Whenever we review archive and primary storage, we like to reference Peter Krogh, a recognized photographer and pioneer of digital archiving. Krogh noted that there are two groups of people; those who’ve experienced a storage failure and those who will in the future.

What’s the difference between a file data tool and a file data solution? 

As enterprises and IT/storage administrators look for ways to better manage and organize their growing file volumes, file data tools can play an important role. But for optimal efficiency, there’s no match for a comprehensive enterprise unstructured file data solution. 

Here are the key differences: 

“Some things never change.” 

It’s an old adage that you’ve probably heard many times.  But we’re here to show file data storage has changed drastically.  Just as all business technology has evolved, file data archiving and tiering has, too ― for the better.  In fact, today’s file data archiving brings you benefits you may not have imagined even just a few years ago. From ending restrictive file vault access to accommodating billions of files, today’s data archiving solutions are strong and streamlined.     

In an ideal world, your high-performance primary tier is used exclusively for active files.  Yet in practice, up to 80% of file data becomes stale but continues to reside in expensive primary storage.  DefendX Software’s VFM can help you reduce storage costs through powerful and flexible file data tiering and archiving.  It helps you avoid the “server sprawl” that happens when you continually purchase more hardware and capacity ― after all, not all of your file data is of equal importance. 

One of the topics we’re often asked about is cloud archiving or tiering to the cloud.  Enterprises want to know how it can help them; what are the key advantages and challenges.  Today we “clear the fog” on cloud archiving.

We all know that unstructured file data is growing out of control and needs to be managed.  But what is the best approach?  It really comes down to understanding the numbers behind the file data so you can make the right decision for your storage environment. 

Are you dealing with millions (or even billions) of data files in your file storage system? Need a file management system that can help you with storage, tiering and archiving ― all without breaking the bank? This post is for you! 

Did you hear the news?  

Microsoft has announced that it is ending its promise of delivering unlimited storage capacity without additional storage cost.  The news comes just a year after Office 365 subscribers were told they would be upgraded to “unlimited” OneDrive cloud storage plans. 

Another NetApp Insight technical conference is in the books, and what an amazing few days we enjoyed meeting with thousands of our industry colleagues!  Thanks to everyone who stopped by to see our cloud-based archiving solution, the E-Tiering Cloud Appliance (ETCA).  ETCA provides an easy, plug-and-play solution to help you organize your inactive files for on-premise or cloud-based archiving.  In fact, “The King” himself even stopped by for a demo of the new solution (only in Vegas!).  

Don’t gamble with your tiering cloud or data storage – visit us at NetApp’s Insight2015 conference in Las Vegas Oct. 12-15th! After all, Insight2015 is THE PLACE to network and collaborate with thousands of your colleagues, all while exploring the latest data storage and data management innovations! We’re getting packed and ready for this power-packed event!