Automatic Data Classification Tool Saves Time, Money

Managing and storing files has become more complex as the volume of data has increased dramatically. Nasuni, whose flagship product is a cloud-native global file system, has introduced a new feature in its Cloud File Services product that aims to attack this problem.

With the ability to automatically reclassify files from primary to archive as they become inactive, the system no longer distinguishes between primary NAS data and secondary archive data. Instead, it gives users full access to all unstructured data through its UniFS global file system. That means that organizations can rely on cloud object storage as the sole repository for all file data.

“Without the ability to automatically classify data, someone would need to make a decision and then move the data,” explained Scott Sinclair, a senior analyst at Enterprise Strategy Group. “That requires tools to understand the file environment, and personnel to read the reports and make the moves. All of that takes more time and more money.”

Without the granular classification capability, moves are often done in bulk, which can create inefficiencies, Sinclair adds. “In other words, every few weeks or months, someone may move terabytes at a time, where maybe 10 percent of that data should to be on a high tier, but the high level reporting doesn’t offer that insight, or the IT admin doesn’t have the time to sift through all the files and just moves a chunk at a time.”

With the reclassification, data is moved to a less expensive storage tier automatically. That means the amount paid can decrease over time, depending on data access. The end result is that organizations save money, as they pay less to store archived files and spends less time moving files.

“This upends the 30-year status quo of enterprise IT having to constantly move unused files to lower-cost, and slower, storage tiers--and having to move them back to primary storage if they are needed,” Sinclair says. “Yet, at the same time, if they want to access that information immediately, they can."

This new capability is part of the Nasuni Cloud File Services Summer 2018 Release. Other new features include optimizations to Nasuni’s cloud-based Global Volume Manager and Global File Lock technologies, its web browser client, and the Nasuni Management Console.

Nasuni Cloud File Services, built on its UniFS global file system, is made up of four software-defined services, which can be used by themselves or bundled together. These are:

Much of Nasuni’s value proposition, Sinclair says, is to create a “set it and forget it” solution for file storage. 

“Instead of deploying multiple file or object storage technologies, each its own storage silo, and managing data movement and migration across on premises platforms and to the cloud, Nasuni offers a single file storage platform that can consolidate production, backup and archive that leverages multi-cloud infrastructure, with the ability to extend to the edge for on premises performance.”