The survey of 1,600 datacenter managers in large public- and private-sector organizations also found that staffing is problematic: 36 percent of respondents indicated that they are understaffed, while only 4 percent reported being overstaffed. What's more, 43 of respondents indicated that finding qualified applicants is a major challenge.
In addition, datacenter servers and storage are underutilized and disaster recovery plans are out of date, the study added.
The study also found that while many datacenter managers are pursuing green IT initiatives, the primary driver for those efforts is cost reduction. Reducing electricity consumption was a goal cited by 54 percent of respondents, followed by reducing cooling costs (51 percent) and a sense of responsibility to the environment (42 percent).
"This research confirms what we are seeing in the field," said Rob Soderbery, senior vice president of Symantec's Storage and Availability Management Group. "Attention has turned to initiatives that will drive immediate cost reduction, rather than longer-term, [return on investment]-driven programs. Storage has been a primary focus of these initiatives as the demand for capacity continues to rise, despite economic challenges."
The Symantec report examined data from a survey in late 2008 of 1,600 datacenter managers in large private- and public-sector institutions located in 21 countries.
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