New Additions to EMC SourceOne

EMC Corporation added two new products to the EMC SourceOne family providing customers with the ability to cost-effectively manage growth, retention and e-discovery of unstructured content – documents, audio and video files that reside on disparate systems. 

This announcement builds on existing EMC SourceOne solutions delivering a holistic approach to information governance that comprise archiving, e-discovery and visibility across multiple content types including e-mail, SharePoint and files. EMC SourceOne’s next-generation architecture is unique and surpasses the competition in addressing the problems associated with today’s exponential content growth. With EMC SourceOne, customers can address their most pressing information governance challenges today and realize quick time-to-value. Information governance practices can then be expanded over time to further reduce operational costs, simplify e-discovery and mitigate risks.

EMC SourceOne File Intelligence
EMC SourceOne File Intelligence provides insight into the volumes of unstructured content so customers understand what content they have, where it is stored and the value of the content. By understanding the business value of content, organizations can use this intelligence to develop ongoing policies that align information to its value and mitigate the risks associated with unknown or unmanaged information. Unlike traditional file reporting tools, SourceOne File Intelligence allows organizations to take appropriate actions which include deleting inappropriate content such as obscene and explicit images, moving information to a secure repository like EMC Documentum or utilizing the SourceOne archive and/or tiered storage for long-term archiving.

SourceOne File Intelligence is not a static tool and can be set up to run regular scans of content in file servers using basic file attributes or conduct a more complex analysis based on the file content. By helping customers understand where unmanaged content resides, what resources it consumes and how much is redundant, SourceOne File Intelligence can lower costs, reduce risks and enhance operational performance. 

EMC SourceOne for File Systems
As the newest archiving module for EMC SourceOne, EMC SourceOne for File Systems allows for the policy-based archival of inactive or duplicate content stored on file systems and enforces consistent retention and disposition policies over high volumes of unstructured content to ensure compliance with internal policies and external regulations. By archiving file system and other unstructured content into a centralized, deduplicated and indexed archive, a single search can retrieve all relevant content for quick response to an investigation or e-discovery request. Customers can also reduce operational costs and improve back-up and recovery operations by reclaiming file server capacity, eliminating redundant content and leveraging tiered storage. Coupled with SourceOne File Intelligence, organizations can apply intelligent policies to differentiate between irrelevant and business-critical content that should be archived in a central SourceOne archive.

Current IT Systems are Inadequate
for Managing Unstructured Content
According to the EMC-sponsored 2010 IDC study titled, A Digital Universe Decade, Are You Ready?, the amount of digital information created last year grew 62 percent, 85 percent of which is unstructured content. The amount created annually is expected to grow by a factor of 44 from 2009 to 2020 as all major forms of media – voice, TV, radio, print – complete the journey from analog to digital. While more than 70 percent of the digital universe is generated by individuals, enterprises will have the responsibility for storing, protecting and managing 80 percent of the digital information created annually.

In a recent survey of 126 business and IT professionals by Enterprise Strategy Group, 83 percent said that a comprehensive information management strategy will become even more important in the next three years. However, it is readily apparent that there will be substantial challenges ahead of implementing these strategies. While majority of the respondents have well-established information management policies, nearly half stated that their current IT systems to apply and enforce these policies are inadequate. For example, 49 percent of the respondents said that they weren’t sure or did not believe that their organization consistently deleted all data inclusive of any copies when it was no longer needed for compliance, legal or business purposes.

"With SourceOne File Intelligence and SourceOne for File Systems, EMC is bringing intelligence and proactive management to address the growing volumes of unstructured content so that customers can further execute on their information governance strategies. By proactively managing and taking control of both structured and unstructured content across the enterprise EMC SourceOne can reduce IT costs, manage risks and enable litigation readiness," said Jeff Bettencourt, Vice President and General Manager of Information Governance, Information Intelligence Group, a division of EMC.

"According to our research, the number one information governance and management challenge is using several individual processes and tools needed to enforce policies across different content types. With this announcement, EMC SourceOne extends its information governance capabilities to files, in addition to e-mail and SharePoint, allowing customers to centralize information governance processes across several critical information sources. In addition, EMC SourceOne gives customers several options to manage their data according to policies including moving the content into the archive or most cost-effective storage system, preparing it for e-discovery or simply deleting it," said Brian Babineau, Senior Analyst, Enterprise Strategy Group.

"We have found that EMC’s SourceOne File Intelligence delivers a powerful set of capabilities that help reduce operational costs and risks. By enabling organizations to uncover and identify the value and risk of unmanaged files across a number of content sources, they can better manage storage as well as secure and protect vital business records. At Paragon, we have had client success with EMC SourceOne File Intelligence in a number of records remediation opportunities involving FDIC compliance where Paragon offers industry expertise and solution accelerators for successful archiving implementations," said Daniel O’Connor, President and CEO, Paragon Solutions.

Availability
SourceOne File Intelligence is generally available. SourceOne for File Systems is currently in controlled release and will be generally available in the third quarter of 2010.