Data boom requires storage overhaul, industry experts say

14.10.2008
Exploding amounts of digital information and an ongoing transition to a so-called "information economy" will necessitate a new, more holistic approach to storage, speakers at the conference said this week.

Just as businesses employ a CFO to make money, save money, and stay out of legal trouble, enterprises will need an executive focused on the risks and rewards of handling digital information, said Chuck Hollis, global marketing chief technology officer at .

A good CFO leverages a company's economic portfolio as an asset, and "I'm starting to see more and more CIOs that see their job the same way, but around information," Hollis said.

Hollis was one of numerous speakers at the conference in Dallas this week, hosted by and the .

Information is fast becoming the world's "single most valuable asset," Hollis said. As such, it's important to oversee the entire information portfolio, understand where it's being stored, how it's being used, and to stay out of trouble by complying with all security and data retention . Hollis also predicted that consumers are going to demand ever more detail about their personal information and where it's being stored, and will want as much control over that information as they have over their personal finances.

"I think the next five years are going to be more interesting than the last 20 years put together," Hollis said. "We're becoming an information economy."