The information age that modern enterprises operate in generates excess data. In most cases, businesses don’t suffer lack of but excess data. Therefore, most of them end up with a bloated information storage network that consumes resources unnecessarily.
Moreover, this information bloat adversely affects business processes. For instance, it eats up storage space and makes enterprises pay for storage space they don’t need. Fortunately, this problem has a solution in the form of deduplication. Before examining it further, deduplication is the process of eliminating redundant data and retaining only the necessary ones.
As this post unfolds, you will learn more about how it works. Also, we will show you its benefits for business enterprises. Eventually, you will be in a better position to implement it in your business to get value for your stored data. Therefore, keep reading to discover what you have been missing.
How Does It Work?
Deduplication is a natural process that happens in different ways at various levels. For example, at high levels, the process uses programs that eliminate redundant information and stores only the unique initial instances of that piece of information. Therefore, the app removes all other copies in the system and replaces them with pointers or reference to the original copies.
The process happens as the program generates unique identities for data using cryptographic hash functions. After updating the original files, only new information bits are saved thus, avoiding the duplication of whole files. The process works in such a simple manner.
How Does it Benefit Backup and Business?
Every modern business requires the deduplication of its bloated data. Deduplication has many benefits that your business can enjoy. Before looking at these benefits in detail, let’s examine this example.
Let’s assume a business sends a 2-MB file email attachment to 200 of its workers. Now, all these employees back it up in their email inboxes. Eventually, we will have a backup of two hundred emails on the company’s system using an entire 400MB of storage space unnecessarily. However, deduplicating the system will save the firm a whole 398 MB of storage space that would meet other storage needs. Can you see how storage bloating can happen so easily? So, let’s move on and see more benefits your business could reap from this process.
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Optimizes storage space
We live in the information age when data bloating is a big challenge. This bloat produces an unnecessary need for storage space. When you deduplicate, you optimize your storage capacity. If you do it effectively, it could reduce your backup storage by up to 80%.
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Effective use of network bandwidth
You can conduct the process at the duplication sources to eliminate the need for transmitting data over networks. Therefore, you eliminate unnecessary network bandwidth.
If data deduplication occurs at the source, there’s no need to transmit data over the network, thus eliminating unwanted use of network bandwidth.
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Shortened backup windows
Administrators can plan this process outside your business’s backup windows. Consequently, it reduces the time, human capital, and the budget needed for deduplication.
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A greener working environment
It also facilitates a green office environment because you consume less space required to store random data locations. Also, it reduces the power consumption necessary for running data backup infrastructures.
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Faster recoveries
This benefit works simply. More unnecessary data on your system means you require more time to recover. Inversely, less data means faster recovery.
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Easier legal compliance
Deduplication also lets you respond to and comply with legal and corporate data storage needs without bloating your system.
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Faster return on investment
Lastly, it gives you quick returns on your investment because you don’t need to keep purchasing and maintaining storage space you don’t require. Remember, it removes the need for storage infrastructure for duplicate data. Consequently, you save money on bandwidth and storage.
Deduplication is one of the best tools your business can employ to achieve data storage efficiency. Therefore, we discussed it deeply to give you insights into its full operations and various dimensions. We hope this comprehensive coverage on deduplication has opened your eyes to its benefits for your business. You have the keys in your hands to open the doors of efficient and de-bloated Office 365 backup processes.
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