Storage technology and solutions company, Western Digital Corporation (WDC) and cloud storage and data protection hardware and software company, CTERA Networks have joined hands to launch a certified solution for IT organizations. The solution will help build private clouds that combine enterprise-grade file sharing, data protection, and branch office file storage capabilities with cost-effective object storage and cloud orchestration.
The joint solution combines WDC HGST Active Archive System with CTERA’s Enterprise File Services Platform to enable enterprise organizations and service providers to launch enterprise file services with strong levels of security, simplicity and affordability. HGST (formerly Hitachi GST and now a Western Digital company) provides a wide range of products that includes hard disk drives, enterprise-class solid state drives, and innovative external storage solutions and services that store, preserve and manage data.
According to WDC, by building a private cloud, organizations can limit the privacy, security and data sovereignty concerns associated with public SaaS solutions, while realizing the benefits of cloud technologies and software-defined infrastructure.
Perks of the collaboration
This enterprise-grade solution from HGST and CTERA delivers Enterprise File Sync and Share (EFSS), a private alternative to consumer-grade cloud SaaS services that features centralized management, a modern user experience and advanced encryption and authentication. Cloud storage gateways, which is an all-in-one, centrally-managed office storage appliances that integrate NAS (Network Attached Storage) file sharing, and cloud DR (Disaster Recovery) to remove the complexities of legacy file servers, remote backup systems and offsite vaulting services. And endpoint and server backup which simplifies, secures, and centrally manages data protection agents for workstations and servers featuring direct-to-cloud or disk-to-disk-to-cloud (hybrid) backup that optimizes recovery times and business continuity.
“The explosion of unstructured data and proliferation of unsanctioned, consumer-grade SaaS services across the enterprise is creating significant IT concerns for file and data protection. CTERA’s integration with the HGST Active Archive System puts secure private cloud file services easily within reach for enterprises and service providers who are leading the cloud IT-as-a-Service transformation,” says Jeff Denworth, SVP, Marketing, CTERA.
How will the collaboration help
According to the company, the WDC HGST Active Archive System is an easy-to-deploy, Amazon S3-compliant, scale-out object storage solution with the ability to scale total raw capacity from 672 terabytes (TB) to hundreds of petabytes (PB). Combined with CTERA Enterprise File Services platform, the joint solution will offer file services for remote and branch offices, enterprise file sync and share, as well as server and endpoint backup capabilities. Additionally, by utilizing distributed erasure coding, files and services remain available even in the event of a data center outage, maintaining a consistent global view and data accessibility from any location.
“Data across the enterprise comes in many types and formats and the rising number of disparate storage silos is causing fragmentation in corporate infrastructure. By certifying the solution with CTERA, the HGST Active Archive System enables any organization to deploy a private and secure cloud. Additionally, this will simplify the modernization of legacy data systems, which will allow enterprises and service providers to offer ‘IT-as-a-service’ and accelerate business,” says Dave Tang, SVP, Data Center Systems Business Unit, Western Digital Corporation.