Modern Solutions for Remote File Storage

aron

Aron Brand is CTO of CTERA Networks.

Modernizing file services is a journey that companies must tackle as their local and unstructured data continues to grow at exponential rates. When enterprises examine the solutions available to modernize and secure their file services, and take into consideration their remote and branch office needs, the IT department can find several options to consider. The traditional approach, in which each branch office effectively operates within its own silo and autonomously manages and store files on general purpose file servers or network attached storage (NAS) devices, is expensive and provides a fragmented and isolated level of service.

Moreover, traditional approaches to file services aren’t up to par in today’s working environment. Enterprises have gone global and employees have gone mobile. Files are continuously created, modified, and shared by users who do not just sit in offices anymore. 

Scale-out NAS devices still have a place in this new world, serving as centralized repositories for storage, backup, and archiving of unstructured data. But compared to cloud storage offerings, NAS is expensive, not only in terms of GBs or TBs stored but also considering that replicating files to an off-site NAS forces companies to pay for two storage appliances. As well, the WAN performance between the two NAS devices may not be optimal, resulting in data recovery times that can be measured in days.

So, where does all this leave today’s enterprise organization that wants to take advantage of cloud storage but has concerns over the performance and/or privacy of their data? The cloud storage gateway has emerged as a solution that offers seamless and secure data integration between remote locations and cloud object storage. These gateways are becoming the superior choice for several reasons.

Cloud storage gateways enable an enterprise can enjoy access to all of its files, from any location, with no latency. Users can move between the files and collaborate with people at any other location, making work for an organization with many branch offices efficient and seamless. And all the while, their files are never exposed to a third-party and are fully encrypted as they move from location to location.

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