Market Analysis: Is cloud storage Service the right choice?

Cloud computing is a big attraction for companies looking for greater flexibility in managing their data backup efforts. However, for each company, the cost advantage of cloud-based backup technology does not increase.

According to the latest TechTarget Cloud Pulse survey (conducted in the first quarter of 2013), 56% of cloud-computing storage users have become users of cloud computing data backup services, and the backup business has become the most common cloud computing storage service. According to an IDC report, the data backup/archiving business has become the most suitable feature for private computing and hybrid cloud computing, and for public cloud computing.

However, industry observers say the companies that now benefit from cloud-based backup services may be those with smaller size and less available to back up data. But for companies of all sizes, there are other constraints, including bandwidth constraints. Still, different experts say that cloud-based backup services address more problems than they bring to the cost and management side.

In any case, companies should weigh the options for using cloud computing storage services.

Cloud storage and its cost

Businesses use cloud-based storage services for convenience and cost savings, and disk-disk or tape-disk storage is more expensive than cloud computing, integration, co-founder of the Silicon Valley's strategic technology consulting firm Wired. Gilmore said. Gilmore highlights a key rationale for using cloud computing storage services: scalability.

"The companies that we see most benefit are those that have less than 2TB to 3TB of data." Other companies with more implementations can benefit, but the benefits are limited because increasing the cost of Internet access can handle too much data transfer, "he said.

To differentiate between large applications and small applications, Gilmore says most of the implementations he has seen so far have been installed by a single vendor.

"We suggest that if you can't have a data or application that you can't have, then don't move it to the cloud," he said. When using cloud computing backup services, you should always keep at least one local copy of the same data, "he added. Even if there is no guarantee that the replica will be exactly the same as the backup, it should at least ensure that the two are as consistent as possible. For this purpose, some vendors use disk-disk-cloud computing patterns, he notes. "As long as you can make your suppliers provide local storage hardware as part of the overall cost of the solution, that's your success," he added.

Even larger companies that are almost out of control over data growth have begun to implement cloud computing, said Mike Valuck, executive director of Glasshouse technology.

"Some of them are using storage resources much faster than they buy and install storage resources," he said. Demand can also be "abrupt", making planning and procurement more difficult. Then, when you think about the cost of running and managing storage devices, the cloud computing paradigm starts to become more appealing, "he said.

Valuck says cloud computing applications have special requirements for network bandwidth, especially when it suddenly requires a recovery operation. The user may eventually have to wait for several hours, or longer. In fact, companies considering cloud computing should plan to tier the data, allowing more critical information to be backed up in an accessible form, he said.

From a business point of view, Valuck says, the main reason some companies are attracted to cloud computing is that it is easier to get money to run. "If you can't afford to buy a new EMC system, it's very easy to implement the OPEX model, and then you just have to pay for the actual use," he says.

For Syd Weinstein, executive vice president and CTO of the Customer experience and marketing consulting firm Peoplemetrics, paying by use is a fairly attractive consumption pattern, especially for small or midsize companies. "I backed up 100g of data a day and only paid hundreds of dollars a year," he added.

Cloud backup services and their flexibility

Traditionally, cloud computing has focused on how to implement it. But cloud computing has provided more flexibility in accessing data from any location, Weinstein explains, allowing you to achieve fast offsite transmission of data and automate backup by using traditional tools, such as tape, that you cannot easily implement. "In the past, it was up to you to arrange for your tapes to be used by what you call Iron Kings, and if you need to perform a recovery operation, it may take a day or two," he said.

"From a management point of view, the biggest benefit of cloud computing is that you can back up files with any plan, less data can be backed up at a lower frequency, and more frequently changed data needs to be backed up more frequently, so you can retrieve the files you need in a tape database," he said. "

Peoplemetrics uses servers to manage servers and installs an agent on each server to back up the right things to cloud computing. This also helps improve throughput. "With the TCP/IP protocol, you can't read data as fast as using a local tape drive, so we use multiple servers, each of which is connected to cloud computing," he explains.

For Weinstein, reliability is no longer a problem, he says most of the cloud-computing storage service providers he encounters either resell Amazon Web services or use Google's services or sell their own local services.

Weinstein says his company has chosen a vendor that does not charge for the amount of the transmission but charges the total storage capacity. Eventually, Weinstein adds, "compression is your natural choice" If you choose cloud computing backup.

In terms of security, Peoplemetrics relies on itself to do the encryption work rather than a vendor. "The only person who has our key is the agent we deploy on the server, so it's very safe," he added.

When it comes to service level agreements (SLAs), Weinstein admits that most companies do not have the negotiating power to achieve specific performance and response goals. "Most of the cases, it's a simple contract, it just guarantees a certain percentage of successful data access and a certain amount of network bandwidth," he said. He also pointed out that his experience was basically positive. "Because most vendors use Amazon or Google's products, which are redundant and decentralized, they are reliable," he added.

Gilmore says security and management issues should be a key factor in making cloud computing decisions. "Make sure you're using a trusted source that's not going to disappear with your copy of your data," he said. Find a way to get a copy of their data center audit report. If they don't, don't choose to use their services, "he said." He added that all cloud computing data backup services should have the latest SSAE type2 audit certification. "Similarly, if you don't have the certification, turn around and find other suppliers," he said.

Gilmore recommends that you familiarize yourself with the vendor's SLA. "SLAs are part of what you dislike in cloud computing because at least 80% of cloud service providers are still not using SLAs," so you should take pains to confirm. "What happens if they leave, and what do you do with your backup data?" You need answers to these types of questions, and an effective SLA can answer all these questions, "he said."

In addition to network bandwidth compression, which generates a large number of data recovery problems, cloud computing backup services apply to most businesses. However, large companies that have been preparing personnel and hardware to meet the challenges of backup services may not see how attractive the economics of cloud computing solutions are. But smaller companies are attracted by the flexibility and convenience of using cloud computing backup services.