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Top 4 Reasons to Consider S3 Alternatives for Object Storage Needs
Learn about why you should consider S3 alternatives.
With a variety of S3 alternatives for object storage to choose from, businesses must decide what makes sense for their current needs as well as what provides the flexibility for anticipated future business requirements. These alternatives, as presented, aren’t meant as absolute replacements of an organization’s currently selected vendor, but to provide options for possibly adding to, or fine-tuning, an existing data storage strategy.
S3, or Simple Storage Service, is a way to store large amounts of data in a time-efficient manner that users can access easily. Object storage refers to storing large amounts of unstructured data (such as videos, photos, and unstructured text-based data) in unitsthat are either file-based or block-based.
Amazon S3 and other object storage vendors typically offer service and pricing tiers thatan organization can mix and match to their requirements. Various factors—including the network, hardware, storage management, and redundancy/failover—affect how easily and quickly a user can call up various information. Most vendors break up their services into hot (data currently used often), cold (infrequently used data), and archive data tier prices.
Amazon S3 is one of the ‘Big 3’ in the object storage market, but it isn’t the only option.
The main draw of S3 and S3-compatible object storage solutions is the ability to easily store and retrieve unstructured data quicker than any other storage technologies currently available. But what are some reasons an organization might consider an alternative, or additional, object storage service?
One motivation is size or scale. Smaller businesses may not need certain features thata particular S3-based cloud services vendor has to offer, or may not have the needed infrastructure or resources to maximize S3.
Features and capabilities are another main driver. All object storage vendors have certain unique capabilities, which means each service has corresponding limitations and things it cannot do.
The last reason for a switch from, or addition to, S3 is compatibility. While it’s rare to find a system that is wholly incompatible with S3, some may work more efficiently with another provider.
When choosing object storage vendors, things to consider include cost savings, complexity and/or waste, high performance and high availability, and if the company follows current security best practices.
S3-compatible storage costsare oftena dollars-per-terabyte (TB) rate, but some storage solutions have more complicated pricing tiers. Hidden fees can add up quickly, so be sure you understand the full costs before committing to the switch or addition.
When you look at S3-compatible storage, ensure that applications can instantly communicate with an S3 API (application programming interface). Since S3 is a dominant leader in the industry, most businesses are best served by technology (including S3 alternatives) compatible with S3.
Whatever your organization’s current size or growth trajectory is, your business needs will inevitably change, perhaps in significant or unpredictable ways. Scalability is a leading reason that businesses switch to the cloud in the first place, and it matters here as well.
Getting your needs met by a selected vendor, or group of vendors,is an important consideration. Additionally, ask questions like these and share the answers with prospective vendors:
Review the security, resiliency, and redundancy features any new or additionalsolution offers. Security for object storage data solutions involves access authentication, automated backups, and encryption methods (such as having a decentralized storage provider system where data is encrypted, broken into blocks, and stored across multiple regions).
While all leading object storage vendors are generally secure, specific practices and features vary in ways that may be significant to your business and the regulations you’re obligated to meet.
When compared to other S3 alternatives, Seagate® Lyve™ Cloud offers an affordable solution with excellent security measures. Users get all the features they need in one place, and Lyve Cloud boasts the best compatibility with other cloud services to give you maximum data control, efficiency, and flexibility.
Lyve Cloud operates with no hidden egress fees and no API charges. This results in a low total cost of ownership (TCO)—all without sacrificing high-performance object storage capabilities.
Knowing Lyve Cloud adheres to the latest top cloud provider security standards will give you peace of mind for your business. Encryption processes and automatic backups help to protect against the threat of ransomware attacks.
Lyve Cloud ensures that applications communicate with the S3 API. The high-availability object storage solution integrates with most available application languages and frameworks, and provides a built-in content delivery network (CDN), ensuring efficient communication if you use multiple cloud platforms.
An IBM study suggests that 97% of businesses currently employ multi-cloud infrastructures for safety, functionality, compliance, and other reasons. Lyve Cloud provides the tools and flexibility to move content where you need it.
You need an object storage vendor that can adapt fast and communicate with other existing technology quickly, efficiently, and securely. Lyve Cloud fits that description perfectly and is the ideal solution for many businesses.
Talk to an expert today about how Lyve Cloud can meet your business needs for cloud storage—both now and in the future—making it the best S3-compatible storage choice for you!
