Quantum marries public cloud with on-premise storage

Q-Cloud integrate the cloud into multi-tier, hybrid storage architectures
Saying that it is rejecting the generic one-size-fits-all approach common among many other cloud offerings, Quantum is announcing three new solutions for demanding data workloads. It bills its Q-Cloud approach as multi-tier and hybrid and one which enables customers to store data in the cloud when it makes the most sense for a given workflow or application.
Two of the new products, Q-Cloud Archive and Q-Cloud Vault use public cloud as an off-site tier within a Quantum StorNext 5 workflow environment. Q-Cloud Protect for Amazon Web Services enables customers using Quantum’s DXi deduplication appliances to replicate data to the AWS cloud.
Quantum says that rather than treat the cloud as a passive repository or the answer to all needs it will integrate the cloud as an active tier in a hybrid storage infrastructure driven by application requirements. This, it argues, provides customers with an optimal mix of performance, access, scale and efficiency and is the basis for these and future Q-Cloud announcements.
More on Q-Cloud Archive and Q-Cloud Vault
Q-Cloud Archive provides fast, on-demand access to data in the cloud while Q-Cloud Vault offers “cold storage” for long-term data retention and disaster recovery. Key features beyond general cloud advantages include:
- Full integration as a tier in StorNext 5-managed workflows, with automated, policy-based data movement
- No additional hardware, separate applications or programming needed
- Agility in addressing changing workload demands
- Reliability of global public cloud infrastructure
- Straight-forward pricing and billing directly from Quantum
More on Q-Cloud Protect for AWS
Offered as a subscription service through the Amazon Marketplace, Q-Cloud Protect for AWS enables customers to replicate from either a physical or virtual DXi appliance on premise to a virtual DXi instance in the AWS cloud. Key features and benefits include:
- Easy access to the Amazon public cloud and its benefits, with no changes to applications or processes
- Cost savings enabled by the most efficient method of data deduplication
- Secure, encrypted data in transit and at rest
Q-Cloud Archive is available now while Q-Cloud Vault will be available in the second half of 2015. Q-Cloud Protect for AWS will be available next quarter.

Cloud configuration for Quantum StorNext
Commending the approach Dave Simpson, senior analyst, Storage, 451 Research, said: “It’s important to view the cloud as another storage tier option rather than a place where all data should reside. That’s the approach Quantum has taken, building on its expertise in managing and protecting data within and across storage tiers. In addition, the new Q-Cloud offerings enhance the value that both StorNext and DXi provide, not only to existing Quantum customers but also to other users that have been hesitant about incorporating the cloud.”
Adds Geoff Stedman, svp, StorNext solutions, Quantum: “Effective data management is about putting data in the right place at the right time with the right technology, guided by a customer’s workflow or application. That’s why we designed our new Q-Cloud solutions to be deployed in broader, intelligently managed hybrid architectures that enable customers to optimise the use of both on-premise and cloud storage in the most efficient and cost-effective way possible.”
You might also like...
Essential Guide: Delivering High Availability Cloud
Delivering high availability cloud for broadcast production and transmission environments requires engineers to think in terms of resilience from the very beginning of the design.
Learning From The Experts At The BEITC Sessions at 2023 NAB Show
Many NAB Shows visitors don’t realize that some of the most valuable technical information released at NAB Shows emanates from BEITC sessions. The job titles of all but one speaker in the conference are all related to engineering, technology, d…
Empowering Cloud Through Microservices - Part 2
Achieving higher levels of scalability and flexibility demands a hybrid approach were microservices run in the cloud, on- and off-prem. Also, common APIs hide the complexity of the infrastructure from the user to provide a seamless operation.
The Streaming Tsunami: Part 1 - Seeing The Tsunami Coming
Streaming video is on the cusp of becoming a major problem for broadband networks. Up to now we have been dealing with a swell in the streaming sea that has caused a few large waves to crash on to the…
System Showcase: Gravity Media Opens New Production Centre In London For Remote And On-Prem Projects
Production and media services company Gravity Media has just completed the first phase of technology integration at its new London Production Centre White City, located on the fifth floor of The Westworks building in London. The state-of-the-art facility, officially opened…