Startup Komprise strikes reseller agreement with IBM
Komprise struck its first major reseller agreement, partnering with IBM to offer Komprise Intelligent Data Management software with the vendor’s storage portfolio.
Customers can use Komprise software to move file-based data from network-attached storage (NAS) systems to IBM cloud-based object storage, according to Krishna Subramanian, co-founder and chief operating officer at Komprise.
Users can download the Komprise Observer virtual appliance and point it at their NAS systems. The Komprise software analyzes how much hot and cold data they have and the file growth rate to help them set policies to move data to on-premise or off-site IBM Cloud Object Storage for archival or disaster recovery (DR) purposes. The Komprise Director management console, which can run at the customer’s data center or in the cloud, displays the potential savings considering NAS, backup, DR and new storage target costs.
The Komprise software also handles the file-to-object mapping and non-disruptively migrates the data from the NAS system to the IBM Cloud Object Storage. End users can still access the data with the same permissions and metadata from their source NAS systems, even though the files have been transferred to cloud-based object storage on the back end.
“When we move a file out of NAS into object storage, we put in a link in that NAS so when a user goes to open the file, it looks like the same file. It has all the metadata properties and everything,” Subramanian said. “A Komprise Observer will actually respond, and it will map the object back to file and return it. But that whole handshake is transparent to users and applications.”
Komprise vs. cloud gateways
Subramanian said, unlike many cloud gateway appliances, Komprise does not aim to shift all data to the public cloud and cache the hottest data in local appliances. She said that approach can become expensive if the customer needs to retrieve data from the cloud.
“We’re simply providing a more cost efficient way to manage the data. Essentially we’re saying, ‘Look, your NAS is great for your hot data. But for the 80% of your data that is rarely getting cached, and you need to keep either for business or compliance reasons, let us move that to a cost-efficient store,’” Subramanian said.
The Komprise software also enables customers to migrate data from one NAS system to another NAS system, if they want to replace or decommission file-based storage devices.
Subramanian said Komprise and IBM had joint customers in industries such as financial services, insurance and health care storing large volumes of data. Komprise is part of the Ready for IBM Storage and Ready for IBM Cloud validated solution directory. The new worldwide reseller agreement applies to IBM product sales and services teams as well as IBM channel partners, Subramanian said.
Komprise prices its software based on the amount of data under management. The startup offers a subscription model, at about a half penny per GB per month, or a perpetual license, at $120 to $130 per TB, according to Subramanian.
Earlier this month, Komprise shipped a new 2.8 software update. New features included support for European euros, British pounds and Japanese yen in the product’s ROI calculator, which originally displayed cost savings only in U.S. dollars. The 2.8 product upgrade also enhanced the NAS migration capabilities for SMB environments, adding the ability to preserve access control.