I’ve recently started a collaboration with CTERA, which has led to the writing of the paper I’m presenting here today.
In this report I talk about the problematics of managing file and collaboration services in what I call the “dispersed enterprise” (you’ll find out more about that while reading the paper 😉 ) and I also describe why CTERA has a good solution to overcome the limits and constraints of traditional NAS-based storage infrastructures both in terms of agility and TCO.
The paper is available here and you can also find the executive summary of the document down below.
Enjoy the reading!
The world is quickly changing and so is the way of doing business. Terms like “distributed enterprise” are no longer enough to describe the new enterprise after cloud and mobile revolutions have changed the rules. Now, the mobile work force counts for the majority of the users and this has direct consequences on how data are created, accessed and have to be managed. It’s probably better talking about the “dispersed enterprise”.
Users work on many different devices at the same time, continuously switching from one device to another, and hence document workflows have dramatically changed. Data are accessed from everywhere at anytime by single users and teams: collaboration platforms, starting from file sharing solutions, are fundamental layers of any modern organization.
At the same time, traditional file servers are present everywhere, in primary sites as well as in small remote and branch offices. These servers represent an invaluable resource for sharing documents between PCs, but traditional LAN protocols are not designed to cope with modern devices on the internet. Furthermore, file servers do not tolerate the on/off behavior of mobile devices with the risk of losing data when a device comes up with modified data to
synchronize. Moving data across networks and maintain its security and integrity is quite
complex.Nowadays, TCO of traditional storage infrastructures is an issue (especially when we talk
about ROBOs) and enterprises are looking at new ways to provide storage services to their
users. Cloud storage addresses all the new challenges and can be a viable solution to:
• cut costs,
• have unmatched control on data access and security,
• improve user experience,
• provide best data protection and disaster recovery options,
• centralized management.CTERA, with its hybrid architecture, helps enterprises and ISPs of any size to design and
implement next generation cloud storage infrastructures capable of providing modern data
services integrated with the rest of the enterprise infrastructure and at a competitive cost.
The paper is available for free download here.
