Cloud storage

A cloud SLA (cloud service-level agreement) is an agreement between a cloud service provider and a customer that ensures a minimum level of service is maintained.. See complete definition.

E-Zine 17 May 2024
CW APAC – Trend Watch: AI infrastructure

Firms are starting to trust artificial intelligence in some of their most important processes. In this handbook, focused on AI infrastructure trends in the Asia-Pacific region, Computer Weekly looks at how it should be deployed, data and sustainability challenges and the advantages of large language models. Continue Reading
News 29 Apr 2024
Inside Oracle’s cloud adoption journey

Oracle CIO Jae Evans outlines the company’s approach to migrating its own infrastructure and applications to cloud and what customers can learn from its cloud journey Continue Reading

Feature 24 Jun 2024

Pure’s storage as a service: We can offer what others can’t

All-flash storage vendor Pure makes bold claims about subscription pricing for storage, stating that the competition can’t offer what it can because its arrays are built for non-disruptive upgrades Continue Reading
News 21 Jun 2024

ICO police cloud guidance released under FOI

Long-awaited guidance from the UK data regulator on police cloud deployments highlights some potential data transfer mechanisms it thinks can clear up ongoing legal issues, but tells forces it’s up to them to decide if the measures would work Continue Reading
News 19 Jun 2024

Microsoft admits no guarantee of sovereignty for UK policing data

Documents show Microsoft’s lawyers admitted to Scottish policing bodies that the company cannot guarantee sensitive law enforcement data will remain in the UK, despite long-standing public claims to the contrary Continue Reading
News 11 Jun 2024

Pure Storage hit by Snowflake credential hackers

Pure Storage emerges as the latest victim of a fast-spreading breach of Snowflake customers targeting users with lax credential security measures in place Continue Reading
Feature 11 Jun 2024

Kubernetes at 10: Persistent storage matures, helped by Operators

Google engineer Saad Ali remembers the early days of Kubernetes, the storage challenges faced and overcome, and the revolution in application awareness that comes from Operators Continue Reading
Answer 10 Jun 2024

SAN vs. NAS vs. DAS: Key differences and best use cases

Compare SAN, NAS and DAS and find out what to consider when using each type of storage system. Object storage and the cloud are additional available storage options. Continue Reading
Feature 06 Jun 2024

Storage technology explained: Key questions about tape storage

We look at the benefits of tape storage – low cost, inherent security, excellent energy efficiency – the workloads it is best for, and how tape fits a wider storage strategy Continue Reading
News 03 Jun 2024

Major breaches allegedly caused by unsecured Snowflake accounts

Significant data breaches at Ticketmaster and Santander appear to have been orchestrated through careful targeting of the victims’ Snowflake cloud data management accounts Continue Reading
News 03 Jun 2024

Dell launches PowerStore Prime and hints at PowerScale AI boost

Array range launched at Dell World 2024 in Las Vegas as PowerScale gets OS upgrade and new Intel Xeon CPUs, while Dell CEO hints at acceleration for PowerScale NAS Continue Reading
Definition 03 Jun 2024

software-defined storage (SDS)

Software-defined storage (SDS) is a software program that manages data storage resources and functionality and has no dependencies on the underlying physical storage hardware. Continue Reading
News 30 May 2024

CMA slammed for excluding public sector from UK cloud market antitrust user research

The Competition and Markets Authority is under fire for instructing the firm overseeing the user research part of its antitrust probe into the UK cloud infrastructure services market not to include public sector buyers Continue Reading
Feature 29 May 2024

Storage technology explained: File, block and object storage

We ask the key questions about file, block and object storage: how they work on-premise and in the cloud, global file systems, and file and object locking Continue Reading
Podcast 22 May 2024

Podcast: AI and its impact on data storage

We talk to Shawn Rosemarin, vice-president for R&D at Pure Storage, about the requirements of AI workloads, and what data storage needs to cope with AI Continue Reading
E-Zine 17 May 2024

CW APAC – Trend Watch: AI infrastructure

Firms are starting to trust artificial intelligence in some of their most important processes. In this handbook, focused on AI infrastructure trends in the Asia-Pacific region, Computer Weekly looks at how it should be deployed, data and sustainability challenges and the advantages of large language models. Continue Reading
News 14 May 2024

NetApp upgrades AFF all-flash as it targets AI storage

New AFF arrays offer performance boost for artificial intelligence, while NetApp trumpets its advantages as a provider of sustainable and intelligent infrastructure for all kinds of workloads Continue Reading
News 07 May 2024

AWS to invest S$12bn in Singapore cloud infrastructure

The latest investment from AWS will bring the hyperscaler’s total planned investment in its Singapore cloud region to over S$23bn by 2028 Continue Reading
News 03 May 2024

Lords say government must ‘go beyond’ current approach to LLMs

Chair of the Lords Communications and Digital Committee has written to the UK’s digital secretary about the government’s approach to generative AI, lamenting a lack of support for copyright holders and measures to ensure competition in AI markets Continue Reading
News 30 Apr 2024

Global majority united on multilateral regulation of AI weapons

Foreign ministers and civil society representatives say that multilateralism is key to controlling the proliferation and use of AI-powered autonomous weapons, but that a small number of powerful countries are holding back progress Continue Reading
News 30 Apr 2024

Arcitecta offers file and object storage with huge transfer rates

Australian startup offers single namespace file and object storage with rapid access via a metadata database that puts the right data in the right place according to recent use Continue Reading
News 29 Apr 2024

Inside Oracle’s cloud adoption journey

Oracle CIO Jae Evans outlines the company’s approach to migrating its own infrastructure and applications to cloud and what customers can learn from its cloud journey Continue Reading
Feature 23 Apr 2024

Five reasons why – and when – cloud storage is the answer

We look at when cloud storage can be the best choice, with considerations that include performance, scalability and agility, cost, management simplicity, and security and resilience Continue Reading
News 11 Apr 2024

How GenAI use is evolving for Google Cloud customers

With more than one million developers now using Google Cloud’s generative AI systems to power their tools, Google customers have gone beyond experimentation and are now building their own agents Continue Reading
Feature 11 Apr 2024

Storage technology explained: AI and data storage

In this guide, we examine the data storage needs of artificial intelligence, the demands it places on data storage, the suitability of cloud and object storage for AI, and key AI storage products Continue Reading
Feature 05 Apr 2024

Seven ways to be sure you can restore from backup

Backups are no good if you can’t restore from them. We look at key elements of backup restoration, including backup audits, RPOs and RTOs, and how and when to test backups Continue Reading
Feature 02 Apr 2024

Storage technology explained: Flash vs HDD

In this guide, we examine the differences between flash storage and HDD, the rise of NVMe and much denser formats such as QLC, and whether or not flash will vanquish HDD in the all-flash datacentre Continue Reading
Podcast 28 Mar 2024

Podcast: What is distributed cloud storage and what are its benefits?

We talk to Enrico Signoretti of Cubbit about how distributed cloud allows customers to control their data in hybrid and multicloud storage and the workloads the company targets Continue Reading
News 26 Mar 2024

GTC 2024: Storage suppliers queue up to ride the Nvidia AI wave

Storage supplier announcements at Nvdia conference centre on infrastructure integration, tackling the GPU I/O bottleneck and AI hallucinations by running Nvidia NeMo and NIM microservices Continue Reading
E-Zine 26 Mar 2024

What are IT buyers spending their money on?

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we reveal the findings of our annual survey into the technologies that IT buyers are spending their money on this year. The European CIO at PepsiCo explains how to make digital transformation go with a pop. And we look at the growing importance of cloud-to-cloud backup for data protection and resilience. Read the issue now. Continue Reading
News 25 Mar 2024

IBM enhances network IT automation capabilities with Pliant acquisition

Tech giant makes strategic purchase to further boost software networking capabilities, offering customers the tools to enable network infrastructure observability, connectivity, control and automation across hybrid cloud environments Continue Reading
News 22 Mar 2024

Open Data Institute launches digital policy manifesto

The Open Data Institute has launched a policy manifesto ahead of the UK general election that outlines policies and issues it believes must be part of the political discussion around digital and data Continue Reading
News 20 Mar 2024

How Vast Data is simplifying data infrastructure

Vast Data CEO Renen Hallak explains how the company’s unified data platform that combines storage, database and compute capabilities into a single technology stack can improve the efficiency of analytics and artificial intelligence workloads Continue Reading
Blog Post 20 Mar 2024

Maybe Einstein Was Wrong with E and MC - Apparently SoftIron = VM Squared...

Let’s face it, the scenario facing VMware for resellers and customer alike, post-Broadcom acquisition is common knowledge – the future landscape is not as it was. On top of that, it has to be ... Continue Reading
News 20 Mar 2024

SAP S/4HANA data migration beset by poor and fragmented strategy

Survey finds customers transitioning to S/4HANA lack strategic thinking and skills, can’t access data, face challenges in data duplication, can’t use AI, and worry about compliance Continue Reading
E-Zine 19 Mar 2024

What went wrong with Birmingham’s Oracle project?

In this week’s Computer Weekly, after Birmingham City Council’s disastrous Oracle project cost over £100m, we analyse where it all went wrong. Our new buyer’s guide examines building a sustainable IT strategy. And we find out how Thomson Reuters is using AI to enhance its product offerings. Read the issue now. Continue Reading
News 18 Mar 2024

Spring Budget risks funding legally questionable police tech

Open legal questions around how UK police are using facial recognition and cloud technology could undermine the £230m investment committed in the Spring Budget to “time and money-saving technology” for police Continue Reading
Definition 18 Mar 2024

cloud load balancing

Cloud load balancing is the process of distributing workloads across computing resources in a cloud computing environment and carefully balancing the network traffic accessing those resources. Continue Reading
Feature 15 Mar 2024

12 cloud storage and file-sharing services to consider

Cloud-based file-sharing services, such as the list of products here, enable organizations to collaborate with colleagues and clients all over the world. Continue Reading
Definition 14 Mar 2024

cloud encryption

Cloud encryption is a service cloud storage providers offer whereby a customer's data is transformed using encryption algorithms from plaintext into ciphertext and stored in the cloud. Continue Reading
News 13 Mar 2024

AWS launches Builder Studio in Melbourne

The Builder Studio will help customers and partners build prototype AI projects to validate and test their ideas before deployment Continue Reading
News 12 Mar 2024

Hammerspace leverages smart metadata handling for AI/ML workloads

Software-defined storage maker separates metadata from files to provide view-from-anywhere file system visibility. It has now leveraged that for AI/ML workloads in Hyperscale NAS Continue Reading
News 05 Mar 2024

Unexpected costs hit many as they move to cloud storage

A Wasabi survey of cloud storage customers finds more moving to the cloud, but they are experiencing busted budgets and unexpected fees, and expect big demands from artificial intelligence workloads Continue Reading
News 05 Mar 2024

Keepit brings backup and restore to unprotected SaaS applications

SaaS backup specialist keeps data in its own cloud datacentres, protects cloud data across numerous platforms and aims to give customers the ability to rapidly add data sources Continue Reading
News 05 Mar 2024

Own targets SaaS backup and offers analytics insight

Targeting a growing market – SaaS applications that lack backup – Own offers backup, fine-grained restores and analytics on data stores that can bring business insight Continue Reading
News 04 Mar 2024

How ANZ organisations can address challenges in AI adoption

Pure Storage's global CTO Alex McMullan discusses the data and sustainability challenges in artificial intelligence adoption, which can be addressed by centralising datasets and focusing on data quality and management Continue Reading
News 27 Feb 2024

Hycu uses AI to develop APIs for SaaS application backup

SaaS applications don’t usually come with built-in data protection, but Hycu plans to tackle that gap in the market with AI to generate the connectors needed to backup user data Continue Reading
News 26 Feb 2024

Storage and backup spend in 2024 targets risk and resilience

The TechTarget and ESG spending intentions survey finds big bias towards averting risk and building organisational resilience, but on-premise storage a significant planned outlay Continue Reading
Definition 22 Feb 2024

cloud architect

A cloud architect is an IT professional who is responsible for overseeing a company's cloud computing strategy. Continue Reading
News 21 Feb 2024

NasuniIQ brings visualisation of massive unstructured datasets

Global file system provider adds visualisation of massive distributed unstructured datasets to allow customers to analyse data usage and prepare clean training data for artificial intelligence Continue Reading
Podcast 14 Feb 2024

Podcast: What is the impact of AI on storage and compliance?

Start now looking at artificial intelligence compliance. That’s the advice of Mathieu Gorge of Vigitrust, who says AI governance is still immature but firms should recognise the limits and still act Continue Reading
News 13 Feb 2024

What will result from Cohesity’s Veritas acquisition?

The $7bn backup giant will leverage huge assets in enterprise customer base, compliance and governance intelligence, AI, R&D, and Kubernetes backup and storage Continue Reading
News 06 Feb 2024

Inside NetApp’s cloud and AI strategy

NetApp’s senior executives talk up the company’s efforts to support AI initiatives and deliver first-party storage services on public cloud platforms Continue Reading
Feature 02 Feb 2024

UK police facial recognition explained: What you need to know

In this essential guide, Computer Weekly looks at the use of facial recognition technology by UK police forces, including the points of contention around its deployment so far and where it’s heading next Continue Reading
Feature 29 Jan 2024

French TV giant sticks with Dell NAS for channel upgrade

TF1 has the biggest market share in French TV, but plans for more. It has upgraded from Isilon to PowerScale scale-out NAS and saved 42% in energy costs, halving rackspace use Continue Reading
Feature 25 Jan 2024

Cloud is not always the answer: Five reasons why

We look at why the cloud is not always the best choice, including for reasons of cost, application suitability, management, data protection and the needs of the business Continue Reading
Podcast 23 Jan 2024

Podcast: Storage and compliance outlook for 2024

Interesting times ahead in 2024 as we talk to Mathieu Gorge, CEO of Vigitrust, about updates to EU regs, PCI, NIST, post-Brexit divergence and 60 national elections across the globe Continue Reading
Definition 22 Jan 2024

Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3)

Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3) is a scalable, high-speed, web-based cloud storage service. The service is designed for online backup and archiving of data and applications on Amazon Web Services (AWS). Continue Reading
News 19 Jan 2024

ICO prompts confusion over police cloud legality

The UK data regulator has suggested that, despite major data protection concerns, it is likely to greenlight police cloud deployments because of an information-sharing agreement with the US government Continue Reading
News 19 Jan 2024

AWS plans huge investment in Japan cloud infrastructure

Amazon Web Services plans to invest over $15bn into its existing cloud infrastructure in Tokyo and Osaka by 2027 to meet growing customer demand Continue Reading
Feature 18 Jan 2024

Storage technology explained: Replication vs snapshots and backup

Are replication and snapshots the same? Can you replace backup with replication or snapshots? We look into the key planks of data protection strategy, including in cloud storage Continue Reading
Feature 17 Jan 2024

Cloud-to-cloud backup: What it is and why you (probably) need it

Basic cloud data protection is just not enough. Several loopholes leave business data vulnerable and that means additional cloud-to-cloud backup should be seriously considered Continue Reading
News 17 Jan 2024

Data on Kubernetes Community aims at K8S storage scaling solution

DoKC works on community solutions for Kubernetes. It aims to develop storage scaling automation for the containerised platform outside the orbit of the big vendors Continue Reading
News 16 Jan 2024

Google’s data egress offer – no such thing as a free migration?

Google’s offer to allow free data egress from its cloud platform is a first from the hyperscalers, but the small print means for most it lacks any great benefit Continue Reading
News 10 Jan 2024

Scotland ‘sleepwalking’ to mass surveillance with DPDI Bill

The independent checks and balances over biometrics and biometric-enabled surveillance must be strengthened to prevent Scotland from sliding into a surveillance state along with the rest of the UK Continue Reading
News 21 Dec 2023

Top 10 storage stories of 2023

In this 2023 review, we consider if flash will thrash disk, what the Toyota outage shows about capacity planning, how to achieve green storage, the backup and compliance risks of AI, the lowdown on DPUs, and more Continue Reading
News 21 Dec 2023

Top 10 storage supplier strategy stories of 2023

In 2023, we looked at the top storage suppliers, their market share and how they set themselves for a future of hybrid cloud, containerisation and consumption models of purchasing Continue Reading
Feature 21 Dec 2023

Storage suppliers’ market share and strategy 2023

We look at the top suppliers in data storage by market share and run the rule over their storage offer, strategies for hybrid cloud, containerisation and as-you-go purchasing Continue Reading
Feature 19 Dec 2023

On-prem vs cloud storage: Four decisions about data location

Hybrid cloud is now a reality. But how to decide what data goes where? We highlight four key decision points to evaluate whether data should be stored on-premise or in the cloud Continue Reading
Feature 18 Dec 2023

Pure Storage: Flash ‘startup’ that brings late entrant advantage

Storage profile: We look at Pure Storage, the youngest of the array makers, which comes to market with well-developed flash, hybrid cloud and consumption purchasing models Continue Reading
Blog Post 14 Dec 2023

Why We Should Maybe Get Hyper Over A Cloud...

This time last year I was basking in the icy cool, but mercifully dry climate of Berlin, testing SoftIron’ s HyperCloud product in its Berlin labs and very much appreciating the fantastic support ... Continue Reading
News 13 Dec 2023

Inside the Singapore government’s cloud journey

The Smart Nation Group’s chief digital technology officer outlines the government’s cloud journey, including its approach to cloud migration and how it came to host mission-critical workloads on AWS Continue Reading
News 12 Dec 2023

Top IT predictions in APAC in 2024

Generative AI will continue to leave its mark on many areas in business and IT, along with other trends such as sustainability, cyber security and smart factories that are expected to shape the region’s technology landscape in 2024 Continue Reading
News 11 Dec 2023

Panasas set for Mach.2 throughput with multi-actuator HDDs

Scale-out NAS maker claims to be the first enterprise array maker to use multi-actuator HDDs designed for hyperscaler architectures and which double throughput Continue Reading
Feature 11 Dec 2023

ERP’s storage requirements and options in the cloud

We look under the hood at enterprise resource planning and its databases, the storage needed to support ERP’s I/O requirements, block, file and object storage, and ERP in an era of hybrid cloud Continue Reading
Feature 05 Dec 2023

Dell EMC: Storage giant shifts gear to cloud operating models

Storage profile: We look at Dell EMC, the result of the biggest tech acquisition ever, and find a company well set for ubiquitous cloud operating models and as-a-service Continue Reading
01 Dec 2023

Generative AI: Data privacy, backup and compliance

Continue Reading
News 28 Nov 2023

AWS sharpens focus in APAC

AWS is doubling down on industry offerings and investing in cloud infrastructure and skills training, among other efforts, to tap growth opportunities in the region Continue Reading
Blog Post 28 Nov 2023

Optimistic Cloud Forecast - IT Managers No Longer Left In The Shade...

Remember the early days of cloud computing. All the promises – low-cost, scalable, simple to deploy and manage, secure, be in control of your own data and apps without the OnPrem hassle… All ... Continue Reading
News 20 Nov 2023

Cubbit DS3 Composer brings DIY cloud to object storage pool

Cubbit customers can now build and configure S3-compatible clouds from unused capacity and offer MSP-grade services with high levels of resilience, security and data sovereignty Continue Reading
News 20 Nov 2023

IT not ready for AI, Pure Storage survey finds

Storage, compute and networking hardware won’t cope without upgrades, and that often means total IT infrastructure overhaul Continue Reading
News 16 Nov 2023

Outgoing police tech watchdog warns of declining oversight

The outgoing biometrics and surveillance camera commissioner for England and Wales discusses police deployment of powerful new surveillance technologies, and the declining state of oversight in this area Continue Reading
Feature 15 Nov 2023

DPU 101: What are DPUs, what do they do, and who supplies them?

We look at data processing units, the latest in a line of hardware offload devices that emerged in the era of composable infrastructure. They come as hardware and even in the cloud Continue Reading
News 14 Nov 2023

Engineers slash RPO/RTO as they swap tape for Rubrik backup

Frankham Group ditches archaic tape backup and deploys Rubrik backup appliances and remote disaster recovery facility. Meanwhile, the engineering group assesses a move to the cloud Continue Reading
News 08 Nov 2023

Data-sharing management gap highlights cyber risk, says report

Organisations are struggling to secure their use of communications tools to share data with third-party partners and suppliers, and in the process are exposing themselves to heightened levels of risk, according to a report Continue Reading
News 07 Nov 2023

VMware consolidates AI push at Explore in Barcelona

VMware’s vision is of ‘cloud smart’ enterprises that run on-premise, in multiclouds and in the ‘edge cloud’, with secure and compliant generative AI fuelling efficient business processes Continue Reading
News 05 Nov 2023

AWS to open Malaysia cloud region in 2024

Amazon Web Services’ new cloud region in Malaysia will open next year to meet the increased demand for cloud services and support digitisation efforts in the country Continue Reading
News 27 Oct 2023

‘Egregious’ to link passport data with facial recognition systems

The Scottish biometrics watchdog has spoken out against the UK policing minister’s plans to integrate passport data with police facial recognition systems Continue Reading
News 24 Oct 2023

NetApp ‘unified storage’ adds new ASA block storage at Insight

Las Vegas event sees NetApp continue its evolution to hybrid cloud and data management player announce ASA C-series and Keystone and Kubernetes storage enhancements Continue Reading
News 23 Oct 2023

Dell updates PowerStore, PowerMax and PowerFlex storage

Dell storage upgrades include improved AIOps, lower energy usage, real-time HA failover, seamless hardware replacement, and enhancements to take advantage of DPU acceleration Continue Reading
Feature 20 Oct 2023

Five key questions about disaster recovery as a service

Disaster recovery as a service builds recovery data and systems into the cloud, accessible from anywhere. We look at the difference vs cloud backup, DRaaS use cases, the cost, and the firms that provide it Continue Reading
Feature 20 Oct 2023

NetApp: NAS pioneer well set for the cloud revolution

In this storage profile, we look at NetApp, which built a reputation in file access storage but seems to be set fair to navigate a future of hybrid cloud, cloud-native and containerisation Continue Reading
News 19 Oct 2023

Scality gets a jump with VMware Cloud Director integration

S3-compliant object storage specialist will use new OSIS integration with VMware’s cloud management tool to target service providers that want to deliver regional cloud offers Continue Reading
News 11 Oct 2023

Pure offers Evergreen energy and rackspace cost guarantees

Pure Storage will take upfront payments for power and rackspace and guarantee those for product lifecycles in its Evergreen One, Flex and Forever consumption purchasing models Continue Reading
Feature 28 Sep 2023

Cloud NAS, what is it good for?

We look at NAS file access storage, how it works, what it’s good for and the possibilities to access storage for files and unstructured data in the public cloud Continue Reading
Feature 26 Sep 2023

IBM reorients to offset historic storage hardware decline

Storage profile: We look at IBM and the strategic shifts it has made towards the cloud, cloud-native and as-a-service offerings that aim to reverse a long-term decline in revenues Continue Reading
News 26 Sep 2023

Kubernetes storage: It’s object or nothing for MinIO

SAN and NAS are finished in the age of the cloud when it comes to cloud-native Kubernetes storage, according to container-focused object storage maker MinIO Continue Reading
News 25 Sep 2023

How Liverpool FC is tapping cloud and data analytics

Liverpool Football Club is leveraging data analytics and cloud technology to improve fan engagement and enable its media production team to work more efficiently Continue Reading
Opinion 20 Sep 2023

4 reasons cloud data repatriation is happening in storage

When the advantages of cloud storage aren't fully realized, repatriation becomes a consideration. Find out where the cloud isn't delivering on its promises. Continue Reading
News 20 Sep 2023

How Google is priming its infrastructure for the AI wave

The technology giant is integrating purpose-built hardware with an optimised software stack to meet the heightened computational demands of next-generation AI workloads Continue Reading
News 19 Sep 2023

38TB Microsoft data leak highlights risks of oversharing

An accidentally disclosed SAS token with excessive privileges enabled researchers to access nearly 40TB of Microsoft’s data, highlighting the risks of privilege mismanagement and oversharing Continue Reading
Tip 11 Sep 2023

How to develop a cloud backup ransomware protection strategy

Deploying cloud backups for ransomware protection has become a common security strategy. Here's how to properly vet cloud storage vendors to ensure backups stay secure. Continue Reading