For many growing businesses, internal (server) or direct attached storage (DAS) may no longer be viable. If a business finds itself purchasing new servers for additional storage capacity while the processor is still adequate, it is throwing away money. Furthermore, with existing approaches it may be difficult to meet data protection, availability and management requirements. In fact, many small and medium businesses (SMBs) spend more time managing storage resources—hunting for capacity, copying data to and from servers, backing up data from multiple servers—than managing all other IT tasks combined. Over time, it simply becomes too cumbersome and expensive to continue using internal storage or DAS.

This reality has caused many companies to consider the creation of storage area networks (SANs) that centralize data storage and management. Many vendors now offer SAN solutions geared toward SMBs. Some of these offerings incorporate enterprise-class functionality for increased system reliability, data protection and management. Other offerings are essentially one-size-fits-all storage devices with limited functionality. Given the wide range of SAN options for SMBs, it can be a challenge to sort through the available offerings and find a solution that's right for your business. This paper is designed to help you understand your needs and identify the best options for your next-generation storage solution.