Revolutionizing Data Archiving: Cost-Effective, Secure Storage with TaaS

Andrew Parsons, Sr. Director, Strategy & Business Development, OEM, Technology Partners

Artificial intelligence (AI) and analytics applications are transforming industries, making efficient data management and archiving crucial for businesses of all sizes. As these applications demand storage capacities ranging from terabytes to petabytes, organizations need scalable solutions to keep pace with data growth and maintain competitive advantage.

To meet these growing demands, companies seek reliable, long-term storage solutions that avoid the high costs commonly associated with cloud storage – especially data egress and data transfer fees, for data retrieval. In fact, Gartner estimates that egress fees alone account for 10% to 15% of a company’s cloud bill, significantly increasing costs for organizations with large data volumes.

Industries such as healthcare and finance face these costs more acutely, as regulatory requirements mandate long-term data retention. Many businesses have started to adopt “cold storage” solutions, designed specifically for infrequently accessed data, which provide a cost-effective and scalable answer to substantial data retention needs. Recognizing this trend, Gartner’s Hype Cycle for Storage Technologies 2024 recently highlighted cold storage as an emerging solution set to grow in importance.

Introducing Tape-as-a-Service: A New Solution for Long-Term Storage Needs

To address the challenges of high storage costs, Geyser Data has launched Tape-as-a-Service (TaaS) on PlatformDIGITAL®, Digital Realty’s global data center platform. Integrated within Digital Realty's service orchestration platform, ServiceFabric™, TaaS offers an affordable, secure, and scalable way for companies to archive their data without the typical egress fees. ServiceFabric™ provides superior performance for retrieving large datasets, making it particularly well-suited for applications like AI, data analytics, and integration with Digital Realty's Private AI Exchange (AIPx).

TaaS is powered by Geyser Data’s software platform on Spectra Logic tape libraries. Spectra is a leader in data storage innovation with over 40 years of expertise, ensuring both reliability and security. This cutting-edge solution is hosted on the first cloud-optimized library on the market, a groundbreaking development that brings long-term storage into the age of the cloud and AI.

By eliminating costly data transfer fees and reducing the baseline cost to store data, TaaS allows businesses to manage storage expenses predictably – a critical advantage for today’s data-intensive industries.

The Benefits of Digital Realty and Geyser Data’s Partnership

Geyser Data’s TaaS delivers a range of features that address modern data archiving needs, including:

• Ultra low-cost data archiving: Geyser Data is up to 90% lower cost than all other cloud storage solutions.
• No Egress or Restore Fees: TaaS removes data retrieval costs, a significant burden with traditional cloud storage, allowing businesses to budget more predictably.
• Enhanced Security and Privacy: Each customer is assigned with dedicated tape cartridges, ensuring privacy and secure data management. With the air-gapped feature tapes are naturally protected from cyber threats, including ransomware.
• Scalability for Data-Intensive Needs: TaaS is optimized for applications that require large-scale data archiving, like science, AI and data analytics workloads, making it ideal for organizations managing extensive datasets.
• Integration with AWS S3: Customer’s can easily copy data from their Geyser Data tape library to AWS S3 via ServiceFabric™ for running analytics and AI workloads.
• Easy Integration: Easily integrate Geyser’s TaaS seamlessly into existing backup processes as long as they support S3 compliant storage destinations.
• Sustainable and Eco-Friendly: Unlike disk-based storage, tape libraries require minimal energy and cooling, reducing both carbon emissions and energy costs. This eco-friendly approach aligns with corporate sustainability goals, supporting a greener future.
• Connected Data Communities™: Integrating Geyser Data's cloud archive platform into our ServiceFabric™ reinforces our commitment to creating Connected Data Communities™ where customers of more than 700 data centers worldwide can seamlessly use the Geyser Data Tape as a Service solution for archiving data.
• Global platform: PlatformDIGITAL®, our global data center platform, provides customers with a secure data meeting place and a proven Pervasive Datacenter Architecture (PDx®) solution methodology for powering innovation and efficiently managing Data Gravity challenges.

A Flexible Solution for Hybrid and Cloud Repatriation Strategies

The trend of cloud repatriation – where businesses shift workloads from public cloud back to on-premises or hybrid environments – is growing as companies seek to optimize costs, improve compliance, and enhance performance. TaaS offers a flexible, cloud-agnostic solution that integrates seamlessly with major cloud platforms, making it an ideal fit for businesses exploring hybrid and multi-cloud strategies. This flexibility allows companies to store and retrieve data on their terms, supporting both long-term archiving and data-intensive AI workloads.

With integration with Digital Realty’s ServiceFabric™ and Digital Realty’s Private AI Exchange (AIPx), customer can seamlessly and securely archive their data via private connections that do not traverse public networks. This allows customers to know the path their data is taking and that they have committed speeds, all backed by an SLA provided by Digital Realty. This does not restrict a customer from using the internet as a path but offers a more flexible and performant solution for their critical data.

Ready to Leverage TaaS?

With Geyser Data’s TaaS now operational at Digital Realty’s Los Angeles facility, and expanding to new markets soon, businesses can begin archiving their data or start a free trial to explore the benefits of TaaS firsthand. This innovative solution marks a new era in data archiving, offering a scalable, cost-effective, and environmentally responsible option for today’s data-intensive world.

Visit Geyser Data and Digital Realty’s ServiceFabric™ Service Directory to learn more about how TaaS can transform your data strategy, combining secure, affordable, and sustainable archiving for the future.