Developing company policies and usage for individuals of storage resources is no simple problem.
Companies will typically institute a usage quota to get a handle on and be able to exert some amount of control over those resources. But managing quotas, both hard and soft, for large populations of people can be complex. Quotas often include which file formats are acceptable and the volume of storage allowable. Quotas are often also applied against email storage space. Storage administrators have the dual goals of making sure that storage resources are efficiently used and also making sure that business operations flow smoothly. The problem is compounded because the storage environment might consist of different classes/tiers of storage media.
User-directed Storage Resource Management (SRM) tries to take some burden off of the administrator by makeing users more aware of their storage use. The approach is to apply incentives and penalties that will encourage the most responsible usage of storage resources.
Thomas Vernersson of Northern suggests one way to get users more involved in the process is to provide a mechanism for two-way feedback, like a portal, where users can check their usage and be able to change their capacity. For example, users could be sent an email to tell them that they are approaching the limits of their storage capacity and directed to a portal page. There they could get more information about their storage usage and presented with options for how they can remain in compliance with their quotas. Users could request either temporary or permanent increases in their quotas from within the portal.
Making users part of the process improves acceptance and provides a better overall experience.
