With the emergence of web 3.0, which is aimed at decentralizing the internet and creating a more open and transparent online experience, object storage has become an increasingly popular alternative to traditional storage systems like file and block storage.
Rather than organizing data into a hierarchical file structure like traditional storage systems, object storage organizes data as individual objects with unique identifiers. These ‘objects’ are stored in a flat address space, can be accessed directly through APIs or http/https, making it easy to store and retrieve any kind of data, including photos, videos, and log files.
Why is Object Storage the upcoming trend?
For organizations of all sizes, object storage can offer the key to increasing productivity in the age of remote work. Whether you work in the cloud or prefer an on-premise setup, it is the go-to storage option for modern IT infrastructures.
According to Gartner, by 2026 enterprises will triple their unstructured data capacity stored as file or object storage compared to 2022.
So, what is causing its surge in popularity?
Here are some of the reasons why object storage is becoming the preferred choice:
Scalability: Object-based storage architecture allows users to store unstructured data in one or multiple parts, making it easy to scale the storage size to exabytes or beyond. This scalability is important for businesses that need to store and manage vast amounts of data over time, such as large-scale enterprises and cloud service providers. With object-based storage, businesses can easily add more storage capacity as needed to accommodate their growing data requirements, without having to worry about running out of space or losing data.
Flexibility: One of the significant benefits of object-based storage architecture is that it offers greater flexibility than traditional storage systems. This means that businesses can use different devices and object storage platforms for better cost management and resource optimization. For example, a business may use different storage platforms for different types of data, such as high-performance data, backup data, and long-term archival data.
Programmability: Object-based storage architecture allows businesses to fetch data from object stores using API and HTTP calls. This enables data to be accessed easily and quickly, making it possible to use metadata information, IoT data, application backups, enterprise apps, and enterprise storage systems. S3-Compatible object storage services like Ridge Object Storage are well-suited for programmability, as they offer a range of APIs and SDKs that enable developers to work with the storage service.
Durability: Object-based storage systems can be used to store data for longer durations securely, discarding less relevant data to provide space for new essential data. This is important for businesses that need to store data for long periods, such as financial institutions, healthcare providers, and government agencies. With object-based storage, businesses can rest assured that their data is secure and will be available when they need it.
Cost-convenience: Object-based storage systems allow businesses to optimize the cost of storing data and reduce the total cost of ownership. This is achieved by working with the right object storage service providers, who offer flexible pricing plans that are tailored to the business’s specific data storage needs.
Metered Consumption: Object storage options enable organizations to track usage by internal and external users for various purposes, such as billing, behavior tracking, and analytics. This level of visibility helps businesses better understand how their data is being used, enabling them to optimize their storage resources and costs.
Ease-of-use: Once the clustering and tuning-like operations are automated, using and maintaining the object storage is simple. Object-based storage systems are designed to be easy to use, with automated features that simplify common tasks such as data backup, recovery, and archiving.
Accessibility: Object-based storage architecture can be implemented both on-premise and in the cloud, making it accessible to all users, including remote engineers. This level of accessibility is crucial for businesses that need to store and manage data across multiple locations and devices.
Searchability: Object-based storage systems can be made more searchable by customizing the metadata and adding more tags. This helps businesses better organize their data and find the information they need quickly and efficiently. Improved searchability is essential for businesses that need to quickly access critical data and insights for decision-making purposes.
Cloud Object Storage Use Cases: When Should You Use It?
We will explore 7 use cases of object storage and how it can help businesses in various industries.
- Backup and Archiving
One of the most common uses of object storage is for backup and archiving. Object storage allows businesses to store large amounts of data in its native format, making it easier to recover data in the event of a failure. It also provides a cost-effective solution for long-term data archiving, eliminating the need for expensive tape or disk-based solutions.
- Content Distribution
Object storage can be used to store and distribute multimedia content, such as videos, images, and audio files. The scalability of object storage makes it easy to store and deliver large amounts of content to users around the world, without having to worry about running out of storage space.
- Big Data Analytics
Object storage is also a great solution for storing and processing large amounts of data for big data analytics. The flat address space of object storage, combined with its ability to scale horizontally, makes it an ideal solution for storing and analyzing large amounts of unstructured data.
- Disaster Recovery
Object storage can be used for disaster recovery purposes, providing businesses with a cost-effective and scalable solution for storing and recovering critical data in the event of a disaster. The ability to store data in multiple locations also provides added protection against data loss.
- Media and Entertainment
The media and entertainment industry is also making use of object storage for storing and distributing large amounts of multimedia content. Object storage’s scalability and cost-effectiveness make it a popular choice for storing and delivering high-quality video and audio content to users around the world.
- Healthcare
In the healthcare sector, object storage has become a valuable tool for managing vast amounts of patient data. As the volume of data produced in healthcare continues to grow, object storage offers an adaptable and affordable method for securely storing and retrieving patient information while maintaining data privacy and security.
- Cloud-Native Applications
Cloud-native applications are designed to run on cloud infrastructure and take advantage of the scalability and availability of cloud services. Object storage provides the perfect storage solution for these applications, as it allows for the storage of large amounts of data that can be accessed and managed easily.
For example, a cloud-native e-commerce application can use object storage to store product images, customer data, and transaction records. The scalability of object storage ensures that the application can handle increasing amounts of data as the business grows, while the low cost of object storage makes it a more cost-effective solution than traditional storage solutions.
In conclusion, object storage is a powerful tool for businesses dealing with large amounts of unstructured data. From backup and archiving to big data analytics, object storage provides a cost-effective and scalable solution for a wide range of use cases. Whether you’re looking for S3 compatible object storage or a solution for disaster recovery, object storage is a great choice for your business.
Deploy Object Storage :
https://www.layerstack.com/object-storage
