Storage Management Software

What is Storage Management Software?

Storage Management Software (sometimes Data Storage Management Software) gives a unified overview of managed arrays to ease and facilitate control of the individual arrays and the entire data center, private cloud, or the virtualization services for which they're being used. Storage management solutions also help backup storage systems and aid in disaster recovery. As businesses use more storage solutions, a storage management solution becomes necessary for supporting all of them from a single software for visibility and management.

A common use of storage management software is to optimize storage usage, so less important data, or data that doesn’t need high performance storage can be moved to cheaper storage options. In this way, storage management software options help businesses make their storage solutions more affordable over a long period of time.

Storage Management Software Features & Capabilities

Storage Management solutions provide a variety of features, some of the most common are as follows:

• Data management

• Storage Provisioning

• Storage Solution backup

• Storage Solution Visibility

• Virtualization and replication

Storage Management Software Comparison

When purchasing a storage management software, you should consider the following aspects of each option:

1. Supported Storage Systems: Some storage management software options are built to support vendor specific storage tools. If all of your storage solutions are provided by one vendor, you should see if that vendor also offers a storage management solution. In contrast, if your storage architecture is highly varied, be sure to select a tool that can support your architecture.

2. Analytics features: Many storage management software options provide visibility into your storage solutions and analytics on their performance, while others focus more exclusively on storage optimization. If your business values analytics and visibility, be sure to choose a storage management software that provides sophisticated analytics options.

3. Virtualization options: Most storage management tools offer support for virtual drives, but many are specialized in that area. If your business virtualizes a large amount of storage, you should choose a storage management software that specializes in virtual drives.

Storage Management Software Pricing

Storage management software pricing is highly dependent on what features are included in the product. Additionally, many storage management tools are included in larger suites of products that either provide storage, or support monitoring systems. Despite this variance, businesses should expect to pay at least $300 per year for a storage management tool.