VENDOR HIGHLIGHT, JANUARY 2011

Nirvanix "One Click to the Cloud"

During a recent call with Nirvanix executives to discuss the company's range of cloud offerings known as CloudComplete and its road map for 2011 one particular phrase stood out and struck a chord with Data Mobility Group. Nirvanix coined the phrase "one click to the cloud" to describe its product integration with Symantec NetBackup and the way in which NetBackup users are able to leverage the Nirvanix cloud storage service with just a couple clicks of the application's user interface.

In DMG's opinion "one click to the cloud" is a symbolic phrase—meant to convey the ultimate in simplicity and ease of use—as well as a serious business objective for Nirvanix. Technologists understand that—behind the scenes—most system integrations involve much more effort than a single click. However, Nirvanix's goal is to mask the underlying system complexity by investing in the development of ready-made integrations with popular business and IT applications. Symantec NetBackup is the first of many such integrations in Nirvanix's quest to simplify cloud storage adoption until it requires literally just a click or two. In this Data Mobility Group brief we discuss two key benefits of Nirvanix's strategic push to enable "one click to the cloud".

Plug and Play

Nirvanix strives to mask the complexity of cloud adoption. The company's executives believe that cloud and IT resources should be as simple to use as familiar resources such as lights and electricity in our homes and offices. By flipping a switch or plugging into an electrical outlet today's consumers can use electricity, on-demand, and pay only for what they use. It is Nirvanix's goal to achieve the same level of simplicity and ease of use for cloud storage. While it may not be realistic for every application, Data Mobility Group believes business application vendors should seriously consider partnering with Nirvanix to provide their customers with a "one click to the cloud" storage option in their next generation products.

Why? Custom storage infrastructures are about as far from plug-and-play as one can get. End users—especially the millions of small-to-mid-sized businesses and enterprise divisions and departments that make up the super majority of the worldwide market—view custom-built infrastructures as an unnecessary, costly and time consuming evil. Most have neither the resources nor desire to select, purchase, assemble, integrate and indefinitely upgrade and support a custom-built storage infrastructure. Business leaders want cost-effective products and services that "just work" in support of their objectives.

Business applications that ship with built-in cloud archival/storage accessibility make it easier to adopt cloud-based storage across the enterprise and remove the rather costly and time-consuming process of piecing together and maintaining in-house storage. Nirvanix is in a position to deliver fully integrated application-to-cloud solutions. The ultimate experience for end users would be installing a key business application and having it “just work” right out of the box, much the way many of Apple’s well-planned and engineered consumer products do.

One For All and All For One

At the end of the day business owners and executives want a simple experience that “just works" right out of the box. Some vendors are more than happy to sell customers the on-premise gear and leave the integration and management of the cloud storage network to someone else. The Nirvanix CloudComplete portfolio operates a step or two beyond the competition by controlling the integration, quality of service and user experience from gateway to cloud. Data Mobility Group prefers the Nirvanix approach because it enables end-to-end QoS.

The proof is in the company's steady growth and client list. Nirvanix is currently responsible for delivering enterprise class storage services and support to more than 700 customers around the world including several household names such as NBC Universal, Cisco, Logitech, GE and Fox Sports, as well as next generation service providers such as Extreme Reach and Softlayer. The SAS 70 Type II audited company maintains a Storage Delivery Network of seven globally distributed data centers that deliver guaranteed five 9s reliability, a simple single namespace and a secure multi-tenant file system.

Nirvanix continues to grow its business by providing Fortune 100 class standardized, scalable, secure, reliable storage that "just works" and they back it up with guaranteed service levels and support. Nirvanix customers, from the largest to the smallest, benefit from top notch infrastructure and support without shouldering the total cost.

A Virtual No Brainer

In Data Mobility Group's opinion Nirvanix's approach is capable of rapidly enabling cloud-based storage for a number of mission-critical business and IT applications. It’s delivering storage as a true service, on a pay-as-you-grow basis, whether you select its public, private or hybrid cloud options. Unlike some vendors that require substantial upfront investment for their private cloud infrastructure—which incidentally negates much of the upstream cost benefit of the “cloud”—Nirvanix delivers cloud storage services quite effectively and helps its customers by reducing upfront costs and spreading operating costs over time.

If Nirvanix has its way, in just a handful of years many of our favorite business applications (those not already hosted in a cloud) will offer a fast track to cloud storage for production, backup and archival data.

[DISCLOSURE]: Vendor Highlights are the unsolicited professional opinion of the analysts of Data Mobility Group. Companies featured in Vendor Highlights may include past or present DMG clients. This month's featured vendor, Nirvanix, is a past client. Data Mobility Group maintains sole copyright and editorial control.

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