Data centre hardware
Data centre strategy is an increasingly important focus for IT managers, as enterprises look to cut costs and improve energy efficiency. We examine key data centre hardware trends such as virtualisation, consolidation and systems management to help identify the products that are right for your needs.
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Feature
24 Mar 2023
HDD specs: Assess SATA vs SAS, sustained data rates and block size
In part two of a two-part series, we look at sustained data rates in hard disk drive specs, SATA versus SAS, drive security, and how HDD makers pack density into products by shingling Continue Reading
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News
22 Mar 2023
Why Veeam thinks ransomware warranty payouts are unlikely
Veeam Data Platform v12 offers a financial guarantee to customers that can’t restore after ransomware attacks, but the backup supplier is convinced it won’t be making many payouts Continue Reading
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Feature
21 Mar 2023
HDD specs: Assess MTTF, AFR and UER to get the drives you need
In part one of a two-part series, we look at key hard disk drive specs, including mean time to failure, annual failure rate and unrecoverable error rate, and how they relate to each other Continue Reading
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Feature
17 Mar 2023
Vast Data’s ‘Act 2’ builds data management layer on QLC flash
Vast Data offers QLC flash bulk storage with a rapid cache I/O layer. Now, it has embarked on offering big data, analytics and application access to highly available data stores Continue Reading
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Feature
14 Mar 2023
QLC edges into mainstream, but what are its advantages?
QLC flash offers high density but has lifecycle limitations. But what does it really cost compared with TLC and MLC, and how are suppliers implementing it and getting around durability issues? Continue Reading
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News
13 Mar 2023
Liverpool Football Club signs Wasabi in on-premise-to-cloud storage transition
Liverpool Football Club has transitioned from lead-footed on-premise infrastructure to Wasabi cloud storage that’s well-suited to its video production and distribution requirements Continue Reading
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News
09 Mar 2023
Velero wants to become the Kubernetes backup standard
Open source Velero offers modular data protection and disaster recovery functionality via API for Kubernetes container clusters in an effort to become the standard in the field Continue Reading
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Podcast
06 Mar 2023
Podcast: 2023 compliance and storage outlook
Geopolitical instability casts its shadow as organisations must think about cyber attacks, data location and what to do if things change quickly. We talk to Mathieu Gorge, CEO of Vigitrust Continue Reading
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News
06 Mar 2023
How to get mainframe modernisation right
Around a third of mainframe modernisation efforts fail, but that doesn’t need to be the case if organisations can harness the best of mainframe and distributed architectures, according to Rocket Software Continue Reading
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News
05 Mar 2023
FlashBlade//E to open up new opportunities in Australia
Pure Storage’s FlashBlade//E will enable the storage supplier to target medical imaging and remote backup workloads and attract new customers in Australia Continue Reading
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Feature
01 Mar 2023
Backup testing: The why, what, when and how
We look at backup testing – why you should do it, what you should do, when you should do it, and how, with a view to the ways in which it will be made easier by forthcoming developments in backup software Continue Reading
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News
28 Feb 2023
Pure Storage aims FlashBlade//E at unstructured data capacity
But not the ones that need super high performance. FlashBlade//E will target use cases that need large amounts of QLC flash without the most-demands for rapid access Continue Reading
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Feature
27 Feb 2023
Unstructured data and the storage it needs
We look at unstructured and semi-structured data and find increasing amounts of production workloads that have their own storage hardware – file and object – needs, including flash Continue Reading
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News
27 Feb 2023
How Dell is future-proofing its business
Dell Technologies is building a more resilient supply chain, investing in growth areas like edge and multicloud, and responding to shifts in consumption models to position itself for long-term growth Continue Reading
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News
20 Feb 2023
Veeam bundles backup products into Veeam Data Platform
Backup and data protection specialist Veeam upgrades and rebrands, with a focus on the challenges of ransomware and rapid recovery, and a claimed 500 new functions Continue Reading
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News
14 Feb 2023
Dell tells suppliers to diversify fab and backend facilities
Dell calls for chip suppliers to diversify their fabrication and backend facilities by the end of 2024 to improve its supply chain resilience Continue Reading
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News
13 Feb 2023
Hycu aims at universal SaaS backup with R-Cloud
Hycu’s R-Cloud aims to provide an API-driven backup product for any software-as-a-service application for enterprise customers, based on a simple low-code development environment Continue Reading
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News
08 Feb 2023
Rakuten targets big edge deployments with Symworld Cloud
Japanese giant Rakuten bought Kubernetes management platform Robin.io and put it in 50,000-plus telco antennas. Now it aims Symworld Cloud at enterprise edge deployments Continue Reading
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Feature
07 Feb 2023
Container storage platforms: Big six approach starts to align
Container storage is a complex but vital task. We survey the big six storage makers and see methods are starting to align around management platforms Continue Reading
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News
07 Feb 2023
NetApp adds QLC C-series, new A-series and subscription upgrades
NetApp C-series QLC-based array family offers flash speed with capacity, while Advance adds subscription upgrades to owned hardware, as well as a new entry-level A-series array Continue Reading
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Feature
06 Feb 2023
Backup maintenance: Make sure backups can deliver
Deploying backup but overlooking the need to make sure it works is a common error. We look at the why and how of backup maintenance to help ensure you can recover from your backups Continue Reading
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News
30 Jan 2023
Tiger’s hybrid cloud storage targets medical imaging
Tiger Bridge targets vertical sectors that find it hard to migrate to the cloud by allowing data storage in the cloud while using files locally as if stored on-premise Continue Reading
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Feature
25 Jan 2023
Green storage: Savings to be made but tricky to achieve
Storage upgrades can bring energy savings. New hardware, the cloud and as-a-service procurement models all cut costs, but can need careful tweaking to get right Continue Reading
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Feature
24 Jan 2023
IT’s shift to the cloud: Veeam’s data protection report in detail
With half of servers in the cloud, most backup and nearly all disaster recovery cloud-centric, the shift to the cloud is significant – but container backup is one area that is yet to settle down Continue Reading
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News
23 Jan 2023
NGX: Turkish arrays to challenge US mainstream storage vendors
Ankara-based NGX offers block, file and unified storage with use of cache and RAM to speed access. Software-defined storage, cloud and NVMe-over-fabrics are also coming Continue Reading
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Feature
23 Jan 2023
Cloud egress costs: What they are and how to dodge them
We look at how cloud providers charge to move data from their cloud, including to other providers and between storage in the same cloud, and what you can do to mitigate “bill shock” Continue Reading
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News
20 Jan 2023
DataCore software-defined storage helps car firm avoid breakdowns
Bontaz used to face regular IT outages that took too long to recover from. Then it got DataCore software-defined storage and the ability to rapidly recover from downtime Continue Reading
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News
20 Jan 2023
Veeam survey finds ransomware blocks digital transformation
Annual report shows secular trend to the cloud and increased use of containers, but prevalence of ransomware attacks means digital transformation is hindered Continue Reading
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News
20 Jan 2023
Atempo plots course to containerised backup with S3 storage
Containerised modularised backup services will allow integration with third-party systems and backup storage unified onto S3 object storage for cost and analytics purposes Continue Reading
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News
03 Jan 2023
Batam datacentre to capture spillover demand from Singapore
NeutraDC’s new datacentre facility in Batam will enable it to meet the spillover demand for datacentre services from neighbouring markets Continue Reading
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News
20 Dec 2022
Top 10 emerging storage trends stories of 2022
There’s a seismic shift to the cloud. In its wake, object storage, unstructured data, analytics, unified file and object, and consumption models of procurement have all been boosted Continue Reading
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Feature
19 Dec 2022
Storage hardware shortage causes and how to mitigate them
We look at the IT supply chain shortages that have hit data storage equipment, their causes and what organisations can do to work more smartly to mitigate them Continue Reading
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Blog Post
14 Dec 2022
To maximise potential, mainframers must reach out and engage
The team here at Freeform Dynamics has always had immense respect for the mainframe community, without whom big chunks of most developed economies would grind to a halt. That said, we sometimes ... Continue Reading
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News
07 Dec 2022
Survey: Most want green IT but many won’t get it soon
IT – and storage in particular – consume huge amounts of energy but sustainability targets are proving to be elusive, according to a survey commissioned by Pure Storage Continue Reading
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News
05 Dec 2022
Cohesity doubles down on cyber-defence failings via backup
Datahawk service and Data Security Alliance bring clean data restores, ransomware artefact detection, data vaulting and data audit for a clearer understanding of attack impact Continue Reading
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News
04 Dec 2022
How Bosch is driving Industry 4.0 in India
Bosch India is leveraging advanced analytics and artificial intelligence to detect manufacturing defects and plans to tap quantum computing for material simulation Continue Reading
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News
30 Nov 2022
HPE’s earnings reveal a shift back to less pricey servers
HPE has been focused on higher-end servers due to supply chain issues, but as these ease and memory costs fall, it is set to readjust pricing Continue Reading
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Feature
30 Nov 2022
From capex to opex: Storage procurement options bloom
We look at the growing list of possibilities when it comes to paying for storage infrastructure, ranging from upfront purchases with upgrades to pure pay-as-you-go options Continue Reading
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News
28 Nov 2022
Panzura partners with AWS on ransomware counter-measures
Panzura might have slipped beneath the waves, but it’s come back reinvigorated, and now boasts integration with AWS with ransomware protection and Outposts hardware Continue Reading
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Feature
24 Nov 2022
Indefinite storage: What it is and why you might need it
Indefinite storage addresses the issue that archived data may need to be kept well beyond the lifespan of the technology it was written for Continue Reading
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E-Zine
24 Nov 2022
CW Nordics: Icelandic datacentres point way to greener IT
Iceland may soon become even more attractive to firms wanting to minimise their carbon footprint while using high-performance computing services. Read more about it in this issue. Also find out how a robo investment company, Nord Investments, is harnessing open banking to make thing easier for its clients. Continue Reading
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News
22 Nov 2022
Pure aims at near bare metal I/O with Portworx PX-Fast
PX-Fast is driven by customer need for scale and high performance in containerised environments and sees reworking of Portworx data architecture to slash storage access time Continue Reading
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Feature
22 Nov 2022
Cloud storage: Key storage specifications
We look at the key specs in cloud storage, including availability – such as five nines – bandwidth, IOPS and latency, capacity and tiering functionality, egress charges and security Continue Reading
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News
21 Nov 2022
Genome lab puts Vast Data’s rapid I/O to work on patient data
French government-backed SeqOIA ditched its Lustre-based storage after it reached performance limits and files got corrupted. That got fixed by a Vast Data QLC flash-based array Continue Reading
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Feature
18 Nov 2022
How to get structure from unstructured data
We look at how to gain structure from unstructured data, via AI/ML analytics to create new records, selecting object data via SQL and storing unstructured files in NoSQL formats Continue Reading
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News
17 Nov 2022
Scality Ring 9 brings Storage Accelerator enhanced flash tiers
Scality upgrade to Ring 9 of its object (and file) storage software sees enhancements to tiering, the introduction of Prometheus-based monitoring and hooks into VMware vCloud Director Continue Reading
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Feature
14 Nov 2022
The next decade in enterprise backup
Backup set to adapt to deliver more security, ransomware protection and flash-speed restores, and deal with the complexity of multi-, hybrid cloud and container-based operations Continue Reading
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News
03 Nov 2022
Russia risks shortage of PCs and software
Russian consumers and businesses could face a shortage of IT equipment including PCs and software Continue Reading
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News
01 Nov 2022
NetApp launches BlueXP as single console across on-prem and cloud
BlueXP gives customers monitoring and control over all NetApp storage on-site and in multiple clouds. Meanwhile, its Ontap OS has added S3 object storage access Continue Reading
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News
01 Nov 2022
Huawei pushes OceanStor’s Arm chip benefits at Paris love-in
Chinese giant trumpets green benefits on its Arm processor hardware with OceanStor Dorado V6 range, which offers huge capacities and performance at the high end Continue Reading
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News
31 Oct 2022
SoftIron’s HyperCloud to ease private cloud deployments
SoftIron claims its technology stack fully automates the provisioning of storage, compute, networking and infrastructure services, providing a fully functioning, multi-tenant cloud Continue Reading
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News
28 Oct 2022
Singapore’s met service to get new supercomputer
The Meteorological Service Singapore is getting a new Cray supercomputer to improve weather forecasting and tropical climate research Continue Reading
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Feature
21 Oct 2022
Cloud bursting: Six key steps in planning and decision-making
We explore the key stages in a cloud bursting project: assessing the data and workflows, variants in the mechanism, application suitability, having the right resources, and planning and testing Continue Reading
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News
19 Oct 2022
Gartner: Hero CIOs are needed again to save businesses
During the pandemic, IT enabled businesses to remain operational. As the economic crisis worsens, business executives are once again reaching out to CIOs Continue Reading
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News
17 Oct 2022
GRAID puts RAID on a GPU for cut-price disk protection and rebuilds
US startup puts its software on Nvidia graphics cards to offload RAID processing and throughput of 110GBps throughput across up to 32 NVMe solid-state drives Continue Reading
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Feature
13 Oct 2022
Is object storage good for databases?
We look at object storage vs block access SAN storage and ask if object storage can be used for database workloads, or is it just good for bulk storage of analytics datasets? Continue Reading
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News
13 Oct 2022
Bowled out: NVMe flash pioneer Pavilion Data ceases business
Last of the pioneer NVMe flash storage array makers, Pavilion made multiprotocol highs-speed boxes – but it seems to have run out of sources of investment and gone out of business Continue Reading
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Feature
12 Oct 2022
Cloud bursting: What is it, what workloads, what technologies?
We look at cloud bursting, its benefits and how to deploy it, as well as the limitations in terms of suitable workloads, the technologies needed and the skills to make it happen Continue Reading
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Feature
05 Oct 2022
Air gaps for backup and how they help against ransomware
The air gap is a basic of backups and storage. We look at what’s meant by an air gap, the rise of the logical air gap, and its place in the fight against ransomware Continue Reading
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Feature
04 Oct 2022
NFS vs SMB vs CIFS: File storage protocols defined
We take a close look at NFS and SMB – the key file storage access protocols – and weigh up their pros, cons and suitability to differing datacentre environments Continue Reading
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News
03 Oct 2022
StorPool takes its software-defined storage to the AWS cloud
Software-defined storage and block access specialist to offer its product on high-performance AWS bare metal and memory-intensive compute, while claiming improved latency Continue Reading
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Feature
03 Oct 2022
Edge storage: What it is and the technologies it uses
Storage is moving from the datacentre to the edge. We define edge storage, look at the characteristics of edge computing that shape it and the technologies it requires Continue Reading
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Feature
28 Sep 2022
AIOps for storage: Potential huge benefits, but lots of lock-in
Applying artificial intelligence and machine learning to storage can help to predict bottlenecks, diagnose I/O issues and recommend upgrades, but suppliers’ products are largely limited to their own hardware Continue Reading
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News
26 Sep 2022
PoINT to offer on-site S3 object storage archive on disk and tape
Archival Gateway can cluster up to 256 tape readers to provide S3 object storage clusters capable of storing 50 billion objects per bucket, and giving throughput of 230GBps Continue Reading
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News
22 Sep 2022
Dr Martens goes feetfirst into cloud-to-cloud backup
Iconic bootmaker laces up for a strategy to move all applications to the cloud, beginning with cloud-to-cloud backup for Microsoft 365 apps plus on-site VMware operations Continue Reading
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News
15 Sep 2022
Airtel to deploy edge computing platform
Bharti Airtel will deploy its multi-access edge compute platform across India to support edge computing applications in manufacturing and other industries, as India gears up for 5G Continue Reading
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News
07 Sep 2022
VMware’s vSAN 8 gets a rebuild for the solid-state storage era
At VMware Explore 2022, we interview VMware’s John Gilmartin about the new, faster vSAN, plans to use DPUs, the vSAN+ cloud offering, and VMware Ransomware Recovery Continue Reading
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Feature
02 Sep 2022
Cloud bursting: What it is and what it’s good for
We look at cloud bursting, which allows organisations to meet demand by bursting compute and storage to the cloud Continue Reading
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Feature
02 Sep 2022
Unstructured vs semi-structured data: Order from chaos
We look at alternatives to relational databases that have emerged to help bring some structure to unstructured data and gain valuable insight by making it semi-structured Continue Reading
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Podcast
01 Sep 2022
Podcast: Storage the key bottleneck for AI processing
We talk to Panasas about the need for storage that can cope with delivering high volumes of small files for artificial intelligence with the throughput and latency needed to service costly GPUs Continue Reading
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News
31 Aug 2022
HPE supply chain issues drive up server prices
HPE’s latest quarterly results show the company is trying to combat its order backlog by encouraging customers to buy next-gen servers Continue Reading
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News
30 Aug 2022
NetApp storage goes GA for VMware Cloud on AWS
Move will bring up to 50% decrease in TCO for customers running VMware apps in the Amazon cloud, says NetApp. No date yet for extension of the service across other public clouds Continue Reading
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Feature
24 Aug 2022
Cloud storage TCO: Key pitfalls and how to avoid them
Cloud’s flexibility is part of the attraction, but it can also lead to costs that spiral. We look at key elements in cloud TCO and how to intelligently make use of the cloud Continue Reading
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News
24 Aug 2022
Alibaba Cloud unveils RISC-V chip development platform
The Wujian 600 chip development platform will help developers build systems-on-chip to support edge applications such as home robots, medical imaging and video conferencing Continue Reading
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Feature
23 Aug 2022
Bfloat16: What it is and how it impacts storage
Bfloat16 is an emerging way to handle very large numbers, developed by Google for its machine and neural learning and prediction. We look at what it means for IT and storage Continue Reading
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News
17 Aug 2022
Indian semiconductor component market to hit $300bn by 2026
India’s semiconductor component market will see cumulative revenues climb to $300bn by 2026, amid growing demand for mobile devices and industrial products Continue Reading
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News
15 Aug 2022
Lightbits offers NVMe-over-TCP at 5x less than NVMe-over-FC et al
Lightbits builds NVMe-overTCP SAN clusters for Linux servers with Intel cards that accelerate network processing to give millions of IOPS with storage for public and private clouds Continue Reading
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Podcast
05 Aug 2022
Podcast: How storage AIOps is revolutionising hybrid cloud ops
We talk to Tintri about storage and AIOps, which is the application of AI and machine learning-based software to monitor storage infrastructure to be able to detect patterns and predict failure, the need to upgrade, and so on Continue Reading
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Podcast
03 Aug 2022
Podcast: Storage at the edge – impact and opportunities
We talk to Tobias Flitsch of Nebulon about the rise of edge computing and how that will drive demand for more storage that needs to be secure and resilient and centrally manageable Continue Reading
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Feature
29 Jul 2022
Unstructured data storage – on-prem vs cloud vs hybrid
We look at storage for unstructured data on-premise, in the cloud and across multiple locations. There are advantages to a hybrid approach, but there can be hidden costs, too Continue Reading
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News
28 Jul 2022
Hibs push for the backup premier league with Acronis
Hibernian FC signs Acronis to get top division data protection and make the most of ticketing information and match footage as it tries to gain more value from the data it holds Continue Reading
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News
28 Jul 2022
The verdict is Pure as Scottish prosecutor upgrades high-end storage
Scotland’s prosecution service saw disk drives in the dock every week with EMC legacy storage. Now it’s got Pure all-flash and has turned over an (Evergreen) new leaf Continue Reading
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News
13 Jul 2022
NHS trust cuts costs and refresh cycle with Wasabi cloud storage
Imperial College NHS Trust expects to saves 30% in storage costs and cut back on five-year refresh headaches in a move that has seen backup and archive data move to the Wasabi cloud Continue Reading
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Feature
12 Jul 2022
Ransomware and backup: Overcoming the challenges
Ransomware attacks that exfiltrate data don’t nullify the value of backups to restore from, but the challenges – such as not restoring corrupted data – require careful planning Continue Reading
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News
11 Jul 2022
NetApp Ontap to be sole vSAN storage alternative in the cloud
NetApp Ontap storage will provide file access capacity to extend VMware data stores in AWS, Microsoft Azure and Google clouds as a cheaper alternative to VMware vSAN Continue Reading
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News
04 Jul 2022
How Lenovo is making the transition into services
Although Lenovo is late to the as-a-service game, it is making headway through its One Lenovo and services-led transformation strategies, says a top company executive Continue Reading
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Feature
01 Jul 2022
File, block and object: Storage fundamentals in the cloud era
We look at the three basic ways that storage accesses data – via file, block and object – as well as the ways in which the rise of the cloud and distributed systems have brought changes to them Continue Reading
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Feature
29 Jun 2022
Backup maintenance: Five key points to consider
Effective backups need to ensure all data is protected, and to track media and software changes. We look at five key things to consider Continue Reading
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News
28 Jun 2022
Veritas aims at autonomous backup discovery and provisioning
Veritas bets on a backup platform that can discover all enterprise data – on-premise and in the cloud – and make its own decisions about the optimal place to store copies Continue Reading
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News
24 Jun 2022
Weka scale-out NAS v4 goes beyond just AWS to go multicloud
Weka v4’s multicloud capability means the scale-out NAS file system can work across customer datacentres and public clouds that include AWS, Azure, GCP and Oracle Continue Reading
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Feature
23 Jun 2022
Global file systems: Hybrid cloud and follow-the-sun access
We look at global distributed file systems that put enterprise data under a single file access namespace so that enterprises and branch offices can get to data from anywhere Continue Reading
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Podcast
21 Jun 2022
Podcast: The legacy and modern apps that drive object storage
We talk to object (and file) storage vendor Scality about the ways the application and development environment is changing and how that is driving object storage Continue Reading
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Feature
17 Jun 2022
Data gravity: What is it and how to manage it
Data gravity can attract increasing amounts of data, and brings with it onerous management overheads. We look at how to mitigate data gravity in datacentre and cloud Continue Reading
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Feature
14 Jun 2022
Unified file and object storage: Three suppliers and their approaches
We look at unified file and object storage products from NetApp, Pure Storage and Scality, the differences, the workloads aimed at, and how unified they actually are Continue Reading
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Podcast
14 Jun 2022
Podcast: SaaS data protection vulnerability and how to manage it
We talk to backup and data management supplier Cohesity about the added vulnerabilities of software-as-a-service data in a hybrid cloud environment and how best to manage multiple data sources Continue Reading
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News
13 Jun 2022
Dell server, storage, PC sales grow despite component supply chain woes
Dell executives cite the company’s use of “alternative” component supply chains as server, storage and PC sales grow despite difficulties for most of the market sourcing parts Continue Reading
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Opinion
10 Jun 2022
IT Sustainability Think Tank: Incorporating circular economy principles into IT procurement
With sustainability moving up the boardroom agenda, CIOs and IT managers should look to revamp their IT procurement strategies to align with the principles of the circular economy, but where should they start? Continue Reading
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E-Zine
09 Jun 2022
CW Europe: Russia escalates cyber war on Ukraine
Microsoft has given details of cyber attacks on Ukrainian civilian communications, nuclear safety authorities, and the exploitation of the destruction of Mariupol in a phishing campaign. Also read about a report on the European Artificial Intelligence Act that suggests a limited ban on predictive policing systems. Continue Reading
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Feature
09 Jun 2022
Cloud-to-cloud backup: When native cloud protection is not enough
There is a certain amount of protection built into cloud services, but it has its limits and full data protection requires that cloud data is secured with cloud-to-cloud backup Continue Reading
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News
08 Jun 2022
Pure FlashBlade//S and Evergreen//Flex boost as-a-service push
FlashBlade//S brings two new arrays in which customers can upgrade controllers and capacity, while //Flex allows capacity to be bought and moved across any QLC or TLC Pure array Continue Reading
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Feature
07 Jun 2022
Kubernetes backup products and 10 key players
We look at 10 key players in Kubernetes backup, why they are needed, what they offer and why you need to watch out for duplication between application teams and the IT department Continue Reading
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Feature
06 Jun 2022
IT departments need holistic circular economies to fight climate change
With sustainability moving up the boardroom agenda, IT managers should revamp procurement strategies to align with the principles of the circular economy, but what does this mean for managing the IT lifecycle? Continue Reading