STLATEST

STORAGE

MAGAZINE

The UK’s number one in IT Storage

May/June 2025

Vol 25, Issue 3

THE AI TSUNAMI:

Is the Storage Industry ready?

DATA CENTRES:

Pauses in hyperscale builds

DECARBONISING DATA:

AI sustainability challenges

COMMON BACKUP MISTAKES:

That perpetually haunt IT teams

COMMENT - RESEARCH - INTERVIEWS - CASE STUDIES - OPINIONS - PRODUCT REVIEWS

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The UK’s number one in IT Storage

THE AI TSUNAMI:

Is the Storage Industry ready?

May/June 2025

Vol 25, Issue 3

CONTENTS

STOR

MAGAZINE

STORAGE

CONTENTS

DATA CENTRES:

Pauses in hyperscale builds

DECARBONISING DATA:

AI sustainability cha lenges

COMMON BACKUP MISTAKES:

That perpetually haunt IT teams

COMMENT - RESEARCH - INTERVIEWS - CASE STUDIES - OPINIONS - PRODUCT REVIEWS

COMMENT….....................................................................4

Welcome to My First Issue of Storage Magazine as Editor

08

STRATEGY: AVOIDING VENDOR LOCK-IN...............….6

Open-E CEO Kristof Franek looks at how excessive dependence on a single vendor's

ecosystem can become a severe hindrance

MANAGEMENT: DATA CENTRES...........................…....8

Ted Oade, Product Marketing Director, Spectra Logic, explains some of the pauses in

hyperscale builds

CASE STUDY….........................................................…….10

Revolutionising high-performance storage at a leading US financial services powerhouse

16

TECHNOLOGY: NEXT GEN HDDS..........…..........……..12

Rainer W. Kaese, Senior Manager, HDD Business Development Toshiba Electronics

Europe outlines that while MAMR and HAMR technologies are set to exceed 30TB

capacity, these aren't the only advancements in the next generation of hard drives

MANAGEMENT: DATA….…......................................……14

Yaniv Valik, VP Product Management, Continuity, talks about the importance of cybersecurity

within backup and storage infrastructures

22

CASE STUDY: DWP…..…..……................................………16

The UK's largest central government organisation deploys Nutanix Cloud Platform to

take back IT reins

RESEARCH: DECARBONISING DATA….….............……18

Seagate survey highlights growing sustainability challenges driven by AI demand

24

CASE STUDY….….......................................................................……22

Archiving solution gives Timra's Microsoft 365 environment total protection and

archiving capabilities with Hornetsecurity

AWARDS: 2025…………….............................................………24

Roundup of Nominations ahead of the 2025 Storage Awards

DEBATE:………...........................................................…….32

Is the Storage Industry Prepared for the AI Tsunami? Storage Magazine examines

readiness for the explosion of AI data with Infinidat and Toshiba

34

MANAGEMENT: BACKUP:…......................................…34

Bill Andrews, ExaGrid President and CEO, discusses why Backup Storage mistakes perpetually

haunt IT Teams

www.storagemagazine.co.uk @STMagAndAwards May/June 2025

STORAGE

MAGAZINE

03

COMMENT

EDITOR: Sharon Munday

editor@storagemagazine.co.uk

SUB EDITOR: Mark Lyward

mark.lyward@btc.co.uk

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errors, misrepresentations or any

resulting effects

WELCOME TO MY FIRST

ISSUE AS EDITOR!

BY SHARON MUNDAY,

EDITOR

I'm thrilled to welcome you to the May/June edition of Storage Magazine - my very

first as Editor! Stepping into this role after David Tyler's long-standing leadership is

both an honour and, if I'm honest, a tad daunting. David has left some big shoes to

fill (though I promise I'll be doing it in slightly higher heels!). Having spent over 30

years working alongside the brilliant minds in storage and data management, I've

always admired the spirit of innovation and resilience that defines this industry. Now,

I'm excited to bring that passion to the pages of Storage Magazine, sharing the stories

of those who are pushing boundaries and driving change.

This month, we're diving headfirst into AI - a topic we've covered many times before,

but one that's evolving so quickly, it's worth a fresh look. According to the International

Data Corporation (IDC), global data creation is expected to reach a jaw-dropping

221 zettabytes by 2026. That's an almost incomprehensible amount of data, leaving

us all with the question: How do we store it all, responsibly, efficiently, and sustainably?

To help answer that, we've got some fantastic insights lined up in this issue. First

Seagate shares its latest research on AI and sustainability, giving us a glimpse into how

AI-driven demands are reshaping data infrastructure. Infinidat and Toshiba take the

dialogue hot seat and are challenged to answer the big question: Is the storage

industry really ready for the AI tsunami? And at the other end of the debate, Spectra

Logic challenges the hype, asking if AI's rapid growth is putting too much strain on an

already stretched energy supply.

Of course, it wouldn't be coming into June without the excitement of the 2025

Storage Awards! Voting is now open and runs until midnight on 23 May. Head to

https://storage-awards.com/?page=sta2025vote and make your voice heard. I'm

really looking forward to seeing many of you there on 5 June as we celebrate the best

in data matters together.

Finally, I want to take a moment to thank David for his incredible years of dedication.

I'm committed to building on the legacy he's created - keeping Storage Magazine the

trusted voice it's always been, while also exploring new frontiers in technology with a

fresh perspective, bold ideas, and yes… zettabyte high heels on stage at the Storage

Awards!

Here's to new beginnings, and plenty of exciting stories ahead!

Sharon Munday

Editor, Storage Magazine

04 STORAGE

MAGAZINE

May/June 2025

@STMagAndAwards

www.storagemagazine.co.uk

The future is here.

Tiered Backup Storage

• Fastest backups

• Fastest restores

• Scalability for fixed-length backup window

• Comprehensive security with ransomware recovery

• Comprehensive disaster recovery from a site disaster

• Low cost up front and over time

ExaGrid is honoured to be a finalist for

the Storage Awards 2025 in these categories:

· Storage Innovator of the Year

· Immutable Storage Company

of the Year

· Storage Industry Champion –

Commercial

· Storage Industry Champion –

Marketing

· Channel Excellence Award

· Cyber Resilient Storage

Company of the Year

· Ransomware Product

of the Year

· Data Protection Company

of the Year

· Enterprise Backup Hardware

Vendor of the Year

· Object Storage Vendor

of the Year

· Storage Optimisation

Company of the Year

· Capacity Storage Vendor

of the Year

· Channel Partner Programme

· Storage Product of the Year

· Storage Company of the Year

VOTE NOW

STRATEGY:

STRATEGY: AVOIDING VENDOR LOCK-IN

HOW TO ACHIEVE I.T. FREEDOM AND AVOID

VENDOR LOCK-IN

OPEN-E CEO KRISTOF FRANEK LOOKS AT HOW EXCESSIVE DEPENDENCE ON A SINGLE VENDOR'S

ECOSYSTEM CAN BECOME A SEVERE HINDRANCE

One of the most pivotal events to

shake the data storage industry

in recent years was Broadcom's

acquisition of VMware and the

subsequent changes it brought. This shift

forced many companies to reevaluate

their reliance on a single

virtualisation provider and

explore alternative solutions to

bolster operational stability

and strategic flexibility.

The lesson from this

episode is clear: excessive

dependence on a single

vendor's ecosystem can

severely hinder an

organisation's ability to

optimise its IT infrastructure.

As Open-E CEO Kristof Franek

underlines: "Vendor lock-in is

something that any company

should avoid whenever it can, as

a single unexpected decision by

a vendor can lead to many

disruptive scenarios for a

company. This very

critical need

for

freedom is what shapes Open-E

software, to provide IT administrators

with a wide range of possible

configurations, as well as high hardware

and hypervisor compatibility. We want to

ensure that with Open-E JovianDSS your

business stays independent from

unexpected shifts and disruptions."

AVOIDING VIRTUALISATION

CONSTRAINTS WITH HYPERVISOR-

AGNOSTICISM

Organisations often employ different

hypervisors, depending on their specific

requirements. A hypervisor-agnostic

system ensures interoperability, allowing

businesses to readily switch to an

alternative virtualisation platform as

circumstances require.

Virtualisation enables organisations to

optimise hardware utilisation and reduce

costs. However, these benefits can only be

sustained if the underlying infrastructure

allows flexibility in hypervisor selection.

THE BENEFITS OF HARDWARE-

AGNOSTIC STORAGE SOLUTIONS

Similar to hypervisor-agnosticism,

hardware-agnostic software frees

businesses from the constraints of

proprietary hardware ecosystems, and

offers numerous advantages:

Broad Compatibility: Hardwareagnostic

solutions integrate smoothly

with various storage devices,

eliminating compatibility concerns.

Cost savings: Businesses are no

longer forced to purchase

expensive, vendor-specific

hardware, allowing them to select

cost-effective alternatives without

06 STORAGE May/June 2025

@STMagAndAwards


MAGAZINE

STRATEGY:

STRATEGY: AVOIDING VENDOR LOCK-IN

"Vendor lock-in is something that any company should avoid whenever it can, as a single

unexpected decision by a vendor can lead to many disruptive scenarios for a company."

compromising performance.

Scalability and flexibility: Businesses

can easily expand their storage

infrastructure as data needs increase

without worrying about hardware

vendor constraints.

Supply Chain Resilience: The post-

COVID-19 era has underscored the

importance of supply chain

adaptability. Hardware-agnostic

solutions ensure businesses can source

hardware from multiple vendors,

reducing the risk of disruptions from

hardware shortages.

ENHANCING IT FREEDOM BY

COMBINING AGNOSTICISM WITH

DATA CENTRALISATION

The combination of hardware- and

hypervisor-agnosticism is particularly

powerful when applied to centralised data

storage solutions where interoperability and

flexibility are crucial. Using softwaredefined

storage or hyper-converged

infrastructure, organisations can seamlessly

integrate different hardware and

virtualisation environments into a unified

system. This enhances control, simplifies

management, and mitigates data

fragmentation, which can otherwise lead to

inefficiencies such as increased data

retrieval times, redundant data storage,

complicated backup and recovery

procedures, and higher operational costs

due to maintaining multiple storage

platforms.

Centralised, on-premises storage solutions

also provide a critical layer of technological

independence by reducing reliance on

external cloud service providers. This

independence shields businesses from

unexpected price increases, changes in

service terms, or vendor outages.

Ultimately, by retaining full control over

data security, businesses can better protect

sensitive information and ensure

compliance with regulatory requirements.

More info:

https://www.open-e.com/r/bryk/


@STMagAndAwards May/June 2025

STORAGE

MAGAZINE

07

MANAGEMENT: DATA CENTRES

DATA CENTRE EXPANSION UNEXPECTEDLY

SLOWING - IS POWER THE MAIN CULPRIT?

TED OADE, PRODUCT MARKETING DIRECTOR, SPECTRA LOGIC, EXPLAINS SOME OF THE PAUSES IN

HYPERSCALE BUILDS

We've long heard that data centres

are the backbone of the digital

age, expanding rapidly to meet the

demands of AI, cloud computing, and

massive content delivery needs. But recently,

that momentum has slowed as major players

like Amazon, Microsoft Azure, and Google

have unexpectedly applied the brakes on new

data centre builds. So, what's behind the

sudden shift?

One culprit may be hiding in plain sight:

power. Or more accurately, a shortage of it.

But that's only part of the story.

HYPERSCALERS HIT PAUSE

In early 2025, industry watchers were

surprised when the "big three" hyperscalers -

Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft

Azure, and Google Cloud - announced

delays or pauses in their planned data centre

expansion projects. While none cited a

specific reason, the pattern was

unmistakable. Across earnings calls,

construction site reports, and local

government updates, one factor kept

surfacing: power availability and sustainability

are now critical constraints.

Microsoft directly cited power shortages in

key regions as a major reason for slowing

builds. AWS acknowledged that several highgrowth

metros are now designated as

"power-constrained zones." In a recent

infrastructure update, Google stated it was

"recalibrating" its expansion strategy to align

with local energy infrastructure and long-term

sustainability commitments.

HOW MUCH POWER ARE WE

TALKING ABOUT?

For context, data centres consumed about

2.4% of the world's electricity in 2023,

according to the International Energy

Agency (IEA). That figure is expected to

more than double by 2030, driven mainly

by AI workloads.

AI infrastructure is in a league of its own.

Traditional CPU-based workloads are

relatively power-efficient. In contrast, GPUpowered

AI systems, especially those training

large language models or running deep

learning frameworks, can consume up to

fourteen times more electricity than standard

computing infrastructure. And that's before

factoring in the significant power demands of

cooling, networking, and storage systems.

POWER DEMAND IS OUTPACING

SUPPLY

Here's the long-term concern: data centre

power demand is growing faster than utilities

can add new energy capacity to the grid. In

places like Northern Virginia, Phoenix, and

Dublin - once go-to hubs for data centre

growth - utility companies are warning they

cannot guarantee additional capacity in the

near term.

In Ireland, for instance, the government has

placed temporary restrictions on new data

centre connections in certain regions until the

national grid can catch up. In the U.S.,

similar concerns are slowing development in

Virginia and parts of California.

This mismatch could become one of the

biggest constraints on the cloud and AI

boom. The technology and demand are here,

but without enough power, everything stalls.

IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT POWER

Power is a major issue, but it's not the only

one. Several other barriers are adding

friction:

Community pushback: Local residents are

increasingly opposing new data centres

due to noise, water usage, and

environmental impact concerns.

Planning Permission delays: Regulatory

and environmental review processes are

becoming more complex and timeconsuming.

Land constraints: Ideal land near fibre,

water, and substations is becoming harder

to find.

Data sovereignty laws: Governments are

tightening rules on where data can reside,

limiting siting flexibility.

Uncertain AI economics: While AI is hot,

many operators are still assessing whether

AI workloads will produce sustainable

long-term profits.

Cooling challenges: Higher rack densities

and hotter chips require more advanced

(and costly) cooling infrastructure.

ENTER TAPE: A SURPRISING POWER-

SAVING ALLY

Interestingly, tape storage is reemerging as a

strategic tool in reducing power

consumption. In the UK, Amazon Web

Services is building a facility that relies

exclusively on tape to store vast amounts of

"cold" data, rarely accessed data that must

be retained. In a filing to the local

government, the data centre architect states:

"This data centre will be a data repository

which requires significantly less power

consumption than typical data centres. This

building will be designed to house tape

media, that provides a long-term data

storage solution."

This move highlights a growing recognition:


@STMagAndAwards


MAGAZINE

MANAGEMENT: DATA CENTRES

"The mismatch could become one of the biggest

constraints on the cloud and AI boom. The technology and

demand are here, but without enough power, everything

stalls." Ted Oade, Product Marketing Director, Spectra Logic

storing cold data on spinning disks or flash

drives is energy-inefficient. These devices

require constant power, even when idle.

Tape, by contrast, consumes virtually no

power when not in use, making it an ideal

medium for infrequently accessed data.

Modern tape technology is truly cutting

edge. With significant advances in

capacity, density, performance, and

automation, tape is beginning to play a

more prominent role in tiered storage

architectures. And the benefits are

substantial: when up to 80% of data in a

typical data centre is cold (source: Horison

Information Strategies), moving that data

to tape can significantly reduce power

consumption and ease grid demand.

RETHINKING DATA CENTRE

ARCHITECTURE

Faced with power constraints, data centre

operators are beginning to reimagine

their designs. Strategies include:

Tiered storage: Using flash for hot

data and tape for cold data, reducing

total energy consumption.

New locations: Exploring cooler

climates, renewable energy regions,

and remote areas for development.

Microgrids and on-site renewables:

Supplementing grid electricity with

solar, wind, or battery storage.

Low-power, high-density facilities:

Blending compute, storage, and

cooling innovations to do more

with less.

Tape is becoming a pillar in this architectural

shift, not just for backup and compliance, but

as part of a live, automated, energy-efficient

storage ecosystem.

A TIPPING POINT MOMENT

This data centre slowdown may feel disruptive,

but it also represents a healthy inflection point.

The industry is being forced to balance

between growth and the realities of

sustainability and infrastructure.

Hyperscalers aren't abandoning expansion

but recalibrating for a more efficient and

sustainable future. This includes more

innovative uses of power, storage strategies,

and architectural designs. AI and cloud

workloads will continue to rise, but we'll need

to rethink where they are located and how they

are powered to support them.

Tape does not supplant flash or disk, but for

the massive amount of cold data currently

stored on continuously-powered media, tape

easily delivers savings of power, space, cost,

and environmental impact.

More Info: https://spectralogic.com



STORAGE

MAGAZINE

09

CASE STUDY: NCS STUDY:

CREDIT

CREDIT WHERE IT’S DUE

REVOLUTIONISING HIGH-PERFORMANCE STORAGE AT A LEADING US FINANCIAL SERVICES

POWERHOUSE

NCS Credit, a US leader in the

corporate credit industry since 1970,

is a provider of commercial credit

services, specialising in helping businesses

secure their outstanding payments and

minimise credit risk. Headquartered in Ohio,

NCS Credit serves clients across the US and

Canada, offering a comprehensive set of

services including commercial collections,

mechanic's lien, bond claim services, and

UCC filings.

With more than 50 years of experience,

NCS Credit has developed a national

network of experts to provide proactive

solutions tailored to various industries such as

construction, manufacturing, food

distribution, and energy. NCS Credit's services

are designed to help businesses receive

payments faster and more efficiently.

Some of the advantages that NCS Credit

offers include simplifying the process of

recovering past-due accounts with access to inhouse

attorneys, paralegals, and collectors

focused on commercial debt recovery.

Additionally, NCS Credit offers UCC services to

protect accounts receivable, inventory, and

equipment, including a full-service flat-fee UCC

filing program and assisting clients in

navigating complex lien laws to ensure they are

in the best position to receive payments faster.

With decades of experience supporting

organisations in protecting their receivables and

reducing financial risk, NCS Credit has built a

reputation for reliability and innovation. As the

company's operations evolved and its data

demands expanded, NCS Credit began to face

mounting pressure to modernise its storage

infrastructure without compromising budget,

performance, or efficiency.

The organisation's requirements were

straightforward; a cost-effective storage solution

that could deliver high-performance support for

mission-critical workloads across more than

100 virtual machines, databases, and line-ofbusiness

applications. At the same time NCS

Credit needed to consolidate its existing storage

systems into a unified platform that would

support future growth, maintain a minimal

footprint in the data centre, while optimising

power and cooling efficiency. NCS Credit

sought out a technology partner that could not

only meet technical expectations but also work

alongside their internal IT team as a helpful

adviser and collaborator.

SOLUTION

StorONE is a highly efficient, software-defined

storage platform that simplifies and secures

storage environments. Built from the ground up

with a patented storage stack, StorONE delivers

unmatched storage efficiency while providing

integrated data security that enables instant

ransomware recovery. As a hardware-agnostic

solution, it gives organisations the freedom to

scale using the hardware of their choice,


@STMagAndAwards


MAGAZINE

CASE STUDY: NCS CREDIT

avoiding vendor lock-in and supporting future

growth with ease. StorONE's cost-effective

model significantly lowers both capital and

operational expenses without sacrificing

performance or reliability. Designed to be

flexible and future-proof, StorONE ensures

that IT teams adapt quickly, protect data

confidently and manage growing demands

with a storage foundation that is built to last.

StorONE consolidates all workloads, block,

file, and object, onto a single platform,

eliminating silos and dramatically reducing

complexity. This unification is StorONE's

"special sauce" and eliminates the massive

complexity of managing multiple storage

systems. StorONE presented a plan to NCS

Credit to streamline its operations while

reducing overhead. By supporting all

protocols and use cases, it provides a

versatile foundation for diverse workloads.

After evaluating several options, NCS

Credit selected StorONE's ONE Enterprise

Storage Platform, an all-NVMe solution that

met the company's performance

requirements while staying within cost

constraints. The deployment provided NCS

Credit with a compact 2U configuration that

enabled the company to scale capacity one

drive at a time. This expansion model

aligned perfectly with NCS's operational

goals, allowing the organisation to scale

storage incrementally as needs changed

without overprovisioning or compromising

on performance.

StorONE tackled NCS Credit's need for

streamlined operations with its advanced

storage platform technology, allowing for

multiple workloads to be run on a single

set of storage all separated into Virtual

Storage Containers.

The company's support for the use of

commodity hardware also helped NCS

Credit avoid restricted vendor choice while

reducing costs. StorONE's storage engine

maximises hardware utilisation, enabling

organisations to achieve high performance

without excessive investment.

"StorONE struck the right balance between

performance and cost," said Michael Frank,

Director of Technology at NCS Credit. "We

needed a performance-based system, but at a

price point that would not break the bank. The

StorONE system provided a small footprint that

was all NVMe, allowing us to increase capacity

one drive at a time. Deploying dense NVMe

was also critical for us to maintain our form

factor, power, and cooling requirements."

OUTCOME

The implementation not only consolidated

NCS Credit's storage operations, but also

helped NCS gain better control over workload

segregation and performance tuning. With

StorONE's virtual storage container

technology and intelligent architecture, NCS

Credit can now manage demanding

workloads while ensuring flexibility for future

needs and changes. Additionally, the

platform's ability to support virtualisation

workloads made it a perfect fit for NCS

Credit's existing IT environment.

NCS Credit was also impressed with the

consultation and support offered by

StorONE. StorONE became a trusted

adviser to NCS Credit, ensuring that the

company could confidently move forward

with its digital infrastructure plans. "The

support model from StorONE is also great,"

Frank added. "It is not just break-fix but fully

consultative, fostering a true partnership

between NCS Credit and StorONE. At NCS

Credit, we believe in building partnerships

with both our customers and vendors and

StorONE fit into this model perfectly."

James Keating, Solution Architect at StorONE,

sees the partnership as a prime example of how

the company's platform addresses real-world

enterprise challenges. "We are proud to partner

with NCS Credit and provide the company with

a high-performance, cost-effective storage

solution," said Keating. "This deployment

underscores the power of our highly efficient

platform in addressing enterprise storage needs

through our unique architecture and virtual

storage containers."

With StorONE's ONE Enterprise Storage

Platform now underpinning its environment,

NCS Credit can focus on delivering fast,

reliable services without worrying about

storage limitations. By choosing StorONE,

NCS Credit achieved a unified, cost-efficient

infrastructure that seamlessly supports more

than 100 virtual machines, databases, and

critical business applications. The platform's

flexibility means that as NCS Credit grows,

whether through expanding client demands or

new service offerings, its storage footprint can

scale together all while maintaining optimal

power and cooling efficiency.

StorONE's software-defined architecture

simplifies management and has enabled

NCS Credit's IT team to spend less time

wrestling with siloed systems and more time

helping its clients. Perhaps most importantly,

the partnership with StorONE has brought

more than just technology, it has brought

reliable support and expertise. NCS Credit's

internal team now has a trusted adviser for

roadmap planning, firmware updates, and

best-practice tuning. This collaboration

ensures that the storage environment evolves

alongside the business. In today's rapidly

changing landscape, NCS Credit is now

equipped with a storage foundation that is as

dynamic and growth focused as its own

current needs and for its business ambitions.

"We engineered the ONE Enterprise Storage

Platform to break down storage siloes and

deliver consistent, predictable performance at

scale," added Keating. "By consolidating

storage workloads onto a single softwaredefined

layer, our platform powers NCS

Credit's 100+ VMs, databases, and

applications with sub-millisecond latency. This

approach drives down total cost of ownership,

streamlines operations, and enhances energy

efficiency. We're proud to enable organisations

like NCS Credit to move at the speed of their

business, with storage that keeps up."

More Info: https://www.storone.com



STORAGE

MAGAZINE

11

TECHNOLOGY: NEXT GEN HDDS

EXPLORING THE NEXT

GENERATION OF HDDS

RAINER W. KAESE, SENIOR MANAGER, HDD BUSINESS

DEVELOPMENT TOSHIBA ELECTRONICS EUROPE, OUTLINES THAT

WHILE MAMR AND HAMR TECHNOLOGIES ARE SET TO EXCEED 30TB

CAPACITY, FURTHER ADVANCEMENTS IN THE NEXT GENERATION OF

HARD DRIVES ARE TO COME

"In the past few years,

the capacity of

enterprise HDDs has

increased continuously

by around 2 TB per

year, while costs have

remained the same."

With the MAMR (Microwave-Assisted

Magnetic Recording) and HAMR

(Heat-Assisted Magnetic Recording)

technologies, hard drives are poised to

surpass 30 TB per drive. Both technologies

utilise an additional energy source to enable

a smaller write head, allowing for more

densely packed bits and tracks. However,

these are not the sole advancements in the

next generation of hard drives.

Conventional Perpendicular Magnetic

Recording (PMR), which has been the

standard in hard drives for nearly two

decades, has now reached its limits. As a

result, manufacturers have been exploring

new recording technologies for some time to

further enhance the storage capacity of their

drives. The application of microwaves and

laser beams has emerged as particularly

promising, reducing the required strength of

magnetic energy and allowing a weaker

magnetic field to magnetise the bits. This

innovation enables the write head to be

smaller and the individual bits and data tracks

to be written more densely, meaning more

data can be stored on the magnetic disks,

thus increasing storage capacity. These

technologies are known as Microwave

Assisted Magnetic Recording (MAMR) or Heat

Assisted Magnetic Recording (HAMR),

depending on whether microwaves or laser

beams are employed.

MAMR GETS THINGS STARTED

MAMR hard drives have been available since

2022, and as of now, they represent the first

development stage of the technology, known

as Flux Control MAMR (FC-MAMR). Here, the

microwaves bundle the magnetic flux at the

write head so that the magnetic energy can

be directed onto the magnetic disk in a more

focused manner. In the next stage of

development, Microwave Assisted Switching

MAMR (MAS-MAMR), the microwaves should

then also activate the magnetic material on

the disks so that even less magnetic energy is

required. This is technically more challenging,

as it requires not only a new coating that

responds to the microwaves, but also more

precise switching of the microwave generator.

With FC-MAMR, this can in principle run

continuously, whereas with MAS-MAMR it has

to be switched on specifically for each bit to

prepare exactly the right area of the magnetic

surface for the writing process.

In addition, it has been shown that a

microwave generator with two field

generation layers (FGLs) produces less noise

than one with one FGL, making the bits easier

to write and read. However, the technology

still needs to be further tested and refined until

it is reliable and cost-effective enough for

series production. Until then, FC-MAMR

already enables storage capacities of over 30

TB per drive - thanks to the clever

combination with two other technological

improvements: a further development of

Shingled Magnetic Recording (SMR) and an

eleventh magnetic disk in the hard drive

housing. Toshiba recently presented a

corresponding prototype, which has a

capacity of 31.24 TB.


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MAGAZINE

TECHNOLOGY: NEXT GEN HDDS

IMPROVEMENTS TO EXISTING

TECHNOLOGIES

SMR is not new - the recording technology

uses overlapping data tracks to increase

storage density. When overwriting existing

data, the overlapping tracks must first be read

in and temporarily stored before they are

written back again after the new data has

been written. The additional read and write

operations can lead to fluctuating write

performance, which manufacturers try to

compensate for with better caching algorithms

and larger caches. What is new is that the

larger caches can now also be used for

normal read operations to read in more data

so that more complex error correction

mechanisms can be used. These digital

filtering algorithms originate in part from radio

technology, where the desired signals can be

filtered out even from strong noise. In the hard

drive sector, they make it possible to

compensate for a larger number of read

errors so that the data tracks can overlap

more than before.

In addition, thinner magnetic disks provide a

further increase in capacity. They are now only

0.55mm thick instead of 0.635mm, meaning

that eleven instead of ten disks fit into the

standard 3.5-inch form factor. Together, MAS-

MAMR, SMR and thinner magnetic disks

should increase the storage capacity of hard

drives to around 40 TB in the next few years.

However, there will still be drives without SMR

for the enterprise sector, as many business

applications generate very high write loads

and are dependent on constant write

performance. SMR is not ideally suited for this

due to the time-consuming write operations.

Without SMR, enterprise HDDs will have

slightly lower capacities.

THE FUTURE BELONGS TO HAMR

To fit into the so-called 'write gap' of the write

head, the microwave generator used in MAMR

must be very small, which limits its

performance and makes capacity increases

beyond 40 TB unlikely. HAMR technology

offers more potential. Here, a laser diode sits

above the write gap, through which the laser

beam is guided into a near field transducer

(NFT) via an optical fibre and concentrated

onto the magnetic surface. There, it heats up

the material to the Curie point, where it loses

its magnetic properties, so that the bits can be

aligned with very low magnetic energy.

While MAMR primarily increases the linear

bit density on the data tracks, HAMR tends

to increase the track density. Like MAS-

MAMR, HAMR also requires a new type of

coating on the magnetic disks that can

withstand precise heating and allows stable

alignment of the bits. HAMR has not yet

achieved the reliability of MAMR, and the

production processes also need to become

more cost-efficient. After all, the most

important requirement in the further

development of hard drives is that new

technologies do not increase the price per

unit of capacity, otherwise companies would

simply resort to older, smaller hard drives.

However, two prototypes recently presented

by Toshiba show that HAMR works: one

brings it to 27 TB with ten magnetic disks,

the other in combination with SMR (and also

ten magnetic disks) to 32 TB.

SUMMARY

In the past few years, the capacity of

enterprise HDDs has increased continuously

by around 2 TB per year, while costs have

remained the same - also thanks to FC-

MAMR. MAS-MAMR and HAMR will have to

continue this development to survive in the

market, whereby MAS-MAMR is currently

closer and the next generations of hard

drives up to 30 or 40 TB will therefore tend

to rely on this technology. HAMR will then

gradually take over.



STORAGE

MAGAZINE

13

MANAGEMENT: DATA

WHAT MAKES STORAGE AND

BACKUP SYSTEMS A PRIME

ATTACK SURFACE?

YANIV VALIK, VP PRODUCT MANAGEMENT, CONTINUITY, TALKS

ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF CYBERSECURITY WITHIN BACKUP

AND STORAGE INFRASTRUCTURES

When we talk about cybersecurity,

storage and backup systems rarely

get the spotlight. But in today's

evolving threat landscape, ignoring them can

be catastrophic. Recent cyberattacks have

shown that these foundational components -

once seen as technical backend concerns - are

now front-line targets. It's time to put your

storage and backups at the centre of your

Security Posture Management strategy.

REAL-WORLD WAKE-UP CALLS: THE

STORAGE & BACKUP ATTACK SURGE

Cybercriminals have started to specifically target

storage and backup infrastructure - and the

fallout has been devastating.

DarkSide ransomware actors described how

they disable organisations by deleting a

single backup index file, instantly rendering

all recovery data inaccessible.

In a high-profile Russia-Ukraine cyber

incident, attackers destroyed over 4,000

servers, crippling Ukraine's largest mobile

provider by taking out its storage and

backup systems just hours before President

Zelenskyy met with President Biden.

Let's Secure Insurance suffered a breach

after failing to properly secure its storage

systems - a reminder that even traditional,

risk-aware industries aren't immune.

These are not isolated cases. This is a trend.

And your storage and backup systems could

be next.

INDUSTRY STANDARDS ARE RAISING

THE BAR

It's not just attackers taking notice. Regulators,

compliance bodies, and cyber insurers are

explicitly calling out the need to harden storage

and backup systems:

NIST SP 800-209 and ISO/IEC 27040

provide detailed guidance on securing

storage infrastructure - and are quickly

becoming must-follow references.

Cyber insurers are raising premiums and

increasing scrutiny of storage and backup

controls - requiring evidence of

segmentation, access control, and patch

discipline.

Gartner (2024 Cyberstorage Insight) urges

organisations to "harden existing

unstructured data storage solutions by

leveraging storage vulnerability

management tools and following vendor

best practices."

WHY STORAGE AND BACKUP SECURITY

MATTERS MORE THAN EVER

From ransomware to insider threats, if your

primary storage is compromised, hundreds or

thousands of workloads - databases,

containers, VMs - can go down in a flash.

Worse still, if your backup systems are

compromised, there's no Plan B. No way to

recover. You're out of options.

On average, each enterprise storage or

backup device has ten vulnerabilities,

including five critical or high-severity ones. Yet

most organisations have limited visibility into

these weaknesses.

TWO KEY STEPS TO FORTIFY YOUR

STORAGE AND BACKUP SYSTEMS

1. Build a Secure Configuration Baseline

Define secure settings per product (e.g., Dell,

Pure, Hitachi Vantara, NetApp, Rubrik,

Cohesity) - and ensure they're reviewed and

refreshed regularly. A secure baseline

includes both system-level and security

controls that reflect vendor guidance and

real-world attack patterns.

2. Perform a Gap Assessment

Start by evaluating your vulnerability and patch

management capabilities: Can you scan your

storage and backup appliances? Are those

scans authenticated and tailored to each

platform's unique architecture? Can you

automatically detect whether patches or

mitigating configurations have been successfully

applied? Do you have a complete and accurate

inventory of all your arrays, appliances, nodes,

and software?

Next, assess your configuration compliance

and drift management: Have you defined

security baselines for your storage and

backup platforms? Do you have a reliable,

repeatable process to check for

misconfigurations and detect changes over

time? Gap assessments surface weak spots

you didn't know existed.

WHAT A COMPLETE STORAGE &

BACKUP SECURITY PROGRAMME

LOOKS LIKE

A well-architected Security Posture Management

plan for storage and backups includes:

Secure configuration enforcement

Real-time anomaly detection (block and

file-level)

Vulnerability management tailored to the

environment

Compliance mapping (PCI DSS, NIST, ISO,

HIPAA, etc.)

More info: www.continuitysoftware.com


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MAGAZINE

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CASE STUDY: DWP STUDY: DWP

THE DEPARTMENT FOR WORK AND PENSIONS,

STANDARDISES ON NUTANIX FOR THEIR HYBRID

CLOUD ENVIRONMENT

THE UK'S LARGEST CENTRAL GOVERNMENT ORGANISATION DEPLOYS NUTANIX CLOUD PLATFORM

TO TAKE BACK I.T. REINS

Over 20 years of outsourcing had left

the UK Department For Work &

Pensions (DWP) with a fragmented IT

infrastructure. This created implications in terms

of value for money, resilience and the DWP's

ability to embrace new ways of working. The

Nutanix Cloud Platform has enabled the DWP

to address all those issues and more by hosting

core workloads on its own private cloud while,

at the same time, laying the foundations for a

yet more agile hybrid multicloud future.

"Nutanix has put us firmly back in the driving

seat, meeting all the scalability, resilience and

easy management requirements of what was a

major change of direction for the DWP. Beyond

that, Nutanix has impressed us with the

completeness of its solution, high levels of

service and support and its vision for an agile

multicloud future towards which we're already

moving," commented Jamie Faram, Head of

Hybrid Cloud Services Operations, Department

for Work and Pensions.

CHALLENGES FACED

For over 20 years, the DWP outsourced much of

its IT, but that arrangement was no longer seen

as delivering the best value for money in terms

of performance or availability. More than that,

outsourcing had led to the creation of isolated

IT silos which, together with arms-length

management and support, was limiting the

DWP's ability to scale and adapt its apps to

meet the needs of a rapidly evolving modern

workplace. Jamie Faram, Head of Hybrid Cloud

Services Operations at the DWP, explains:

"Once seen as the future of IT, outsourcing

had become something of a millstone around

our necks," he commented. "It left us with a mix

of outdated technologies, siloed data stores

and complex delegated management chains.

All of which was impacting not just the

resilience and security of our core applications,

but our ability to move forward and take

advantage of new technologies and ways of

working. We needed to take back control and

find better ways of doing IT for ourselves."

The DWP sought an approach that would

enable it to migrate workloads to the public

cloud where and when needed, but continue

to host those not suited to that environment on

a private cloud run by the DWP itself. The big

challenge was finding the right tools to make

that all happen.

THE SOLUTION

As a public body, the DWP has to follow

strict competitive tendering guidelines for

what, in this instance, would be a major

multi-million pound project. A number of

tenders were received, all of which were

evaluated in detail before the DWP made

its decision. The decision went in favour of

the Nutanix Cloud Platform, which the

DWP saw as the best way of building its

new on-premise private cloud ready to

bring all of its previously outsourced

applications back in-house.

Nutanix ticked all the basic boxes,

matching the performance, on-demand

scalability and resilience of public cloud

platforms while giving the DWP back

control without the need for teams of

specialist technicians. "Beyond that, the

DWP was impressed by the completeness

of the Nutanix solution; its reputation for

high level service and support; and its

vision for a hybrid multicloud future. This

vision would enable it to, ultimately, move

application workloads seamlessly between

private and public clouds as required,"

added Faram.


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MAGAZINE

CASE STUDY: CASE STUDY: DWP

"Nutanix has put us firmly back in the driving seat, meeting all the scalability, resilience and

easy management requirements of what was a major change of direction for the DWP."

- Jamie Faram, Head of Hybrid Cloud Services Operations, Department for Work and Pensions

For maximum resiliency, the DWP private

cloud would be spread across two data

centres and configured initially to host two

key workloads.

The first of these would be an existing

Citrix Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)

which, at the time of installation, was

supporting around 100,000 remote

desktops across its network of UK job

centres and other DWP locations. This

would be moved to the private cloud and

switched from VMware to the Nutanix AHV

hypervisor included as part of the Nutanix

software stack.

The second workload comprised an

extensive collection of data and analytics

systems including both a large-scale

Cloudera/Hadoop data lake plus a number

of more traditional database and data

warehousing applications. The latter would

also make use of Nutanix Files, a softwaredefined,

scale-out file storage solution

included as a fully integrated part of the

Nutanix software stack and managed along

with the rest of the physical and virtual

infrastructure from the unified Nutanix Prism

management console.

A few applications would continue to use

VMware - not an issue for the hypervisoragnostic

Nutanix platform - with built-in

Nutanix replication tools also specified to

ensure maximum availability and rapid

disaster recovery with Rubrik backup tools

for additional protection.

DEPARTMENT OF WORK AND

PENSION OUTCOMES:

FASTER, FITTER, BETTER

Switching from outsourced to on-premise IT

is a big ask for any organisation. Thanks,

however, to the easy-to-use Nutanix Prism

management interface, it wasn't long

before the newly assembled workforce

were back in charge of IT at the DWP with

no disruption during the process and rock

solid availability ever since.

As well as on-demand scalability to

match that of a hyperscale public cloud

platform, performance has also improved

across the board.

"The support team used to spend whole

mornings just getting everyone logged

onto their desktops," recalled Faram. "Now

it just works, freeing up staff previously

dedicated to hand-holding to do more

productive work."

Similarly in the data and analytics team,

lengthy routine workloads needing a

whole weekend of processing now

complete in just a few hours, and can be

accommodated anywhere across the

schedule. Moreover, experience gained

during the migration has empowered staff

to develop new Infrastructure as Code

(IaC) scripts to automate an ever growing

number of routine tasks, thereby saving

time and reducing the risk of costly

errors.

FIT FOR THE FUTURE

A couple of years on from the original

deployment, additional nodes have been

installed, bringing the infrastructure up to

450 nodes across the two data centres.

The workload balance has also shifted

following a move away from fixed desktops

to handheld user devices and remote

working, all of which has been handled

with ease by the DWP private cloud.

"With Nutanix we've learnt that we can do

a lot more with less, scale down as well as

up and reallocate resources to meet

demand just like a public cloud," enthuses

Faram. "Talking of which, we're also starting

to move workloads to the hyperscalers and

back again as part of a truly hybrid

multicloud infrastructure."

NEXT STEPS

The long term aim at the DWP is to continue

that journey to a hybrid multicloud future

using Nutanix technologies and tools, where

appropriate. To this end, Faram and his

team are laying plans to empower staff to

manage their own IT through AI-assisted

self-service portals and the use of Database

as a Service technologies hosted by the

Nutanix infrastructure. Likewise, they are

planning to help developers by providing

access to containers and other cloud-native

technologies as well as allowing ever more

flexible balancing of workloads across

multiple clouds going forward.

BENEFITS IN SUMMARY:

Achieved aim of bringing outsourced

applications back under direct DWP

management and control

Cloud-like on-demand scalability and

enhanced agility from a secure onpremise

solution

Enhanced resilience with no downtime

since implementation

Noticeable improvement in application

performance and availability across the

board

Low operational overheads with no silos

through single management interface

requiring no specialist skills

Ability to meet application needs with an

appropriate private or public cloud host

More info: www.nutanix.com



STORAGE

MAGAZINE

17

RESEARCH:

RESEARCH: DECARBONISING DATA

SEAGATE RELEASES DECARBONISING

DATA REPORT

SURVEY HIGHLIGHTS GROWING SUSTAINABILITY CHALLENGES DRIVEN BY AI DEMAND

Seagate Technology has unveiled its latest

global report, Decarbonising Data¹- a

comprehensive study based on a

commissioned survey of over 300 data

centres. The report highlights the mounting

sustainability challenges faced by enterprises

as they scale to meet the growing demands of

AI. The report, conducted by independent

research firm Dynata, explores the current

landscape of data centre efficiency and

sustainability, aiming to provide industry

leaders with data-driven insights to guide

future sustainable decision-making.

At the top of the report's findings is the fact

that energy usage is now a top concern for

53.5% of business leaders (and echoes recent

Goldman Sachs Research forecasts that

illustrate how global power demand from data

centres will increase by as much as 165% by

2030, compared with 2023). Rising data

volumes, slowing power efficiency gains, and

increasing AI adoption are putting pressure on

organisations to manage carbon emissions,

infrastructure expansion, and total cost of

ownership (TCO) - all at once.

"Data centres are under intense scrutiny - not

only because they support modern AI

workloads, but because they are becoming one

of the most energy-intensive sectors of the

digital economy," said Jason Feist, Senior Vice

President of Cloud Marketing, Seagate. "This

calls for a fundamental shift in how we think

about data infrastructure - not as a trade-off

between cost and sustainability, but as an

opportunity to optimise for both."

KEY TAKEAWAY FINDINGS:

Four key findings emerge from the

Decarbonising Data report:

1. AI is driving a wave of demand for data

storage: 94.5% of respondents reported

increasing data storage needs, with 97%

anticipating AI's growth to further impact

storage demand.

2. Environmental impact versus total cost of

ownership: Nearly 95% of respondents are

concerned about environmental impact,

but only 3.3% prioritise it in purchasing

decisions.

3. Top barriers to driving sustainability in data

centres include: High energy consumption

(53.5%), raw material requirements

(49.5%), physical space constraints

(45.5%), infrastructure costs (28.5%), and

acquisition costs (27%)

4. Life cycle management disconnect: 92.2%

acknowledge the importance of extending

the life cycle of storage equipment, but only

15.5% consider it a top purchasing factor.

IN-DEPTH FINDINGS:

The survey highlights that the rapid adoption of

AI technologies is forcing data centres to

manage soaring energy demands and an

expanding carbon footprint. The findings make

two undeniable conclusions: AI is the engine

behind data growth. A striking 94.5% of

respondents reported increased data storage

needs within their organisations, while 97%

anticipate AI's continued growth will further


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MAGAZINE

RESEARCH:


amplify this demand.

This corresponds to a growing energy

demand. According to data from IEEE, by

2030, data centre energy demand is projected

to grow significantly, potentially accounting for

8% of global carbon emissions, up from 0.3%

in 2022.

To keep pace with AI innovation,

organisations must scale their data

infrastructure while aligning with corporate

sustainability mandates. Increasingly,

businesses face expectations - and sometimes

regulatory requirements - to operate data

centres both cost-efficiently and sustainably. It

can be challenging to reconcile these two

expectations because the more energy data

centres use, the harder it becomes to reduce

their carbon footprints.

For this reason, total cost of ownership is

sometimes seen as being at odds with with

sustainability goals. Survey findings indicate

that:

Environmental impact is a concern for

nearly 95% of respondents.

Only 3.3% of the surveyed data centre

professionals report their companies

prioritise low environmental impact in data

centre purchasing decisions.

Other survey findings suggest that TCO and

sustainability are not necessarily competing

priorities. In fact, TCO and sustainability

considerations often align, providing

opportunities for both operational efficiencies

and environmental impact reduction.

The study found that data centre operations

are influenced by factors that reflect both TCO

and sustainability goals. Among them are:

Energy consumption. High energy usage

drives both operational costs and carbon

emissions, with 53.5% of respondents

identifying this as a significant concern.

Raw material requirements. Nearly 49.5% of

the surveyed data centre professionals cited the

large amounts of raw materials needed for

infrastructure as a key issue.

Physical space constraints. Close to 45.5% of

respondents highlighted the financial and

logistical burden of limited space.

Infrastructure costs. High construction costs for

sustainable infrastructure (identified by 28.5%

survey takers) and acquisition costs for data

centre components (27% respondents)

significantly impact capital expenditure (CapEx).

Lifecycle extension. Over 92% of respondents

agreed that extending the lifecycle of storage

equipment is important, emphasising durability

to reduce replacement and maintenance costs.

(In contrast, only 15.5% of respondents

considered lifecycle extension a top purchasing

factor for data storage infrastructure or

equipment, and 12.1% chose durability as an

important factor).

These concerns underscore the multifaceted

nature of data centres' TCO, which integrates

both CapEx and operational costs - and directly

bears on sustainability. Improving energy

efficiency reduces both emissions and

operational costs, and extending equipment

lifecycles minimises e-waste and raw material

demand.

This isn't to say that sustainability doesn't

complicate TCO calculations - it can do that.

For example, power consumption is an

inherent part of the TCO equation. But, as data

centre operators know, green energy sources

may be more costly up front. When that's the

case, the focus on the nature of energy

procured adds cost and efficiency constraints to

an already challenging cost efficiency problem.

A THREEFOLD CHOICE

As AI adoption accelerates data creation,

organisations require more capacity for everexpanding

data volumes, yet many struggle

with space limitations. Spatial constraints hinder

their ability to expand and implement more

sustainable storage solutions. Additionally, high

upfront costs for sustainable infrastructure

remain a significant barrier to progress.

About 82.5% of respondents said they lack

the physical space to build sustainable data

storage infrastructure.

When asked about the top three barriers to

sustainable data centre operations, respondents

pointed to lack of physical space (45.5% of

respondents), cost of constructing storage

infrastructure (28.5%), and cost of acquiring

data centre components (27%).

Because of these barriers, organisations often

face a threefold choice to accommodate

skyrocketing data volumes: optimise existing

infrastructure, expand the data centre footprint,

or migrate workloads to the cloud.

Each option involves trade-offs between cost,

carbon, and control, indicating that total cost of

ownership and sustainability can be compatible

goals. Decisions on energy consumption, space

utilisation, raw material use, and infrastructure

investment now impact both business

performance and environmental outcomes.

CURRENT SUSTAINABILITY STRATEGIES

The survey revealed that businesses are

increasingly adopting various strategies that

align sustainability with TCO goals.

Renewable Energy Sources. Nearly 62% of

respondents reported using renewable energy

sources to power their data infrastructure.

Renewable Energy Infrastructure. Close to

58% of survey takers said their organisations

are investing in renewable energy infrastructure.

Using AI to determine data storage needs.

Additionally, 42% of surveyed organisations

are implementing AI-based systems to



STORAGE

MAGAZINE

19

RESEARCH:


"Sustainability cannot be solved in isolation. A holistic

approach spanning infrastructure, life cycle

management, and industry-wide accountability could

ensure that the growth of AI and data centre

operations does not come at the expense of the

environment," - Jason Feist, Senior Vice President of Cloud Marketing, Seagate

optimise storage operations.

As the boom in AI applications drives data

centre expansion, collaboration and

innovation across the supply chain will be

crucial to achieving a sustainable and more

efficient data ecosystem.

To support the industry in navigating this

shift, the Decarbonising Data report outlines

three strategic pillars for building a more

sustainable data future:

1. Technological Innovation: Technological

innovation remains a key driver of

sustainable transformation. Advances in

computational power, storage density,

and energy-efficient technologies like

liquid/immersion cooling and HVAC

systems can significantly lower energy

consumption and carbon emissions,

effectively managing the growing

demand profile. For instance, Seagate's

HAMR-based Mozaic 3+ platform

enables up to three times more capacity

in the same footprint, reduces embodied

carbon by over 70% per terabyte2, and

lowers cost per terabyte by 25%3.

2. Commitment to life cycle extension and

circularity: Refurbishing, reusing, and

maintaining storage equipment extend

lifespan and reduces waste. Real-time

environmental monitoring and

transparent reporting can foster

accountability across the data centre

environment.

3. Share accountability across the

ecosystem: Achieving meaningful

emissions reduction requires

collaboration across the entire value

chain, including vendors, suppliers, and

cloud service providers.

"Sustainability cannot be solved in isolation. A

holistic approach spanning infrastructure, life

cycle management, and industry-wide

accountability could ensure that the growth of

AI and data centre operations does not come

at the expense of the environment," said

Jason Feist.

1. Seagate Technology's Decarbonising Data

report is based on a commissioned global

study conducted by independent research

firm Dynata, with fieldwork by global

communications consultancy Current

Global. Interviews were conducted with

experts in the field of data storage and

infrastructure, and a multi-market online

survey was conducted with 330 data

center professionals responding across 11

markets, including Australia, China,

France, Germany, India, Japan, North

America, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan,

and the United Kingdom.

More info:

https://www.seagate.com/resources/decarbo

nizing-data-report/


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MAGAZINE

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CASE STUDY: Timrå STUDY:

IK

Timrå IK is a successful and professional

ice hockey team based in Timrå located

close to Sundsvall in Sweden. The town

is as renowned for its engrained passion for

ice hockey as it is for the dense, deep and

beautiful forests that encircle the conurbation.

The ice hockey team competes in the

Swedish Hockey League (SHL) - one of the

SWEDISH ICE HOCKEY

TEAM,TIMRÅ IK, SECURES

DIGITAL OPERATIONS WITH

HORNETSECURITY

SOLUTION GIVES TIMRA'S MICROSOFT 365 ENVIRONMENT TOTAL

PROTECTION AND ARCHIVING CAPABILITIES

top leagues in Europe - and is ranked

amongst the top six for the 2024-2025

season, with strong aspirations of winning the

championship this season. With 70 back

office staff supporting up to 500 players

across various levels of Timrå teams and

playing team members span in age from five

years to senior levels, Timrå IK recognised the

need for robust IT security to protect their

growing digital presence. Partnering with

Strimma IT, Timrå IK implemented

Hornetsecurity's 365 Total Protection to fully

safeguard their Microsoft 365 environment

and enhance operational efficiency.

THE CHALLENGE

Before implementing Hornetsecurity, Timrå IK

relied on Microsoft Defender for many years

for their email security internally and

externally. However, they faced several

persistent challenges:

Email Threats: A significant volume of

phishing, spam, and malware emails

infiltrated Timrå's system daily, creating

risks. The IT team knew that just one

errant click could bring their entire IT

down through ransomware or malware

infection.

Operational Disruption: With errant

emails circulating internally, staff were


@STMagAndAwards


MAGAZINE

CASE CASE STUDY: Timrå IK

"We recommend all companies have a look at Hornetsecurity's

cyber security product. We're even encouraging other teams in

the Swedish Hockey League to explore this solution."

- Jonas Larsson, Administrative Manager, Timrå IK

spending too much time chasing and

ringfencing, increasing the likelihood of

missing critical communications.

Compliance Needs: Faced with a rising

volume, managing email security and

regulatory compliance was becoming an

increasingly time-consuming process.

Their trusted advisor and local IT support

company, Strimma IT, quickly highlighted that

to combat these risks, a

comprehensive and userfriendly

third party

cybersecurity solution was

needed - and fast - before a critical

own goal occurred that would stretch cyber

resiliency to the limits.

THE SOLUTION

With the recommendation of Strimma IT,

Timrå IK evaluated Hornetsecurity's 365 Total

Protection, a solution totally focused to meet

the demands of Microsoft 365 users. After a

detailed presentation and overview from

Strimma IT, the team decided to give it a try,

and the results were immediate and

impressive. Key highlights the team

immediately liked included:

Advanced Threat Protection: as it

proactively blocked phishing,

ransomware, and spam.

Spam and Malware Filtering: as it

significantly reduces unwanted emails,

ensuring cleaner inboxes.

Email Archiving and Compliance: as it

provides tools for efficient email search,

recovery, and regulatory compliance.

User-Friendly Management: as it

simplifies IT workflows and empowers

administrators with an intuitive control

panel.

Strimma IT facilitated a seamless migration,

ensuring minimal disruption to operations

and providing ongoing support.

THE RESULTS

The implementation of Hornetsecurity's 365

Total Protection delivered measurable benefits

for Timrå IK:

Enhanced Security: Daily email threats

were drastically minimised, stopping

malicious emails before they reached

team members' inboxes.

Improved Efficiency: Cleaner mailboxes

reduced distractions, enabling staff to

focus on core sports-related digital tasks.

Operational Reliability: Emails that

previously disrupted internal workflows

were no longer an issue.

Ease of Use: The solution's easy to use

control panel plus Strimma IT's support

made managing the new system simple

and straightforward.

Jonas Larsson, Administrative Manager, Timrå

IK, commented: "Under the previous system, it

was a matter of time before something went

seriously wrong. The user mailboxes are much

cleaner now, minimising the risk of missing

something important. Initially, it required some

effort, but everything runs smoothly now."

"We recommend all companies have a look

at Hornetsecurity's cyber security product.

We're even encouraging other teams in the

Swedish Hockey League to explore this

solution, again with Strimma IT also as their

trusted partner."

CONCLUSION

Timrå IK's adoption of Hornetsecurity's 365

Total Protection highlights the importance of

robust email security in today's sports

industry. With a safer, more efficient digital

environment behind them, the team can

concentrate on their mission: excelling on

the ice and engaging with fans. Their

proactive approach to a secure M365

environment sets a benchmark for other SHL

teams and beyond.

More info: www.hornetsecurity.com



STORAGE

MAGAZINE

23

EVENT:

EVENT: STORAGE AWARDS 2025

CATCH 22

THE STORAGE AWARDS REACHES ITS 22ND YEAR IN 2025 - SEE BELOW FOR ALL THE FINALISTS

We say it every year, but it

nonetheless remains absolutely

true: the Storage Awards simply

cannot happen without the readers'

nominations and votes. It exists to reflect the

brightest and best of the industry, and needs

your input to ensure that the right people

are picking up those much-coveted trophies

on the night. The event itself takes place on

Thursday June 5th at the Leonardo Royal

Hotel, London Tower Bridge.

As mentioned elsewhere in this issue,

this will be the last Storage Awards

process to take place under the

editorship of Dave Tyler, who is retiring

before June and will of course be sad to

miss the ceremony itself - but his

replacement Sharon Munday is no

stranger to the event, having been a

regular attendee in her role as

marcomms and PR representative for

several big names from across the sector.

Dave commented: "It will be quite

strange not to be in attendance at the

awards this year - it has been so

rewarding to watch as the event has

grown in prestige and of course in terms

of sheer numbers of votes and attendees

year on year throughout my time here.

Sharon, who attended many times over

the years as a guest, will be taking over

my hosting and presenting duties on the

night, and I have no doubt she'll be far

more entertaining than I ever was."

For her part, Sharon is clearly excited

about her new opportunity: "High heels,

long dress alert! It feels like for the past

twenty-odd years I've been attending the

Storage Awards as a guest - so it's

somewhat surreal (and incredibly special)

to now be part of the hosting team for

this year's event. The Awards night

always has a brilliant vibe, and it

remains one of my favourite annual

opportunities to catch up with industry

friends, old colleagues, and familiar

faces from across the storage world. I'm

really looking forward to another great

evening of celebration and new

connections - especially this year, in my

very fresh editor role. Please do come

and say hello!"

As we do every year, we need to thank

all of the sponsors who support the

Awards, who this year include: ExaGrid,

Epaton, NGS, Arcserve, Arctera,

Barracuda, Boston, CMS, Ctera, Exertis,

HPe, Hornetsecurity, Infinidat, Logicalis,

Nasuni, NexStor, Pure Storage, Storpool,

Titan, Ultra Support, Veritas, ZaveIT,

Cameo, CDS, Convergent, Gentronics,

Natrinsic, TMT, Tintri and Virtual Effect.

Apologies if we've forgotten anyone!

There are still some sponsorship

opportunities available at the time of writing,

and for anyone thinking of attending, see

the home page below for full details of how

to book a seat (or a table).

More info: www.storage-awards.com

THE STORRIES XXII


@STMagAndAwards


MAGAZINE

EVENT:


STORAGE AWARDS 2025: FINALISTS

STORAGE INNOVATOR OF THE YEAR

Arcserve

Arctera

Boston

Cloudian

Cohesity & Veritas

CTERA

Dell EMC

Druva

ExaGrid

Hitachi Vantara

Hornetsecurity

IBM

Infinidat

Lenovo

Nasuni

Nexsan

Object First

PEAK:AIO

QNAP

Quantum

Seagate

Siemens

Solidigm

StorMagic

StorONE

Storware

StorPool

Supermicro

Tintri

VDURA

Veeam

Wasabi

ZaveIT

ONE TO WATCH - COMPANY

Archiware

Arctera

Assured Data Protection

Cohesity & Veritas

CTERA

EuroNAS

Hammerspace

Hitachi Vantara

Hornetsecurity

Infinidat

Isystems

Lightbits

Nasuni

Nexsan

Object First

Point Software

QNAP

Qualstar

Quest Software

Scale Computing

Seagate

Siemens

Solidigm

SoftIron

StorMagic

StorONE

Storpool

Storware

Tintri

Vast Data

Vawlt

VDURA

Wasabi

ZaveIT

ONE TO WATCH - CHANNEL

101 Data Solutions

Academia

Astralis Tech

Cameo

CDS

Climb Channel Solutions

Convergent Technology

ICT Reverse

Insurgo

M2M

N2S

Nexstor

Primesys

Procurri

Relltek

Trustmarque

Ultra Support

Xtravirt

IMMUTABLE STORAGE COMPANY OF THE

YEAR

Acronis

Arcserve

Amazon (AWS)

Cloudian

Cohesity & Veritas

ExaGrid

Hornetsecurity

HPe

IBM

Infinidat

NetApp

Nexsan

Object First

Pure Storage

QNAP

Qualstar

Quantum

Rubrik

Seagate

Synology

Tintri

Wasabi

STORAGE INDUSTRY CHAMPION -

COMMERCIAL

101 Data Solutions Brett Edgecombe

Arcserve Damian Linfield

Arctera

Michael Grey

Barracuda Giovanni Goduti

CDS

Ian Burton

Climb Channel Solutions Yvonne Prest

CMS Distribution Chris Watson

CTERA

Becky Cairns

Dell Technologies Adrian Hannam

Epaton

Tom Gibson

ExaGrid Graham Woods

Hitachi Vantara Paul Jassies

Object First Pete Hannah

Nexsan

Adrian Hedges

Nexstor

Matt Moss

Northamber Alexander Phillips

Nutanix

Stuart Heade

QNAP

Tom Jepps

Scale Computing Gary Lynch

Siemens Ciaran Flanagan

Supermicro Jonathan "Johnny" Ray

Tintri

Mark Walsh

Titan Data Solutions Jade Easton

Ultra Support Pete Hodson

Virtual Effect Jane Symons


TECHNICAL

Arcserve Carl Green

Arctera

Simon Jelley

Barracuda Charlie Smith

Climb Channel Solutions Gary Morris

Cloudian Neil Stobart

Epaton

Pete Aspinall

Exertis Enterprise Jason Daly

Hammerspace Mark Lucas

Nasuni

Chris Wales

Nexsan

Richard Hornsby

Pure Storage David Milne

QNAP

Craig Reid

Scale Computing Ian Smith

StorMagic Bruce Kornfeld

Titan Data Solutions Stefan Ferrari

Vast Data Ross Cooper-Smith

Wasabi

Neale "Nelly" Simpkins


MARKETING

Arctera

Chris Wilborg

Barracuda Rebecca Bailey

Boston

Miodrag Relic

Climb Channel Solutions Kyle King

ExaGrid Mary Domenichelli

FujiFilm

Sarah Taylor

Infinidat Eric Herzog

Nexstor

Catherine Osborne

ObjectFirst Anastasiia Stepanova

Open-E Mikolaj Paszko

QNAP

Mirium Brown

Quantum Tom Hassall

Seagate Cassie Newman

StorMagic Leigh Grainger

Storpool Kat Temelkova

Tintri

Ken Man

Titan Data Solutions Gavin Sutton

CHANNEL EXCELLENCE AWARD

Arrow ECS William "Billy" Bond

Assured Data Protection Ron Mackle

Barracuda Giovanni Goduti

Broadberry Data Systems Colin Broadberry

CDS

Chris Gegory

CDS

Ricky Patel

Climb Channel Solutions Gerard Bophy

CMS Distribution Frank Salmon

Cohesity & Veritas Toby Keen

DJ Sheppard Consulting - Darren Sheppard

Druva

Gareth Lush

Epaton

Jonathan Lassman



STORAGE

MAGAZINE

25

EVENT:


ExaGrid Andy Walsky

Exertis Enterprise Calum Collington

Hammerspace Giada Ligato

Infinidat James Lewis

M2M

Patrick Mitchell

Nasuni

Kenz Mroue

Nexstor

Russ Sam

Quantum Robert 'Nobby' Clark

Seagate Andy Palmer

Siemens Joseph Rideout

SoftIron

Philip Crocker

Titan Data Solutions David Treadwell

AI DATA STORAGE INNOVATOR

OF THE YEAR

Amazon (AWS)

Arctera

Cloudian

CTERA

Dell Technologies

HPe

IBM

Infinidat

Microsoft Azure

NetApp

PEAK: AIO

Pure Storage

Seagate

Siemens

Solidigm

StorONE

Supermicro

VDURA

CYBER RESILIENT STORAGE COMPANY

OF THE YEAR

Acronis

Arcserve

Arctera


Barracuda

Carbonite

Cloudian

CTERA

Cohesity & Veritas

Crashplan

Datto

Druva

Exagrid

Hornetsecurity

IBM

Infinidat

Nasuni

Object First

Pure Storage

Quantum

Redstor

Rubrik

Seagate

Synology

Zerto

RANSOMWARE PRODUCT OF THE YEAR

Acronis

AWS

Arcserve

Arctera

Asigra

Cohesity & Veritas

CTERA

Druva

ExaGrid

Hornetsecurity

IBM

Infinidat

Nasuni

NetApp

Object First

Open-E

Pure Storage

QNAP

Redstor

StorONE

Wasabi

Zerto

CLOUD BACKUP COMPANY OF THE YEAR

Acronis

Arcserve

Arctera

Barracuda

Carbonite

Cohesity & Veritas

Commvault

Crashplan

Datto

Druva

Hornetsecurity

IBM

QNAP

Quantum

Redstor

Relltek

Rubrik

Seagate

StorONE

Storpool

Veeam

Wasabi

Zerto

DATA PROTECTION COMPANY OF THE

YEAR

Acronis

Archiware

Arcserve

Arctera

Asigra

Barracuda

Carbonite

Cohesity & Veritas

Commvault

Crashplan

Datto

Druva

ExaGrid

Hornetsecurity

HPE

IBM

Infinidat

Kingston Technology

Nasuni

Nexsan

Object First

Open-E

Pure Storage

Quest Software

Redstor

Rubrik

Storware

Veeam

ZaveIT

Zerto

ENTERPRISE BACKUP HARDWARE VENDOR

OF THE YEAR

Arcserve

Boston

Cohesity & Veritas

CTERA

DDN

Dell EMC

Dell Technologies

ExaGrid

Hitachi Vantara

HPe

IBM

Infinidat

Lenovo

NetApp

Object First

Pure Storage

QNAP

Qualstar

Quantum

Rubrik

Scality

Seagate

Tintri

Vast Data

ENTERPRISE DATA STORAGE AND SERVICE

COMPANY OF THE YEAR

Cameo

CTERA

Exertis Enterprise

Insurgo

Kingston Technology

Nexstor

Park Place Technologies

Procurri

Razorblue

Relltek

Siemens

StorONE

Ultra Support

Wasabi

DATA MANAGEMENT & MONITORING

VENDOR OF THE YEAR

Arcitecta

Arctera

Atempo


Blancco

Cirrus Data

Cohesity & Veritas

CTERA

Databricks

DataCore

DDN

Dell EMC

Hammerspace

Hitachi Vantara


@STMagAndAwards


MAGAZINE

EVENT:


HPe

IBM

Infinidat

Komprise

NetApp

Open-E

Panzura


Peer Software

Point Software

Quest Software

Solarwinds

StorMagic

Storpool

Vast Data

ZaveIT

OBJECT STORAGE VENDOR OF THE YEAR

Amazon (AWS)

Cloudian

CTERA

DataCore

DDN

Dell EMC

Exagrid

Google

Hitachi

HPe

IBM

Microsoft (Azure)

Nasuni

NetApp

Object First

Panzura

Pure Storage

QNAP

Quantum

Scality

Seagate

Spectra Logic

Tintri

Vast Data

Vawlt

VDURA

Wasabi

HYPER-CONVERGENCE VENDOR

OF THE YEAR

Boston

Commvault

DataCore

Dell Technologies

Hitachi Vantara

HPe

IBM

Lenovo

NetApp

Nutanix

Open-E

Peer Software

Scale Computing

Starwind

StorMagic

Storpool

Supermicro

Synology

Tintri

'AS A SERVICE' PLATFORM OF THE YEAR

Acronis

Amazon (AWS)

Arcserve

Arctera

Arrow ECS

Asigra


Barracuda

Carbonite

Cohesity & Veritas

Commvault

Crashplan

Datto

Druva

Google

Hornetsecurity

HPe

Infinidat

Microsoft (Azure)

Nexstor

Nutanix

Seagate

Siemens

Storpool

Titan Data Solutions

Vawlt

Veeam

Wasabi

ZaveIT

FLASH STORAGE VENDOR OF THE YEAR

Accelstor

DDN

Dell EMC

Dell Technologies

Hitachi Vantara

HPe

IBM

Infinidat

Infortrend

Kingston Technology

Lenovo

NetApp

Nexsan

Pure Storage

QNAP

Quantum

Seagate

Tintri

Toshiba

Vast Data

VDURA

PERFORMANCE STORAGE VENDOR

OF THE YEAR

Boston

CTERA

Dell EMC

Dell Technologies

Hitachi Vantara

HPe

IBM

Infinidat

Lenovo

Nasuni

NetApp

Nexsan

Pure Storage

QNAP

Quantum

Scality

Seagate

SoftIron

Solidigm

StorONE

Tintri

Toshiba

Vast Data

VDURA

CLOUD ENABLER OF THE YEAR

Acronis

Arcserve

Arctera

Arrow ECS

Barracuda

Carbonite

Cloudian

Cohesity & Veritas

Crashplan

CTERA

Databricks

DataCore

Hammerspace

Hornetsecurity

IBM

Infinigate

Nasuni

NetApp

Panzura

Peer Software

QNAP

Storpool

Vawlt

Wasabi

SOFTWARE DEFINED STORAGE (SDS)

VENDOR OF THE YEAR

Arctera

Cohesity & Veritas

CTERA

DataCore

Dell Technologies

Hammerspace

IBM

Infinidat

NetApp

Open-E

Panzura

Peer Software

Scale Computing

Seagate

SoftIron

Starwind

StorMagic

Storpool

Vawlt

STORAGE OPTIMISATION COMPANY OF

THE YEAR

Accelstor

Arctera

Cirrus Data

Cloudian

Cohesity & Veritas


@STMagAndAwards


MAGAZINE

EVENT: STORAGE EVENT:

AWARDS 2025

DataCore

ExaGrid

Hammerspace

HPe

IBM

Infinidat

Komprise

Lightbits

Nasuni

NetApp

Pure Storage

Quantum

Seagate

Storpool

Tintri

Toshiba

VDURA

ELECTRONIC DATA WAREHOUSING

COMPANY OF THE YEAR

Arcitecta


Cloudian

Databricks

Dell EMC

Hitachi Vantara

HPe

Nasuni

Natrinsic

NetApp

Quantum

Scality

Supermicro

Vast Data

CAPACITY STORAGE VENDOR OF THE YEAR

Boston

Cloudian

Cohesity & Veritas

DDN

Dell EMC

Dell Technologies

Exagrid

Hitachi Vantara

HPe

IBM

Infinidat

Infortrend

Isystems

Lenovo

NetApp

Nexsan

Pure Storage

QNAP

Qualstar

Quantum

Scality

Seagate

Supermicro

Toshiba

Tintri

Vast Data

CHANNEL PARTNER PROGRAMME

Arcserve

Barracuda

Boston

Cohesity & Veritas

DataCore

Exagrid

HPe

Infinidat

Lenovo

Nexsan

Object First

Quantum

Schneider

Seagate

StorMagic

MULTI-VENDOR SERVICE PROVIDER

OF THE YEAR

Cameo

CDS

Evernex

Insurgo

Natrinsic

Nexstor


Procurri

Razorblue

Relltek

Stortrec

Ultra Support

STORAGE BROKER OF THE YEAR

Astralis Tech

Cameo

CDS

Gentronics

ICT Reverse

N2S

Procurri

Ultratec

SUSTAINABILITY CHAMPION OF THE YEAR

Astralis Tech

AWS

Cameo

CDS

Evernex

Gentronics

HPe

IBM

ICT Reverse

Infinidat

Insurgo

N2S

NetApp


Procurri

Relltek

Schneider

Seagate

Siemens

Stortrec

Ultra Support

Ultratec

DATA DESTRUCTION COMPANY

OF THE YEAR

Astralis Tech

Blancco

Cameo

CDS

Evernex

Gentronics

ICT Reverse

N2S


Procurri

Relltek

Ultratec

CYBER SECURITY STORAGE RESELLER

OF THE YEAR

Central Technology

ITEC

Logicalis

MTI

Nexstor

NGS

Primesys

Proact IT

Softcat

Telefonica Tech

TruStack

SPECIALIST STORAGE RESELLER OF THE YEAR

101 Data Solutions

CCK Tech

Cognitive Network Solutions

CSI (Computer Systems Integration)

Cristie Data (Iomart)

Datek Solutions

DSI

Epaton

Logicalis

Nexstor

Primesys

Proact IT

Techvertu

Virtual Effect

ENTERPRISE STORAGE RESELLER

OF THE YEAR

Academia

Boxxe

Bytes

CCS Media

CDW

Centerprise

Computacentre

Convergent Technology

Coolspirit

Epaton

European Electronique

Insight

MTI

Nexstor

Softcat

Trustmarque

Viadex

MANAGED SERVICE PROVIDER (MSP)

OF THE YEAR

Air IT

ANS Group


Centerprise

Datastore365

entrust IT

Kascade

Meridian IT

www.storagemagazine.co.uk @STMagAndAwards May/June 2025

STORAGE

MAGAZINE

29

EVENT:


Nexstor

Node4

OVHcloud

Viadex

Xtravirt

Zen Internet

SPECIALIST STORAGE DISTRIBUTOR

OF THE YEAR

Arrow ECS

CMS Distribution

Ethos Technology

Exclusive Networks

Exertis Enterprise

M2M


ENTERPRISE STORAGE DISTRIBUTOR

OF THE YEAR

Arrow ECS


CMS Distribution

Exertis Enterprise

Infinigate

Ingram Micro

Northamber

Nuvius

TD Synnex


Westcoast

EDITOR'S CHOICE - PRODUCT

EDITOR'S CHOICE - COMPANY

STORAGE SOLUTION OF THE YEAR - PUBLIC

SECTOR

STORAGE SOLUTION OF THE YEAR -

CORPORATE

(Note: The Editor's Choice and Solution of the

Year Award winners are selected by the editor

of Storage magazine and our panel of

industry experts respectively, and are not open

to public vote).

CLOUD PRODUCT OF THE YEAR

Acronis

Cyber Protect Cloud

Amazon (AWS) S3

Arcserve Cloud Direct

Arctera

Insight

Asigra

SaaSBACKUP

Barracuda Cloud-to-Cloud Backup

Cirrus Data Migrate Cloud

Cohesity & Veritas Alta SaaS

Commvault Metallic

CTERA

Edge-to-Cloud File Services

Databricks Lakehouse

Druva

Phoenix

Hornetsecurity 365 Total Protection

HPE

Greenlake

IBM

Cloud Platform

Infinidat InfuzeOS Cloud edition

Nasuni

Nasuni File Data Platform

Nutanix

Cloud Platform

Pure Storage Cloud Block Store

Seagate Lyve Cloud

Siemens Xcelerator

Snowflake Horizon

Spectra Logic

Storetec Services

StorPool

Vawlt

Veeam

Virtuozzo

Wasabi

ZaveIT

Vail

MDI Cloud

StorPool Storage

Dynamic Storage Platform

Cloud Platform

Hybrid Cloud

Cloud Sync Manager

ZaveIT Platform

STORAGE PRODUCT OF THE YEAR

Arctera

Backup Exec

Arcserve N-Series Storage Appliance

Barracuda Barracuda Backup

Boston

Igloo Series

Cloudian Hyperbalance

Cohesity & Veritas Gaia

CTERA

Insight Service

DataCore Single Node Swarm

Dell Technologies Powerstore 3200q

ExaGrid Tiered Backup Storage

Hornetsecurity 365 Total Backup

HPe

Alletra Storage MP X10000

IBM Storage Flashsystem 5300

Infinidat InfiniBox G4 Family

Kingston Technology DC3000ME Data Center

SSD

Nasuni

Nasuni IQ

NetApp

ASA A-Series

Nexsan

Unity NV6000

Object First Ootbi

Open-E Open-E JovianDSS Up31

Panzura Symphony

Pure Storage Flashblade//Exa

QNAP

TS-h2490FU

Quantum Scalar I7 Raptor

Scality

Artesca Appliance

Seagate Corvault

SoftIron

HyperDrive

Spectra Logic Cube

StorMagic SvHCI 2.0

StorPool StorPool Storage

Tintri

VMstore CSI

Vast Data Data Platform

VDURA

V5000

Veeam

Backup & Replication

V12.3

CLOUD COMPANY OF THE YEAR

AWS

Acronis

Asigra

Arcserve

Arctera

Barracuda

Carbonite

Cloudian

Cohesity & Veritas

Commvault

Crashplan

CTERA

DataCore

Datto

Druva

Google

Hitachi Vantara

Hornetsecurity

HPe

IBM

Infinigate

Microsoft Azure

Nasuni

NetApp

Nexstor

Pure Storage

Rubrik

Scality

Seagate

Siemens

StorPool

Vawlt

Veeam

Virtuozzo

Wasabi

STORAGE COMPANY OF THE YEAR

Acronis

Arcserve

Arctera

Barracuda

Boston

Cloudian

Cohesity & Veritas

Commvault

CTERA

DataCore

Dell EMC

Dell Technologies

Druva

ExaGrid

Hornetsecurity

HPe

IBM

Infinidat

Nasuni

Nexsan

Object First

Open-E

Pure Storage

QNAP

Quantum

Seagate

SoftIron

StorMagic

StorPool

Tintri

Toshiba

Ultra Support

Veeam

More info: www.storage-awards.com

THE STORRIES XXII


@STMagAndAwards


MAGAZINE

OPINION: DIALOGUE

IS THE STORAGE INDUSTRY PREPARED FOR

THE AI TSUNAMI?

STORAGE MAGAZINE OPENS THE DIALOGUE WITH INFINIDAT AND TOSHIBA, ON READINESS

FOR THE EXPLOSION OF AI DATA

"Artificial intelligence is transforming enterprise

operations and storage infrastructures must evolve

quickly to meet new and unprecedented data

processing demands."

- Eric Herzog, CMO at Infinidat

The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) is

dramatically reshaping how data is

generated, processed, and stored. In

2024, the global volume of data created,

captured, copied, and consumed reached

a staggering 147 zettabytes - an

astronomical leap from just 2 zettabytes in

2010 (according to IDC's Global

DataSphere Forecast).

A significant portion of this explosive

growth in data is being driven by AI

deployments. And we're not just talking

autonomous vehicles and smart city

analytics here. We are referring to everyday

AI business applications that are increasing

organisational productivity across

departments, generating (and relying on)

colossal datasets in doing so. This

exponential data surge presents a profound

challenge: Are storage vendors rising to the

challenge of vastly increasing data sets as a

result of AI?

VENDOR APPROACHES TO

HANDLING AI DATASETS

Storage Magazine asks two leading storage

suppliers with different perspectives -

Infinidat and Toshiba - for their responses

and insight:

INFINIDAT'S TAKE ON AI: REDEFINING

STORAGE FOR A NEW ERA

Eric Herzog, CMO at Infinidat, responds first

on the AI data processing challenge:

"Artificial intelligence is transforming

enterprise operations and storage

infrastructures must evolve quickly to meet

new and unprecedented data processing

demands. The impact of agentic AI can

already be felt, bringing with it a new wave

of data-intensive workloads requiring highperformance,

scalable, and cost-effective

storage architectures."

Herzog highlighted the limitations of

traditional storage solutions in handling the

rapid processing speeds and massive

datasets that AI demands. Beyond just

capacity, accuracy becomes a key

consideration, particularly with the rise of

GenAI applications where inaccurate

responses - often referred to as "AI

hallucinations" - can disrupt business

operations.

To address this, Infinidat have introduced its

Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG)

architecture, designed to improve both the

accuracy and relevancy of AI models.

Herzog notes that RAG merges data from

multiple sources, including unstructured and

structured data, as well as non-Infinidat NFSbased

storage arrays or hybrid multi-cloud

configurations. This enables organisations to

deploy AI applications on existing

infrastructures while benefiting from

Infinidat's high performance, low latency, and

Neural Cache technology.

When integrated into a GenAI framework,

RAG extends AI models such as Large

Language Models (LLMs) or Small Language

Models (SLMs) by enhancing them with upto-date,

real-world information. This

advancement eliminates the need for

continual re-training - an often costly and

time-consuming process.

Herzog believes that by enhancing the

accuracy of AI-driven insights and supporting

seamless hybrid cloud integration, Infinidat is

setting the stage for the next generation of

enterprise AI solutions.


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MAGAZINE

OPINION: DIALOGUE

"With the emergence of AI/ML, we see a fundamental

shift in 'reasons' to store data, especially in areas like

video surveillance and research."

- Rainer W. Kaese, Senior Manager, HDD Business Development at Toshiba Electronics Europe

TOSHIBA'S TAKE ON AI: SCALING FOR

THE DATA DELUGE

Rainer W. Kaese, Senior Manager, HDD

Business Development at Toshiba Electronics

Europe describes more specific AI usage

and AI development cases:

"With the emergence of AI/ML, we see a

fundamental shift in 'reasons' to store data,

especially in areas like video surveillance

and research." Kaese continues. "AI/ML

models rely on being fed enormous

amounts of data (text, images, and videos)

for training and analysis, which enables

them to develop their intelligence. So, with

this continuous, high-resolution recording of

'everything just in case', the amount of data

to be stored is skyrocketing to levels never

experienced before."

Kaese highlights that the storage industry

must support this unprecedented data

volume by providing large petabyte-scale

storage systems with high write speeds to

absorb data at the rate it's created and offer

high read performance to deliver it to GPUbased

AI/ML servers efficiently.

Kaese points out that to meet this demand,

Toshiba has been advancing its HDD

technologies, with 24TB now the major

capacity, realised through Microwave-Assisted

Magnetic Recording (MAMR) with the

company pushing towards 40-50TB capacities

through Heat-Assisted Magnetic Recording

(HAMR). These advancements are being

designed with sustainability in mind; even as

individual HDD power consumption remains

steady, the power consumption per terabyte

(W/TB) has been significantly reduced.

Kaese believes that Toshiba's focus on highcapacity,

energy-efficient storage will be

critical to supporting the growing demands of

AI and machine learning applications.

HARMONISING INNOVATION

Both Toshiba and Infinidat are setting bold

paths for the storage industry's response to

the AI data tsunami, albeit with different

strategies. Toshiba's commitment to everexpanding

HDD capacities supports longterm

data retention at scale; while Infinidat

is focused on high-performance, low-latency

storage optimised for AI-driven processing.

Its RAG architecture enables seamless

integration of unstructured and structured

data into GenAI models, allowing

enterprises to deploy sophisticated AI

applications on existing infrastructure

without sacrificing speed or accuracy.

Together, these strategies illustrate a

balanced approach to mass storage

capability and instantaneous data retrieval,

both of which are critical to meeting the

demands of AI and ML applications.

STRATEGIES FOR THE FUTURE TO

ACCOMMODATE AI:

As AI adoption continues to accelerate

and permeate across departments,

storage solutions must not only expand in

capacity but also improve in efficiency,

speed, and reliability. Key techniques to

generically minimise the storage impact

of AI-generated datasets include

minimising redundant data through data

compression and de-duplication;

reducing latency with edge processing of

data generated through AI; energy

efficient storage solutions and enabling AI

workload peaks to be served at scale

through Software-Defined Storage (SDS).

Each of these technologies will be

addressed in future dialogues.

LOOKING AHEAD

The AI data tsunami is not a future

challenge - it is unfolding now, pushing the

boundaries of traditional storage

infrastructures. In response, the storage

industry must continue to innovate at

breakneck speed to keep pace.

The path forward will demand not just

incremental improvements, but transformative

shifts in how storage is both conceptualised

and delivered. In our upcoming roundtable

dialogue sessions, we will continue to explore

how industry leaders are evolving to meet this

unprecedented demand, examining their

approaches to scalability, sustainability, and

technological innovation.

Stay tuned for deeper insights and expert

commentary on navigating the AI data storm

in the next issues of Storage Magazine. ST



STORAGE

MAGAZINE

33

MANAGEMENT: BACKUP

THE BIGGEST MISTAKE IN

DATA BACKUP

BILL ANDREWS, EXAGRID PRESIDENT AND CEO, DISCUSSES WHY

BACKUP STORAGE MISTAKES PERPETUALLY HAUNT IT TEAMS

Data backup has become a high

priority in order to ensure that

data can be recovered: from

deleted user files to ransomware attacks,

a site disaster, or the need to restore

historical data for financial and regulatory

audits and legal discovery.

Backups need to be fast so they are

completed during non-production hours

and restores need to be fast to keep users

productive and operations running.

IT staff spend a lot of time and research

choosing a backup application such as

Veeam, Commvault, NetBackup, Rubrik,

Cohesity, HYCU, and others. But they

spend little to no time thinking through

the impact of their choice of backup

storage. Most assume they can simply

take some primary storage or an inline

deduplication appliance and use that as a

backup storage target. The backup

storage target is crucial to meeting all

backup requirements.

INGEST PERFORMANCE

The faster the ingestion performance, the

shorter the backup window. Standard

primary storage, even SSD, is optimised

for database transactional files or

individual NAS files, but not for large

backup jobs. Inline deduplication

appliances are the slowest as they

deduplicate data on the way to the

storage, which is compute-intensive. It is

not uncommon for inline deduplication to

be 1/3rd the speed of standard storage,

even with software that runs on the media

server to help.

RESTORE PERFORMANCE

The key to fast restore performance is to

have the backup data in its native format

ready to restore. Most primary storage is

fast for restores. However, if you use an

inline deduplication appliance, the

restores are painfully slow as all the data

is stored in a deduplicated format that

needs to be rehydrated for each request.

FIXED-LENGTH BACKUP WINDOW

True scale-out storage is required to keep

a backup window fixed length (meaning

the backup window does not grow as the

data grows). For backups, avoid any

storage that does not bring full resources

with storage-memory, process,

networking, with storage (compute with

capacity).

SECURITY

Both primary storage behind the backup

application and inline deduplication

appliances are network-facing and are

not fully secure. Look for solutions that

have a tiered air gap solution as well as

immutability.

DISASTER RECOVERY

If you use standard primary storage behind

a backup application, you are relying on the

backup application to do the replication.

Ensure that you fully understand how WANefficient

the replication is. For inline

deduplication appliances, the replication is

highly WAN-efficient but at the expense of

slow backups, slow restores, and scalability.

COST

The cost of backup storage is dependent on

retention (how many copies of data you

keep). The longer the retention, the more

standard primary storage behind the backup

application will cost. Deduplication

appliances reduce the storage footprint and

cost but with a trade-off of slow ingest

performance, slow restore performance, and

no scalability.

AN ALTERNATIVE SOLUTION

The alternative is using Tiered Backup

Storage that has a front-end disk cache to

write and restore to without the impact of

inline data deduplication, a scale-out

architecture, and a tiered air gap repository

where deduplicated data is stored, reducing

storage footprint for cost savings. This

approach results in fast backups, fast

restores, a fixed-length backup window as

data grows, and a strong ransomware

recovery story.

More info: www.exagrid.com


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