StorSimple Migration: support is not being extended
Microsoft has announced that after an initial partial extension, support for the StorSimple 8000 series will cease on 31 December, 2022. This has caused some serious concerns for organizations relying on StorSimple, as these StorSimple users – which include many enterprise customers – have to strike the delicate balance of ensuring business continuity while protecting their data in their search for an alternative solution. The great StorSimple migration has begun.
StorSimple is actually a lot older than many people think. The original company was established in 2009, and was acquired by Microsoft in 2012. And, while StorSimple was at one point considered best-in-class, it has subsequently been eclipsed in popularity by other products and technologies.
It thus comes as no surprise that Microsoft is sunsetting the product, making it critical for businesses relying on StorSimple to plan their next steps.
StorSimple migration: planning ahead
The risks around the end-of-life of the StorSimple product series are significant. These include, but are not limited to:
Business disruption
This can occur if the move to a new solution is not done early enough, or during the migration itself. This is even more likely if a combination of solutions are chosen to replace what StorSimple provided, or a provider without a seamless migration path is selected.
Data loss
Disruption is one thing, data loss is quite another. The risk of data loss either pre-migration, during migration, or post-migration is significantly increased. Once again, while migrating to another solution is clearly critical, companies should be wary of solutions that aren’t purpose-built to enable seamless StorSimple migration. Sometimes, a business can recover from a disruption. But when data is lost or irreparably damaged, this is a lot more difficult to bounce back from.
Security issues
With data becoming organizations’ most precious asset, it should be protected at all cost. By not doing anything after StorSimple support has expired, companies are putting their data at risk. This has both financial consequences – the cost of a data breach is climbing – and reputational effects. Similarly, when it comes to selecting a StorSimple alternative, security should be top-of-mind.
What are the StorSimple alternatives?
There are two major alternatives available to companies who are currently using Microsoft StorSimple. These are Azure Files with Azure File Sync, and a security-first modern solution such as that provided by CTERA.
Azure Files with Azure File Sync
Unsurprisingly, Microsoft is pushing for existing StorSimple users to move to Azure Files with Azure File Sync. While there will be a certain amount of familiarity for existing StorSimple users, this solution no longer answers the problems of today, as it lacks some of the key features necessary to survive modern security concerns.
CTERA
CTERA boasts the baseline capabilities of such a solution, and offers much more.
Unlike a traditional tiered hybrid storage or hybrid file solution, CTERA offers a Global File System with Edge caching filers.
Data protection, business continuity, and security are paramount.
Data Protection: while others provide scheduled snapshots or a separate backup service, CTERA offers continuous, asynchronous replication to immutable S3 storage with unlimited versioning.
Built-in disaster recovery: CTERA’s caching technology offers near-immediate disaster recovery following a data incident such as a ransomware attack, even when tens of terabytes need to be rolled back.
Security: while others might encrypt data at rest and in transit, there is usually no allowance for customer-provided keys. CTERA on the other hand provides military-certified cyber resiliency with multi-layered content protection, on-access virus scanning, AES256 at-rest/in-transit encryption with external key management, AD/LDAP authentication, SAML SSO, 2 Factor Authentication, and client-side certificates; in-cloud antivirus, ransom protection, and usage monitoring and alerting.
It’s not a migration: it’s an upgrade
By trusting your StorSimple migration to CTERA, you’ll join the 50,000 sites and millions of corporate users already powered by the solution. In addition, you’ll have access to the following advantages:
Seamless migration with zero downtime
As discussed, critical to a successful migration from StorSimple is having minimal impact on end-users. With CTERA, migrating from StorSimple is a seamless and transparent experience with zero downtime throughout the transition for end-users.
Data Discovery
CTERA Discovery provides a comprehensive data analysis, meaningful insights, and a full pre-migration report about file accounts, recently accessed data, and more, to allow for better planning before the migration begins.
Multi-Cloud Support
Reduce storage costs and avoid vendor lock-in. CTERA Enterprise File Services Platform gives you unmatched flexibility and control, allowing you to choose the right cloud solution for you, easily move data across clouds, and avoid portability issues or vendor lock-in.
StorSimple Migration Assistant
Preserve all current shares and permissions, and decide where to store the hot (frequently accessed) data, while also having the option to move cold/ dark data into a less expensive storage.
What’s more, CTERA’s Direct Protocol provides ultra-fast file transfer performance to speeds as high as 30TB of daily change per site, using advanced deduplication and compression, with no latency constraints and secured with a Zero-Trust Architecture with dual AES-256 encryption.
All direct access requests are pre-approved and digitally signed, so you’ll never have to worry about a compromised edge device corrupting critical data.
StorSimple migration: next steps
Clearly, there is a need to consider and plan for migration from StorSimple, given the upcoming end-of-life of the StorSimple solution.
What this migration will look like for you, will depend on your priorities; including security, product features, ease-of-migration, business continuity, backups, and the existing user base and client list of a prospective solution.
What’s also clear is that this is not just about switching to an alternative; it’s an opportunity to gain value, to upgrade capabilities, and to future-proof your organization.
To learn more about your migration options and speak with a StorSimple migration expert, visit the CTERA StorSimple Migration Page or contact info@ctera.com.