There are specific business conditions that make migrating to SAN technology logical, if not imperative. Increased reliance on enterprise applications such as SAP, Oracle, PeopleSoft, etc. Here again, highly reliable storage, coupled with the spectrum of data recovery and protection mechanisms offered by SANs, is critical. Storage reliability plus fast data recovery are vital to maintaining these business-critical applications. In addition, any enterprise looking to sharpen its competitive edge by providing faster, more reliable, more comprehensive, and more flexible access to information should explore SAN technology.
SANs offer many benefits today, and promise to offer even greater benefits in the future.
You can create and evolve your SAN as your business needs require. You can further extend SAN functionality and value as new SAN technologies and products become available. The ideal SAN should certainly incorporate the best of the current products and technologies in each area. But since SANs are still evolving, it's also essential to look at which vendor provides the best overall SAN vision, plus the best framework for transforming that vision into a reality. The overall excellence of the SAN depends greatly on how well the areas interrelate to create a total solution.