Data Management Mistakes IT Executives Make and How to Resolve Them

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Business Transformation

As data growth expands at a much faster pace, more and more businesses are struggling to stay ahead of their data management. The ability to plan, forecast, and make proactive decisions in regard to data growth is a problem that IT leaders must grapple with. For many, their inefficient and timely processes yield unreliable data and drive reactionary decision-making processes that lead to frustration, uncertainty, and vulnerability. While everybody makes mistakes, some of the most common data management mistakes could be avoided with efficient and reliable tools. Here are the biggest data management mistakes IT leaders make and how to resolve them.

Mistake #1 – Falling Behind on Capacity Planning

Data management is crucial to the overall IT infrastructure, and outdated, manual IT processes end up costing businesses untold amounts of revenue each year. When systems are running well, it can be easy to put data management concerns on the back burner. However, relying on a spreadsheet and only looking at it monthly can quickly cause you to fall behind on data management forecasting. Data growth is ever-increasing, and with it, the need for adequate storage. If IT leaders are working reactively and not proactively, very soon, they can get bogged down and make the mistake of not planning ahead. Without timely action, an enterprise could run out of capacity on an array, potentially resulting in a costly outage.

Avoid this mistake with improved forecasting and capacity planning from Visual One. With an automated data collection process, Visual One equips IT leaders with actionable intelligence through consistent reporting. This tool collects the data from any storage arrays in a non-intrusive fashion and transforms the data into visual reports designed to facilitate the business decision-making process. IT leaders even receive weekly reports analyzed by a seasoned Visual One data consultant, helping them stay aware of both risks and opportunities. When IT leaders are able to better plan and forecast, they can improve budgeting accuracy, as well as negotiate new storage purchases while avoiding any unnecessary, reactive purchases.

Mistake #2 – Constantly in Reactive Mode

Urgent requests from upper management frequently mean abandoning your to-do list and letting the rest of the responsibilities have the day off. When IT departments are always scrambling from one rushed deadline to another, it leaves your team consistently stuck in a reactive, fire-drill mode. A reactive IT department is often plagued with monetary waste, frustration, and vulnerability. Unfortunately, as an organization grows, the complexity of data management only grows with it, and quickly data infrastructure can be plagued by makeshift solutions that were never meant to solve long-term problems.

IT leaders can avoid this mistake and be the strategic leader their company expects, with cohesive, reliable data delivered in a single-pane view. Visual One helps IT leaders with the critical insights required for efficient and smart infrastructure planning. This data is delivered without burdening teams with learning new systems or protocols, and IT executives have the essential insights needed in minutes rather than days. Now when upper management asks for a report, IT leaders can deliver a quick turnaround without having to drop everything else.  

Mistake #3 – Ignoring Small Problems

IT departments are used to being told to do more with less, but as organizations navigate the pandemic, many IT departments are facing deeper budget cuts than ever. For IT departments faced with slashed budgets, it can be easy to only focus on higher priority items at the expense of smaller items. However, small problems will always get bigger, and ignoring these small problems will only cause greater problems later on. An IT team may notice that a data array is filling up, but it’s not full yet, so purchasing more storage gets pushed to a later date. Then, the array fills up faster than expected, and suddenly that storage purchase becomes an emergency. Not only does this reactive purchase now cost more, but it leaves the organization vulnerable to downtime or other problems.  

Avoid this mistake by anticipating the future and planning accordingly. To do this, IT leaders need efficient tools that enable data transparency and deliver reliable insights. With a clear view of critical insights, IT leaders can be more strategic, optimizing resources and driving business-transforming infrastructure decisions. The insight provided by Visual One helps IT leaders plan ahead, allowing them to forecast precise outcomes, improve efficiency, and reduce costs.

Visual One helps IT leaders avoid data management mistakes with the efficient tools they need to be strategic decision-makers. With data transparency across your storage environment, IT leaders can uncover opportunities for operational efficiencies, amazing cost savings, and reliable data for infrastructure planning. With Visual One, IT leaders can help companies scale by being a more proactive and strategic decision-maker. Schedule a demo to talk to a Visual One data expert.

Key Takeaways

• The ability to plan, forecast, and make proactive decisions in regard to data growth is a problem that IT leaders must grapple with.
• Some of the most common data management mistakes could be avoided with efficient and reliable tools.
• Data management is crucial to the overall IT infrastructure.
• IT leaders need efficient tools that enable data transparency and deliver reliable insights.
• Visual One helps IT leaders avoid data management mistakes with the efficient tools they need to be strategic decision-makers.