Buzzword Blues

Bryant Duhon explains:

Another year, another buzzword. Building steam over the past 12 months, Information lifecycle management has appeared as a new buzzword in the storage industry and is starting to leak over into ECM (Jack Scott’s Around the Corner column in Jan/Feb and Mike Alsup’s article in this issue each mention the term). I know that marketing folks do more than create “buzz,” yet sometimes it seems as if that attempt just muddies the water. All of the major storage vendors have an information lifecycle management strategy. In one sense, this is a positive development in that it exposes the IT world to the complexity of managing information beyond data. However, the concept of matching information’s retrieval needs to the corresponding lowest cost for best access media isn’t new. This seems to be hierarchical storage management gussied up in a brand new suit. And, though it’s hard to argue with the necessity of “cradle-to-grave” management of information, this is not a new concept— talk to your records manager if you don’t believe me. Is this term a replacement for ECM? Complementary? As I write this, I’m not sure. What do you think?

I think the endless stream of new buzzwords confuses and alienates prospects. It bores readers and loses sales. Why do we keep doing it? Presto Vivace was launched with the idea of explaining technology in everyday language.