PRO+ Premium Content/Storage

As the market for disk-based arrays continues to slide, the shift in the data center to newer technologies such as the cloud is accelerating. According to a TechTarget research survey, a little more than half of respondents see the public cloud as a way to address growing data volumes. Other important reasons for buying cloud storage include the ability to more effectively meet compliance requirements, recover data, consolidate backup operations and deploy new enterprise applications. Not surprisingly, cost is the most important thing people look at when buying cloud storage features and services. Sixty-eight percent listed cost as the No. 1 feature, placing it 25 percentage points ahead of No. 2, encryption. Data retention policy placed third with 22%, followed by protocols supported -- e.g., Amazon Simple Storage Service, OpenStack, object and RESTful, NFS, WebDav, etc. -- at 20%. When it comes to evaluating cloud storage vendors, pricing practices (67%) leads by 19 points over the number two evaluation criteria, brand and ...