Hitachi Data Systems expanded on the cloud strategy it announced last October with the introduction of two cloud storage services, one for private clouds and one for public clouds.
The company refers to the private cloud service as Hitachi Cloud Service for Private File Tiering, which enables users to move inactive files off of expensive NAS systems onto HDS platforms. While not providing specific pricing information (the service won’t go GA for a few months), HDS executives emphasize the pay-as-you-go pricing strategy in which users only pay for the capacity they use.
With the Private File Tiering service, the storage systems reside in the customer’s facilities but are owned by HDS, thus decreasing the upfront costs sometimes associated with moving to a cloud architecture. In addition, HDS remotely manages the storage from its System Operations Center.
Storage hardware and software platforms include the Hitachi Content Platform (HCP) functioning as a cloud object store, Adaptable Modular Storage (AMS) arrays, Remote Storage Management software, and Hitachi Data Protection Suite (HDPS) software with policy-based tiering based on code from CommVault.
When the service is launched in a few months, NetApp’s primary NAS filers will be qualified. Other vendors’ NAS systems will be qualified in the future.
For its public cloud storage offering, Hitachi partnered with Digi-Data, a storage-as-a-service and content management provider. The companies are targeting services providers such as telcos and systems integrators. In this scenario, Hitachi supplies the storage hardware (hosted at the service provider’s facility or at a Digi-Data facility), Digi-Data layers storage services on top of the hardware, and the telco or other services provider sells the public cloud storage services to end users.
