Archiving in the cloud, Al Fresko style
Canadian-based vendor El Fresko, with its event-based file archiving system MagnaStor FS Archiver, has an innovative take on archiving. Its product, a Windows-based file system software solution, which offers event-based replication and block-level de-duplication, could be used for backup as well as archiving. El Fresko has developed its cloud version to bridge the gap between in-house and cloud-based storage. Archiving content in the cloud is a significant decision for organizations to take, particularly if content has to be retained for many years for compliance purposes, and it is one that should not be taken lightly. An organization has to be confident that content can be discovered speedily should a disclosure request be received. It must also be assured that it can take its content back in-house should it need to or if its preference changes.
El Fresko should emphasize the archiving capabilities of its solution
El Fresko has been described both as an archiving and a storage vendor, and there is some confusion in the marketplace as to which camp the company falls into. It is easy to see how the confusion has arisen as its product is sold as a data protection product as well as an archiving one. However, in Ovum’s opinion the more compelling selling point for the MagnaStor FS Archiver is as an archiving solution. Organizations have rapidly growing volumes of content, and it is not feasible to retain content that is accessed infrequently in the live system, at a time when backup windows are shrinking and it is therefore impossible to perform full backups on a regular basis. For organizations that need to retain large volumes of content for compliance purposes, this problem is magnified. However, the archiving process itself is only part of the solution.
Organizations should consider the cloud for archiving
El Fresko has developed a cloud-only version of its software, and it has taken the decision to partner with cloud providers that supply archiving services. This is certainly something that organizations wishing to archive content should consider. Disk-based archiving is unsustainable for organizations that need to archive large volumes of content for long periods of time, particularly when the retention period is several decades, or potentially in excess of 100 years. Many organizations are using tape for long-term retention, but unless they use a very good indexing technology that will quickly identify the location of specific items of content, retrieval times are going to be slow, as content needs to be restored to disk before it can be “discovered.” There have been many instances of organizations that have used tape as an archive being forced to bring in external resources to undertake discovery requests at enormous expense and with a long time frame. In some cases the content has not been found, resulting in a heavy fine being levied. However, archiving in the cloud is not something that should be entered into lightly, and there are a number of factors that organizations should consider before signing a contract with a cloud provider.
In addition to the normal security considerations for cloud providers and the assurance that the content can be taken back in-house or easily transferred to another provider, organizations also need to question potential providers about the frequency of hardware refresh to ensure that the content remains on accessible storage hardware. Another important consideration is ensuring that content can easily be accessed within the required timeframe if a discovery request is received, and this should be covered by the service-level agreement with the service provider.
El Fresko needs to build up its partner network
El Fresko has developed a good product and has a solid strategy. However, it now needs to build that partner network of service providers that can offer the MagnaStor FS Archiver as a cloud-based service. It needs to ensure that all potential partners have the necessary infrastructure and procedures in place to offer their customers a reliable service with achievable and acceptable service-level agreements, and the necessary safeguards built in. A poor service and bad customer experience could reflect badly on El Fresko as the provider of the software.
However, as long as El Fresko selects its partners with care, its cloud-based solution should provide it with a strong and growing revenue stream as the popularity of cloud-based services grows.
