operate in a mixed vendor environment.