From finding space to setting it free, archiving has come a long way since the day of the dial-up modem, writes Danie Marais (above), Director of Product Management at Redstor.
It’s hard to believe that less than 20 years ago the dial-up modem still ruled the earth. Today it is found either in the tip or in dinner party conversations about the cost and the horror of its endless noise, achingly slow pace and tedious delays. Now the data that dribbled sadly down the dial-up pipe is whisked along corridors of fibre and network, introducing entirely new challenges around its accessibility and value as it presses tightly against virtual walls until it either rots or becomes an inaccessible mess. The problem isn’t generating the data, it’s updating the creaking archiving architecture that allows for it to be restored, accessed and managed on demand while significantly cutting the costs of storing it.
Two of the biggest challenges facing an organisation when it comes to archiving data are accessibility and recovery. Regardless of how swift a connection, the user has to wait for a file to completely download before they can access it. If the system fails, IT is under incredible pressure to prioritise file recovery while the organisation sits and waits with growing frustration. Archived data suddenly becomes a fire that IT must put out while everybody claims that theirs is the greatest need.
“The problem isn’t generating the data, it’s updating the creaking archiving architecture that allows for it to be restored, accessed and managed on demand while significantly cutting the costs of storing it.” – Danie Marais, Redstor.
Enter Archiving-as-a-Service, a solution developed by Redstor to address the growing complexities of data storage and management. This tool allows the business to effectively put its data into a controlled environment that delivers insight, backup, disaster recovery and accessibility on demand. It is also cost-effective. The cost of downtime is reduced as the users can instantly find data in its place in the cloud, and the cost of storage is reduced as reams of data can be stored somewhere else. The solution eliminates a significant part of the data rot burden by moving old and irrelevant data from on-premise to the cloud – still accessible and available when required but lifting the weight off the system to streamline efficiencies and recovery.
It’s the Netflix and Spotify of archiving, on-demand data that are cost-effective with no infrastructure investments – it can cut data storage costs by an estimated 25% which is a potential total of R290k a year. It also comes with complete integration with other Redstor solutions, such as InstantData Recovery, support and security services, and a tailored pricing system to suit demand and budget.
Organisations are too busy to spend valuable time on data management. They want a solution that simplifies lives, makes data increasingly available and doesn’t cause unwanted delays. By turning archiving into a service, Redstor has put archiving frustration into the same box as the dial-up modem – nice to reminisce about, even better to forget about.
- by Danie Marais, Director of Product Management at Redstor.