HP Autonomy Application Information Optimizer 7.1

HP Autonomy updated its information governance portfolio with HP Application Information Optimizer 7.1, which introduces a cloud-based approach to managing legacy structured data, and offers additional connectivity to databases and greater ability to leverage HP Autonomy’s information processing engine, the Intelligent Data Operating Layer.

The typical organization maintains hundreds to thousands of distributed applications and databases, each containing a mixture of active, ‘live’ information, and inactive, unused data. While much of the software industry’s focus has been on bringing governance to unstructured, human information, gaining control of structured application and database data remains one of the biggest challenges and opportunities for organizations of all sizes. Failure to proactively understand and manage this information bloat leads to unnecessarily high data-storage and database-maintenance costs, increased compliance and litigation risk, and untapped potential in leveraging the data for improved business performance.

It enables organizations to overcome these challenges and convert their application and database data liabilities into information assets. The solution accesses, understands, classifies and relocates outdated and inactive structured data from production databases and legacy applications, and moves this information into lower-cost data repositories, where it can be managed, applied in other applications or defensibly deleted.

Part of HP Autonomy’s information governance portfolio, the solution enables organizations to pursue a phased, hybrid approach to governing their data. Organizations can use the service to identify and move data to on-premises archiving and records management systems for analysis and long-term management.

It also can run on any cloud server, such as HP Cloud Services, and supports both public and private cloud applications. As a result, organizations can embrace a move to the cloud at their own pace, and in alignment with a larger information governance strategy.

“Businesses are increasingly looking for innovative data management products to help them drive down costs and improve productivity with their plans for the cloud,” said Johnny Joe, EVP and MD, Alphaworks, an HP partner and a global provider of enterprise IT solutions. “HP Application Information Optimizer takes a unique and easy-to-use approach to transitioning companies of all sizes to the cloud. We believe that more and more companies will be looking at this HP solution to lower their on-premises footprint.”

It also includes capabilities for connectivity and understanding and processing of database and application information: Added DB2 archiving: It can search and extract data from DB2 databases, allowing customers to cast a wider net on structured data to be governed. The solution creates a transparency layer by allowing application access to the combined data from the source and archive DB2 databases. Expanded IDOL search across hybrid environments: It harnesses the power of Autonomy IDOL to enable users to perform enterprise searches for data within all production and archive databases across their hybrid landscape.

It allows customers to reduce their storage footprint, minimize backup costs, retire old databases and applications, and ensure data is managed with the same policies and rigor as its ‘live’ data. The solution reduces storage costs by up to 48% and reduces backup time by up to 50%.

The solution is a component of HP’s information governance portfolio. In June, the company announced Legacy Data Cleanup, a solution that helps organizations govern and defensibly dispose of outdated and unnecessary unstructured data. Combined with HP AIO, offers organizations a solution for governing their entire legacy data environment, from unstructured to structured information.

“While cloud-based computing and storage is a growing trend, the reality is that customers are often reluctant to make the switch for fear of losing control of data and risking the security of sensitive company information,” said Mike Sullivan, GM, protect enterprise, HP Autonomy. “AIO 7.1 directly addresses this customer anxiety by allowing them to explore the transition into cloud-based storage at their own pace, moving data across environments piece by piece at a comfortable pace.“