File Analysis Service (FAS)

The File Analysis Service (FAS) collects system file information. This information is used to recommend areas where file system storage can be optimised enabling cost savings and system optimisation.

The file analysis tool created by ICT Analytics quickly analyses your file systems and provides detailed reports on your disk usage. Armed with this information you can maximise your investment in your storage and build an informed strategy on future storage purchases. The information can also be applied to maximise your storage investment through de-duplication and archiving thus improving your backup throughput and disaster recovery planning.
Recent studies show storage requirements increasing up to a staggering 75% year-on-year. An informed storage strategy helps maximise your future storage purchases and increase your ROI. Customers using our tools have reclaimed up to 70% of their existing storage by utilising de-duplication and archiving technologies.
Every organisation faces a number of key challenges:
Reducing cost
Managing the growth in data – particularly unstructured
Increased accountability
The need to protect a key asset – company information
These challenges lead to common IT initiatives such as consolidation, data protection and data reduction, and include the following key factors:
The amount of information within the organisation
The value of this information over time
Existing IT infrastructure limitations
End‐user behaviour
Available budget
Meeting increasing compliance requirements for retention
FAS is focused in particular on the analysis of unstructured data and files which is by far the most prolific and complex to manage and control. Studies consistently show that as much as 80% of an organisation’s data originates in this form. Unstructured data consists of two basic types:
Textual objects based on the written language such as letters, proposals, numerical analysis, email and presentations etc.
Bitmap and non‐language based objects such as images, videos and audio files.

In contrast, structured data – being typically stored in centralised applications such as CRM & ERP and databases ‐ can be managed and controlled more easily.
In summary, unstructured data has many attributes that can be collected and analysed to provide an accurate and clear picture to support an organisation’s data management decisions both in the short term, and more strategically.