Not All Dedupe is Created Equal! Is there “A Better Dedupe”?
It’s sometimes difficult to remember that a name or phrase that becomes generic doesn’t always represent the same level of quality. For example, Coke became the generic phrase for cola soft drinks even though there were many brands cola soft drinks, often not nearly as well known or liked. Similarly Kleenex became a generic phrase for facial tissue even though there are literally dozens of other brands of varying quality on the market.
The generic phrase “Xerox” referred to a copy of a document. In its early stages, there were very blurry copies that you could hardly read. However, it served the purpose and provided a copy of an original that you could share and distribute. As the technology progressed, the resolution improved and the blurry copy disappeared. In fact today, I can barely tell the difference between a copy and an original! And for the most part I usually just print more than one rather than make a copy!
Deduplication, or dedupe, is also becoming a generic phrase in the storage industry. When someone is asked about dedupe most people will say “I have that!” At a basic level, they probably do have a form of deduplication. But, like the varieties of cola or the multiple brands of facial tissue or even the many different brands of copy machines, not all dedupe is the same and between different solution offerings quality and capabilities can vary greatly.
In the following series of blogs, I will define ” a better dedupe” addressing the differences between dedupe offerings. There are so many choices that can be made in a dedupe solution it may be helpful if the better approach or best implementation is defined. This will aid you as you explore your options in implementing dedupe technology into your business and provide the background and knowledge to make the right decisions and ensure the most efficient, scalable and effective dedupe.
My next post will address dedupe implementation approaches……