The of-late, the over-hyped issue of on-line data storage was recently highlighted during an extensive marketing research campaign conducted by TME`s Strategic Research Division. The survey, done on behalf of SA`s oldest tape storage service, B.S.F., provided an interesting insight to the viewpoint of the IT industry.
BSF has long been considering going into Off-Site Electronic Data Storage and had gone so far as to create a separate division to address this need.
"We were still unsure of where the market was going", stated BSF Chairman Walter Hex prior to the surveys commencement. "We could not compare the SA market to that of the US, from where this technology originated and we wanted insight into the minds of local IT Execs."
TME was thus tasked to see to what degree the market is aware of electronic storage and what their perception is of where it is going.
Initial research indicated that IT Managers wanted a secure and hassle free solution, but the sales from services on offer, have not been substantial.
The vast majority of IT Managers interviewed felt that the taking of data off-site electronically could constitute a security hassle.
As Al Ries and Jack Trout state in their marketing classic - "Positioning - the Battle for Your Mind" - the perception the client has in his mind is the biggest barrier to effective marketing.
In fact it was obvious that the initial marketing around electronic data storage had in fact done more harm than good. The IT Managers were essentially being told that their concerns had no substance.
The survey concluded that poor security perception was a real concern but with effective communication could be overcome.
An interesting item from the research indicated that BSF`s current clients do not want the service from someone other than those that are specialists in data storage. Thus ISP`s and storage generalists offering this service need to take heed, they may just spend millions on infrastructure on a service, which provides minimal return.
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