Also, because users aren't allotted their full share of storage upfront when thin-provisioning strategies are in play, senior executives might get some pushback from systems administrators.

"Definitely, IT managers are a suspicious lot - in part because they've had many weekends ruined when there are problems with critical systems. So they tend to be risk-averse," notes Brian Doerr, chief technology officer at Savvis Inc., a provider of managed and outsourced IT services in Town & Country, Missouri. Savvis has incorporated 3PAR's thin-provisioning capabilities internally to make sure it can meet customers' storage needs. The outsourcer also extends thin-provisioning options to its own clients.

Though a certain degree of vigilance is required when using thin-provisioning software, skittishness that users will be left without enough storage is likely unwarranted. "Fears surrounding the deployment of storage that supports thin provisioning have proved mostly unfounded," Zaffos says.

Most experts agree that storage hogging is a much bigger problem than is the monitoring of storage levels or even the unlikely event of temporarily running short on space. "We don't want to promise a lot of storage to our users out there, because they will find a use for it. There may have been a little bit of concern among these users initially that storage would run out, but we just tell them that we have enough storage to last six to seven months and that for x amount of dollars we can purchase more," says Haas.

Indeed, thin provisioning can help users become more realistic about their storage needs, because they are no longer faced with getting all of their capacity upfront or not at all. "Thin provisioning improves the relationship between operations and its customers, because the technology allows users to continue requesting more storage," notes Zaffos. "It's always easier to say yes than to explain to users why they do not need what they want."