The News: Spectra Logic announced its Digital Archive solution based on StorCycle software. The solution combines StorCycle archive and data management software with Spectra hardware for large scale archive and data retention. Read an overview of the Digital Archive solution from Spectra here.
Spectra Logic Announces Digital Archive Solution
Analyst Take: Spectra Logic’s announcement of its Digital Archive Solution based on StorCycle software illustrates that the company appears to be furthering its push into the archive market. Spectra Logic is well known for its BlackPearl and tape products, entered into the data management and archive software space a few years ago with the release of StorCycle.
From my understanding, Digital Archive does not actually add any feature changes from the existing feature set of StorCycle, all of the archiving capabilities were already built into the software. Instead, Digital Archive represents an overall archiving solution built from Spectra’s portfolio. The Digital Archive is made up of Spectra building blocks including the StorCycle software, Spectra BlackPearl devices, and Spectra tape libraries. Additional NAS and cloud targets are also supported to increase the flexibility of the solution.
While Spectra Logic’s Digital Archive solution isn’t technically adding anything new in terms of functionality, it does resonate with the challenges seen by IT organizations dealing with large scale datasets, such as in the industries listed in the above graphic. Maintaining data at scale can become a complex and costly challenge. In many cases, organizations will have large capacities of data that cannot be deleted, and the problem is further complicated by compliance requirements and security concerns such as ransomware protection.
While public cloud has in many cases become a popular archive target, a combination of these concerns has led to compelling arguments for the continued usage of on-premises archive targets such as tape or on-premises disk devices. Public cloud solutions used for long term archiving – typically a cold or inactive tier – are often slow and expensive for data retrieval. Hotter tiers may be used as an active archive to reduce the data retrieval cost, however at an increased storage cost. In addition, some organizations may have reservations about utilizing the public cloud for long term data preservation as it removes their control over data security and compliance practices.
Tape offers the most cost-effective storage solution for bulk data storage, as well as an easily air gapped solution to protect against ransomware. As a company with a strong history in offering tape solutions, it makes sense that Spectra is positioning Digital Archive to provide this type of on-premises archiving solution. By combining StorCycle’s feature set with Spectra’s tape and BlackPearl solutions, Digital Archive becomes a flexible solution capable of addressing several archiving needs. By utilizing this mix of storage targets and StorCycle software, organizations can achieve various cost, performance, scalability, automation, and data protection requirements for data archiving and preservation.
Spectra Logic’s announcement of the Digital Archive solution positions the company as a comprehensive option for data archiving, from software to hardware. While StorCycle may have initially found interest in its compatibility with the public cloud, this announcement helps Spectra refocus its value towards on-premises archiving capability while simultaneously positioning its hardware solutions as target devices.
More insights from Evaluator Group:
Check out Evaluator Group’s research on Spectra Logic StorCycle and Archive Software here:
Spectra Logic StorCycle Product Brief
Archive Software Comparison Matrix
Disclosure: Evaluator Group, wholly owned by The Futurum Group, is a research and analyst firm that engages or has engaged in research, analysis and advisory services with many technology companies, including those mentioned in this article. The author does not hold any equity positions with any company mentioned in this article. Analysis and opinions expressed herein are specific to the analyst individually.
Author Information
Mitch comes to The Futurum Group through the acquisition of the Evaluator Group and is focused on the fast-paced and rapidly evolving areas of cloud computing and data storage. Mitch joined Evaluator Group in 2019 as a Research Associate covering numerous storage technologies and emerging IT trends.
With a passion for all things tech, Mitch brings deep technical knowledge and insight to The Futurum Group’s research by highlighting the latest in data center and information management solutions. Mitch’s coverage has spanned topics including primary and secondary storage, private and public clouds, networking fabrics, and more. With ever changing data technologies and rapidly emerging trends in today’s digital world, Mitch provides valuable insights into the IT landscape for enterprises, IT professionals, and technology enthusiasts alike.
