Why More Enterprises are Embracing NAS Storage?
As enterprise data continues to grow at an exponential rate, organizations are increasingly turning to NAS storage as a cost-effective and scalable solution for storing and managing this data.
Why NAS storage? – It takes less time for IT administrators to manage file servers, so they can focus on more important things.
With more work to do, IT professionals need to find ways to improve their storage systems. They need technologies that can store large amounts of information and meet the requirements of new applications, with better security and always-on availability.
What’s even more important is the prospect of centralizing the storage. It seems more advantageous to keep up with the growing data volumes and diversified workflows.
As a result, Enterprises are increasingly choosing NAS storage to ease their data storage woes.
NAS storage addresses the need for cloud computing
The popularity of cloud computing is growing at a rapid pace. And with good reason as it offers many benefits and convenience to the business owners.
Cloud computing has been very encouraging, with companies like Amazon, Microsoft, and Google spending a lot of money on data centers.
Cloud computing has changed the way organizations work and manage data. It has also changed how they operate their infrastructure. Modern applications are bringing on tasks that require more processing power.
But it requires a good compute infrastructure for cloud computing that provides enough performance and uses resources more efficiently.
Enterprise NAS systems give you the storage and performance you need to run a data center. With NAS, you can choose how much storage and performance you need. You only pay for what you use. Enterprise NAS also has modern hardware like multiple 10 gigabit Ethernet ports. This lets it handle the massive data transfers needed for cloud computing quickly.
The best part is that the performance is not limited, so you can always add more nodes if needed.
Fit for Big Data analytics
NAS is an ideal choice for Big Data analytics due to its low latency, high performance, low cost, scalability, and accessibility features. NAS storage plays a vital role in operation of business intelligence because it allows to store massive amounts of data without worrying about capacity or performance limits or the need for expensive upgrades.
Enterprises can thus explore insights more quickly and eliminate the need for expensive hardware.
Easy file sharing and collaboration
With centralized file access, anyone from anywhere in the world can access the company data without being present on site.
You can share files with people even if they’re on another floor or in another building. For instance, if you want to create a new folder for the sales department or add someone to your shared folder, you do it from a simple user interface.
The good thing is that you don’t have to worry about where that data is stored as multiple clusters with multiple drives work together to keep your data always available. This high level of redundancy makes NAS storage an attractive option for modern enterprises.
Plus, such infrastructure also minimizes the time spent by IT administrators on managing file servers and they can keep their focus on more strategic initiatives.
NAS is a highly scalable storage
The most significant benefit of network attached storage is its scalability. As businesses grow, their storage needs grow with them. NAS is different from other solutions as it grows with your storage needs.
This is not the case with other storage solutions. Traditional servers need to be replaced as a whole when upgrades are needed. This means more costs and more wasted storage. However, with NAS, you get to keep your storage devices and add more hardware to them as needed. Also, it is all effortless to do. The IT administrators can easily add or remove hardware without reinstalling other software or reconfiguring the network. It lets you keep your existing software stack while ensuring seamless upgrades.
Tightly integrated environment
By being a part of the network, NAS provides a tightly integrated environment that allows data to be shared amongst users and applications quickly. Users do not need to keep shifting between systems as files can be accessed from anywhere on the network. Data can also be accessed over the internet any time, from anywhere in the world, without any access issues.
It comes with storage tiering
Tiered storage allows the user to store data that they don’t need access to immediately on a lower storage tier. The data will still be there when needed, but it won’t slow down your computer or tie up bandwidth.
Storage tiering is a feature found in the best NAS systems. It enables you to store your data on the most appropriate storage media based on its value, age, and whether or not it is frequently accessed. This helps you get the most from your investment by ensuring that critical data is stored on the optimal storage device.
NAS provides secure remote access to data
Enterprise NAS systems use robust authentication schemes and heavy encryption techniques to prevent data leakage. For instance, StoneFly’s systems have AES 256-bit encryption which is the highest level of encryption used by the military. Since data is also accessed from remote locations over the internet, it is no surprise that NAS systems come with such tight security features.
Centralized storage administration
With centralized data storage, you can share resources across multiple departments and users and manage the storage without reconfiguring or replacing equipment as often. It also reduces your total cost of ownership (TCO) by keeping servers in one place and reducing their power consumption.
Takeaway
Enterprises and small businesses are embracing network attached storage, eschewing the traditional models of shared storage. This is because it is a cost-effective storage solution that offers excellent performance without adding complexity.
Bringing this technology into your business allows you to keep a competitive edge over your competition with increased flexibility, cost savings, and security.
Interested in learning more about NAS storage or want a NAS solution? Feel free to contact NAS storage experts like StoneFly to learn more.