Object storage: A new way of storing data
In the past, files were mainly stored in blocks. A file was divided into several components, each with their own address on a hard drive. “Object storage is structured differently in order to make the management of large volumes of unstructured data easier, explains Yuri Colombi, EBRC Head of Solutions & Innovation. A file, an image, a document, a video, a voice recording and other examples, are all objects. Each object is attributed metadata, which provides additional information about the object itself. The metadata enriches the object, thus ultimately ease to create value.”
Benefit from dynamic management to create value
In our digital economy, social platforms and connected objects produce terabytes and even petabytes of data, which must be stored, protected and processed more dynamically. “Thanks to metadata, the components are easier to retrieve and subsequently to exploit. Smart interfaces simplify the use of information contained in each file, by cross-referencing the data relating to various elements more easily”, develops Gérard Miceli.
Object storage offers a better data protection
Object storage also offers other kinds of advantages. The first one consists in the fact that it is more affordable for those seeking to store large volumes of data. “In addition, the technology was specially designed to guarantee long-term protection and integrity of the data, says Yuri Colombi. Whereas the elements were previously accessed from the hard drive, this new storage method protects and encrypts each object individually. In this way, it is possible to meet the most stringent regulatory requirements. Object storage integrates the mechanisms for reading and writing the elements by design, thereby guaranteeing redundancy and automatic error correction.”
Benefit from Cyber-Resilience: sustainably-stored data
With object storage, no need to have many backups anymore. Moreover, many stakeholders are now turning to this technology to sustainably store their system backups, and in notably those still stored on tape. “The technology underpins a drive towards improving organisations’ Cyber-Resilience. Once the data has been saved in this environment, it is guaranteed to be protected and preserved for a long time and easily retrieved”, explains Gérard Miceli.
Object storage to ease cloud migration
Finally, the last but not least advantage is that data hosted using the object storage method is more mobile. “This storage method facilitates the migration and integration to the cloud in a context of system hybridization, develops Yuri Colombi. This technology makes use of the major standards on the market and in particular the APIs used by the giants of the cloud. Customers enjoy significant reversibility and are therefore able to easily migrate from one environment to another, while guaranteeing the integrity of their data.”