The Transition from Cloud Backup to Hybrid Cloud File Services

Top Trend Impacting IT Infrastructure

Over the past several years, the cloud has become significantly more popular for a wide range of IT infrastructure. In Gartner’s report “Top 6 Trends Impacting Infrastructure & Operations for 2022”, the IT operating model is going to shift to hybrid cloud as one of the trends. The reasons are simple; the cloud provides unparalleled flexibility, scalability, and cost-efficiency. As a result, servers, applications, even entire businesses are based in the cloud – and businesses are more agile and have lower cost structures because of it.

The one area of IT where the cloud really hasn’t taken as much hold, though, is in the storage industry. Sure, the cloud is very commonly used for backup, but not for primary storage. The reason why is primarily due to the inherently low performance and high latency associated with the cloud. That’s because the cloud relies on standard Internet protocols, so no matter how high performance the hardware, the cloud WAN connection will create a bottleneck. It’s also a simple matter of physics; sending data across very large distances (e.g., a cloud provider across the country, or even halfway around the world) takes longer than if it only has to travel a very short distance (e.g., a NAS located on the company’s LAN). 

Accelerating Cloud Storage: The Power of Hybrid Cloud File Services

As a result, historically the cloud has been completely impractical for use as a primary storage environment. But what if that all changed? What if you could reap all of the benefits of the cloud, but at gigabit speed, just like your NAS? 

That’s exactly what’s possible with Morro Data CloudNAS. Using Cache & Sync technology, Morro Data performs all cloud protocol transfers in the background without relying on legacy cloud WAN connections, which are plagued with speed and performance issues. The Morro Data CacheDrive further enhances performance with local cache capabilities to avoid the inherent latency involved with retrieving files that are stored remotely. And with a regular file server interface, Morro Data delivers robust file service features just like a NAS, but with the added benefit of storing directly to the cloud. 

Mini Gateways for Remote Workers

According to this research, 48% of employees expect to work remotely even after the pandemic. How do companies deal with anywhere operations? Now that you can have all of the benefits of the cloud without the performance and latency issues, it’s probably time to consider the cloud for your primary storage environment – not just backup. Think about it, you can avoid all of the issues inherent in a physical NAS. No more expensive capital expenditures; no more guessing how much storage you’ll need for the next several years; no more overprovisioning your storage environment; no more hardware or disk failures; no more. All you get is scalable, flexible, cost-effective storage at gigabit speeds. You only pay for what you use, but since the storage is unlimited, you never have to worry about running out. There’s no hardware or disks to fail. And it’s redundant and located offsite. Morro Data CacheDrive is simple and can be set up in a few minutes for your branch offices, remote offices, and even home offices.

In short, you get the best of NAS and the cloud – without the negatives of either. Truly the best of both worlds.