But now, with the discipline of risk management placed at the centre of most 21st century business, what-if has become the defining ethic of chief executives. Look at Intel founder Andy Grove's book, Only the Paranoid Survive . Investment in storage is fine, but too often it is about storing transactional data that is rarely used and of little value. I doubt it. We're not in a recession now, and, anyway, I've changed.
Storage can support management by rear-view mirror.
You store to cover your back with superiors, subordinates and the 40 people you know through your membership of five different teams. Or to show that nobody ever wrote that Gates-style threatening email. So firms that are selective in what they store are likely to have an advantage.