LucidLink recently unveiled a managed service provider program to spread the use of its distributed file service.
The San Francisco company aims to address the challenge of sharing files across geographically dispersed enterprises. Data volumes are growing at very high rates, and while industry talk centers on putting information into the cloud, this approach does not mesh well with all applications, especially those creating large files.
"We live in world with highly distributed teams that access common files," explained Peter Thompson, co-founder and CEO at LucidLink. "Many of the current cloud data synchronization schemes do not scale well."
LucidLink's approach
Enter LucidLink, which now has 400 customers and 30 employees. Its Filespaces offering, available as an appliance or a cloud service, provides high-performance file access over long-distance connections. The product, which is built for object storage, works with AWS S3 and major operating systems such as Linux, Windows and macOS. Possible use cases for Filespaces, according to LucidLink, include direct backup to the cloud, managed network attached storage, a universal data mount point for any application, and active archiving.
To build its customer base, LucidLink developed ad hoc relationships with about 50 channel partners. The vendor formalized its partner program in October 2019. MSPs can buy LucidLink's monthly managed service bundled with hosted storage, or they can use their own storage, depending on the application requirements and their services.
Partner deals with rising data volumes
The Cloud Depot is a four-person service provider serving the Southeast region. Like many resellers, the company has been trying to migrate away from traditional legacy system sales to modern cloud solutions.
We live in world with highly distributed teams that access common files.
Peter ThompsonCo-founder and CEO, LucidLink
"Recently, we decided to emphasize helping our customers better manage their data, since data volumes have been growing at such high rates," explained Noah Gershon, CEO at The Cloud Depot. One client is moving into the content aggregation business with a service that consolidates YouTube video listings for groups with special interests. That client needed computer infrastructure to support its services.
The Cloud Depot examined possible options, and was referred to LucidLink by Wasabi Technologies.
"When we looked at solutions like Dropbox, we found that they did not offer sufficient performance to support the client's business," Gershon said.
The LucidLink system did, so the channel partner is working with its client to deploy LucidLink's service in early 2020.
Storage now represents 50% of The Cloud Depot's sales and has been growing at about 15% per year, Gershon noted. Those numbers mean the company will expand its staff in 2020. "We plan to open a sales and support office in Atlanta," he said.
