This paper explores the factors that are driving the need for de-duplication and the benefits of data
de-duplication as a feature of an organization's backup strategy.Topics covered in this paper include:

• Aspects of information growth and the resulting strain on backup and replication
• Current data de-duplication technology and deployment
• Benefits of data de-duplication and its positive impact on backup, replication, and recovery
• Factors that determine the effectiveness of data de-duplication
• Specific consideration of backup-to-disk, remote office, and VMware backup environments
• Justifying a data de-duplication investment