Object Storage Explained

As organizations consume more and more data, it’s absolutely necessary to store data more efficiently and at a lower cost. In this blog post, we look at how Object Storage helps the data hungry business, and the fundamentals of how it works.

Definition

Object storage is a data storage strategy that sorts data into clear units, or objects, which are stored in a compartmentalized storehouse, along with relevant metadata and a custom identifier.

What is Object Storage? 

For the last 20 years, storage strategies have typically been focused on running basic file- and block- level networked storage services. These systems are mainly storage-attached network (SAN) and network-attached storage (NAS) systems. However, work began in the 90’s to create a storage architecture that identified data about a file as an individual entity (or object) rather than simply a location on a disk.

 flexible data management

This storage method maintains a database of information about that data itself, making it possible to collect and categorize a limitless amount of data about the stored information that can be used to index and perform extremely flexible data management unlike any other storage platform.

cloud is changing the storage landscape

Despite the slow uptake of object storage across enterprise, it is slowly starting to pick up year over year. This was mainly because traditional storage methods had messy and confusing licensing structures, but with heavy adoption of the cloud, this has become less of an issue.

Many cloud providers have built their platforms utilizing object storage. Despite the obvious benefits of accessible data via HTTP, they also opt for object as it is the only method capable of providing the advanced data protection, automated tiering and immense scalability required for such key storage undertaking. The ability to filter extended identification, classification and ownership information helps to establish policy and automate functions such as billing, tiering and custom access management.

 automated storage tiering solutions

This technology is not only useful to cloud providers in managing their operating model. Using a solution such as Veeam Cloud Tier, businesses can automate storage tiering to shift older backup files to a more affordable storage source. For example, an IT Manager can offload old backup files automatically to their cloud provider with no worry about rising costs or limited scalability. They no longer have to be concerned about data capacity when planning Disaster Recovery budgeting.

HostedBizz S3 Compatible Object Storage

HostedBizz S3 Compatible Object Storage provides organizations with the ability to break through the capacity barrier and extend their data protection and archiving strategies to the HostedBizz All Canadian Cloud.  Whether you are an MSP looking to enhance your cloud storage offerings, or you need help with your own organization’s storage management, we’re here to help.

Get in touch with our team of experts today at info@hostedbizz.com

About Paul Butcher

Paul Butcher is Co-Founder of Canada's fastest growing cloud company. Prior to founding HostedBizz in 2012, he was President and Chief Operating Officer of Mitel Networks. He has over 30 years experience in driving strategic growth and creating change within channel centric technology markets.