1. A method comprising: processing application data for storage; evaluating the processed data including using a real-time analytical model for recommending a compression technique together with a storage location, the evaluation including minimizing a cost for storage of the data the cost incorporating options of local compression, data transfer, and data storage; the recommending includes determining whether to compress the data, and when compression is unwarranted sending the data to a first selected location, when compression is warranted determining an appropriate compression technique that satisfies the analytical model evaluation, compressing the data based upon the appropriate compression technique, and sending the compressed data to a second selected storage location, wherein the first and second selected storage locations are a part of a shared pool of resources and selected from the group consisting of: different storage locations in the shared pool, and the same storage location in the shared pool.