IBM has made additions to the IBM Cloud Object Storage family, and is offering clients new choices for archival data and a new pricing model to more easily apply intelligence to unpredictable data patterns using analytics and cognitive tools. IBM also announced an expanded partnership with NetApp that provides NetApp customers with more ways to take advantage of IBM Cloud.
“Clients need faster access to more of their data to become cognitive businesses with a deep understanding of markets and customer needs,” said John Morris, general manager for IBM Cloud Object Storage. “IBM’s new cloud storage services and innovative pricing model provides clients an efficient and less expensive way to act on insights from unpredictable data patterns.”
Businesses typically have to manage across three types of data workloads: “hot” for data that’s frequently accessed and used; “cool” for data that’s infrequently accessed and used; and “cold” for archival data. Cold storage is often defined as cheaper, but slower; for example, if a business uses cold storage, it typically has to wait extended periods of time to access data, limiting the ability to rapidly use that data to derive insights. As a result, there is a tendency to store data in more expensive hot storage.
IBM’s new cloud storage service, IBM Cloud Object Storage Flex (Flex), uses a pay-as-you-use model of storage tiers. Flex is a new cloud storage service offering simplified pricing for clients whose data usage patterns are difficult to predict. Flex enables clients to benefit from the cost savings of cold storage for rarely accessed data, while maintaining high accessibility to all data.
The IBM Cloud Object Storage Cold Vault (Cold Vault) service gives clients access to cold storage data on the IBM Cloud and is designed to lead the category for cold data recovery times among major competitors. Cold Vault joins the existing Standard and Vault tiers to complete a range of cloud storage tiers that are available with expanded expertise and methods via Bluemix and through the IBM Bluemix Garages.
NetApp and IBM are expanding a long-standing partnership with the launch of new capabilities that allow NetApp customers to take advantage of IBM Cloud. NetApp's AltaVault cloud backup solutions will now automatically be able to send backups to IBM Cloud Object Storage on IBM Cloud. Incorporating native support for IBM Cloud Object Storage into AltaVault solutions allows NetApp users to deploy backup data to the IBM Cloud.
For more information, visit www.ibm.com/cloud-computing/products/storage/object-storage.