There's a subtle change taking effect in storage circles: Storage managers are realizing that the systems they oversee hold a position of strategic importance in their companies. The days of bits and bytes are gone, and there's a far more integral role to play than that of company data keeper.

Storage professionals are moving from being guardians to being in the avant-garde of information management for a simple reason--they have to. In recent years, companies' expectations of what their storage systems should be, do and cost have changed so drastically that the only way to cope is to think about storage in an entirely different way.