Today's file servers are broken. They don't meet the demands of the modern workforce. File servers and Network Attached Storage (NAS) were designed in an era where all the employees showed up at the same building each day and each accessed the file server from a single device. Times have changed and it is time for the file server to be replaced.

Most users today have multiple devices: desktops, laptops, tablets and smart phones. They’re also in multiple locations in varying parts of the world and need to access data from anywhere. Users have figured out that the traditional file server model was broken before IT did, and as a result, went searching for cloud solutions to the problem.

The consumer cloud and even attempts at enterprise cloud are not the solution for the enterprise, when high performance access is needed from any location and any device. Instead, what’s needed is a true global NAS where most, if not all, the data is local in each location. This is where Panzura's Global Cloud Storage platform comes in.

The Panzura Global Cloud Storage platform is deployed with at least one Panzura Alto Cloud Storage Controller at each location which is then connected to a cloud service provider. In the typical design each controller has all the data locally with Panzura providing true global file locking across multiple locations.

Panzura is unique in that it is providing high speed local performance across locations. It differs from other cloud NAS solutions that typically store only the most active set locally, essentially as a cache, and then store older data in the cloud. The applications that Panzura focuses on are ones that need to be worked on in multiple locations but have a data set that’s too large to be managed by a cache. Their customers need all the data locally.

Storage Swiss Take

Panzura fills a pressing need in the enterprise, providing high performance global access to data sets regardless of location. This is ideal for workloads that need to be processed by users and teams spread around the world globally. Leveraging the cloud to provide an enterprise sync of large data sets or a true global file system is a much needed solution in the enterprise.