Over time, databases, such as enterprise resource planning (ERP) and customer relationship management (CRM) systems, can start to fill with older information that is used infrequently. Some of this information might be retained only for reference purposes.
This information can needlessly increase demands on high–performance disk systems, slow application performance, and increase the time required to back up databases and upgrade applications.
Application and database archive solutions are designed to identify database data that are no longer being accessed regularly and move the data to an archive, where it remains available if needed. Because applications can span multiple database systems and even multiple platforms, select application and database archive solutions can recognize related data from multiple systems and archive it together.
Key Benefits
By archiving less critical information, database and application archive solutions can help improve performance and availability by:
Improving performance for online databases
Executing upgrade projects while avoiding business interruption
Supporting information retention or compliance policies
Improving application performance and availability
Speeding application upgrades
Simplifying database administration
Reducing backup times
Speeding disaster recovery
Key offerings
IBM and key IBM Business Partners offer a variety of IBM and third–party products and services to help address your application and database archive needs. If you need help deciding which of these offerings is right for you, let us help you decide.
IBM Content Collector for File Systems
Helps users manage the growth and risk of file systems, including Microsoft SharePoint.
Beiersdorf AG is a cosmetics group with headquarters in Hamburg, Germany. The company develops, manufactures and markets skincare and beauty products under a number of high–profile brands, including Nivea and Labello. It also owns a number of self–medication brands, including Elastoplast and Hansaplast. Employing more than 17,000 people, the group achieved sales of more than €5.1 billion in 2006, recording post–tax profits of €387 million.
Business need:
To support its parent group’s lean production model, Beiersdorf Shared Services (BSS) needs to demonstrate internal efficiency while providing excellent performance and availability for its SAP software environment. As existing database servers ran out of capacity, BSS wanted to increase headroom while reducing costs.
Solution:
Implemented two IBM System z9 Enterprise Class servers and System Storage DS8100 storage servers at separate data centers, running IBM DB2 databases to support the SAP software environment. Capacity Backup and IBM Metro Mirror ensure high availability in case one data center fails.
Benefits:
Reductions in hardware and software licensing save €1 million annually in total cost of ownership; resilient infrastructure considerably reduces business risk; DB2 data compression features reduce ongoing storage requirements.
