In its annual sneak peek at the best enterprise data storage solutions available, Solutions Review has provided a listing of those that stand out from the crowd.

Enterprise data storage is a centralised repository for information, which commonly offers data management, protection, and sharing functions.

Because enterprises handle massive amounts of business-critical data, storage systems that are highly scalable, offer unlimited connectivity, and support multiple platforms would benefit them the most.

MULTIPLE APPROACHES TO DATA STORAGE

There are multiple approaches to data storage to choose from, including Storage Area Networks (SANs), Network-Attached Storage (NAS), Direct-Attached Storage (DAS), and cloud storage. The importance of data storage is underlined by the exponential generation of new data and the proliferation of Internet of Things (IoT) devices.

Newer approaches and technologies that are currently disrupting the market include hyperconverged storage and flash technologies such as Non-Volatile Memory Express (NVMe). 

Information was gathered via online materials and reports, conversations with vendor representatives,
and examinations of product demonstrations and free trials.

These are the top 12:

Amazon Web Services (AWS) offers a range of IT infrastructure services to enterprises. In addition to
storage, the provider’s solutions and products include cloud computing, compute, networking, content
delivery, databases, analytics, application services, backup, and archive.  AWS provides a variety of cloud
storage solutions, such as Amazon Elastic Block Store (Amazon EBS), Amazon Simple Storage Service
(Amazon S3), and AWS Backup, among others. Users are enabled to select from object, block, and file
storage services as well as cloud data migration options when selecting their solution. The vendor’s
various platforms also support both application and archival compliance requirements.

Caringo is a provider of object-based technology for accessing, storing, and distributing unstructured or
file-based data. Its flagship product, Caringo Swarm, provides private cloud storage that enables users to
deploy storage clusters without being locked into proprietary hardware. In addition to data storage, the
provider offers enterprise IT, medical, high-performance computing, and media and entertainment
solutions. Caringo’s storage platform is offered in private, public, and hybrid cloud environments. Users
also have the ability to scale on–premise with any mix of x86 hardware.

Cloudian is an independent provider of object storage systems, offering S3 compatibility along with a
partnership ecosystem. The vendor’s flagship solution, HyperStore, provides scalability, flexibility, and
economics within the data centre.

Additionally, Cloudian’s data fabric architecture allows enterprises to store, find, and protect object and file data across sites. These processes can take place both on-prem and in public clouds within a single, unified platform. In 2020, Cloudian HyperStore was recognised as a 2020 Gartner Peer Insights Customers’ Choice for Distributed File Systems and Object Storage.

Cohesity consolidates secondary storage silos onto a hyperconverged, web-scale data platform that supports both public and private clouds. The vendor’s storage solution enables users to streamline
their backup and data protection and then converge file and object services, test/dev instance, and analytic functions to provide a global data store. Cohesity delivers a single platform, a single GUI, and an app ecosystem, as well as machine learning capabilities. The provider offers two hypeconverged platforms, C3000 and C4000, as well as its distributed file system solution, Cohesity SpanFS.

In 2020, Cohesity raised US$250 million in Series E funding.

Additionally, it was named a ‘Leader’ in the GigaOm Report on Unstructured Data Management Solutions.

DataDirect Networks (DDN) is a provider of scalable storage and processing solutions, as well as professional services.

Organisations have the ability to use a range of DDN storage platforms to capture, store, process, analyse, collaborate, and distribute data, information, and content at a large scale. The solution is offered in two appliance options and is also available as a software-only distribution. The vendor provides services to financial services firms, healthcare organisations, energy companies, government facilities, and cloud service providers.

Dell EMC enables digital transformation through hybrid cloud and big data solutions built on a data
center infrastructure that brings together converged infrastructure, servers, storage, and cybersecurity
technologies. The provider’s featured solution, Dell EMC Unity XT, offers multi-cloud enablement and
an NVMe-ready design. Users are enabled to support virtualized applications, deploy unified storage, and
address Remote-Office-Branch-Office requirements. The platform’s Unisphere management GUI also
allows users to easily configure and manage storage. The vendor also offers file and object storage
solutions. Dell EMC also recently released its PowerScale solution for unstructured data.

Fujitsu is a Japanese information and communication technology company that offers a range of
technology products, solutions, and services. These services and solutions include consulting, systems
integration, managed services, outsourcing and cloud services for infrastructure, platforms and
applications, data centre and field services, and server, storage software, and mobile technologies. Fujitsu
provides all-flash and hybrid storage, hyper-scale storage, storage management software, and storage for
backup and archive. 

Hedvig, a Commvault Venture, delivers enterprise storage for environments running at any scale. The
provider’s platform is a software-defined storage solution with distributed systems DNA, unrestricted by
existing architectures that are unable to keep pace with scale-out applications.

Additionally, Hedvig accelerates data to value by collapsing disparate storage systems into a single
platform, thereby creating a virtualised storage pool that easily provisions storage and runs in both public
and private clouds.

Hitachi Vantara assists enterprises with storing, enriching, activating, and monetizing their data. The
provider offers four solutions under the umbrella of object storage, namely, Hitachi Content Platform
(HCP), HCP Anywhere, Hitachi Data Ingestor (HDI), and Hitachi Content Intelligence. Each provides
object storage, file synchronization, sharing, end-user data protection; a cloud file gateway; and search
and analytic insights. The vendor is a wholly–owned subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd, and also offers backup
and disaster recovery solutions.

HPE SimpliVity provides hyperconverged storage by converging the entire IT stack in each node,
consolidation up to ten devices and apps in a building block for virtualized workloads. Before HPE
acquired the company, SimpliVity delivered hyperconverged infrastructure on a range of industry-
standard x86 platforms. Now, HPE SimpliVity provides its software-defined solutions that are built and supported by HPE. The vendor offers two platforms, HPE SimpliVity 380 and HPE SimpliVity 2600,
which can both be integrated with the intelligent networking fabric, HPE Composable Fabric.

Huawei Technologies is a telecom solutions provider that offers infrastructure application software and
devices with wireline, wireless, and IP technologies. The vendor has three divisions in the United States:
enterprise (IP networking and router, wireless, storage, and data center security), carrier, and consumer
devices (smartphones and tablets). Regarding storage, Huawei offers all-flash storage, hybrid flash
storage, cloud storage, Hyperconverged Infrastructure (HCI), and data management. Its HCI
platform, FusionCube for Cloud enables resource-on-demand provisioning and linear expansion.

IBM offers a wide range of technology and consulting services, including predictive analytics and
software development. The provider offers a range of storage options, including flash storage, Software-
Defined Storage (SDS), data protection software, hybrid storage arrays, Storage Area Networks (SAN),
and tape storage. Through these products, IBM’s solutions support hybrid cloud storage, converged
infrastructure, and virtual infrastructure. Additionally, the platforms allow for storage for blockchain,
artificial intelligence, private cloud, and SAP.