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Today, digital collaboration is essential for any business. But while cloud storage provides near-limitless capacity and easy accessibility, facilitating seamless file synchronization and collaboration at a global scale has been an ongoing challenge. That’s where edge caching comes in.
Edge caching has revolutionized the way we collaborate by enabling efficient file sharing and storage regardless of the end user’s location. If you need the data, you can get the data, and NetApp has a new way for you to do that: Cloud Volumes Edge Cache.
In this article we’ll introduce you to Cloud Volumes Edge Cache and see how it can transform the way your teams collaborate, no matter where they’re located.
Read on, or jump down using these links:
- What Is NetApp Cloud Volumes Edge Cache?
- Cloud Volumes Edge Cache Use Case Examples and Benefits
- How Does Cloud Volumes Edge Cache Work?
- You’re a Big Organization. Share Your Data That Way.
What Is NetApp Cloud Volumes Edge Cache?
Taking file collaboration to the next level requires minimizing latency and maximizing performance.
Cloud Volumes Edge Cache is a new offering from NetApp that provides a unique solution for file collaboration: a package combination of Cloud Volumes ONTAP, Cloud Backup, and Global File Cache.
With Cloud Volumes Edge Cache, you get:
- Reliable cloud storage with the cloud provider of your choice that is highly available and performant.
- Caching that brings data closer to your users, no matter where they are, reducing latency and enhancing the overall user experience. Since data delivery is optimized from the nearest edge server, real-time collaboration becomes a reality, regardless of location.
- Automated, file-level backup creation leveraging object storage in the cloud to make sure your data is always cost-effectively protected.
Adopting modern cloud storage and edge caching capabilities is a must-have for organizations with global operations. Cloud Volumes Edge Cache lets you streamline your IT operations and capabilities by reducing your global IT storage footprint and simultaneously bringing more benefits to your business.
Here’s how.
Cloud Volumes Edge Cache Use Case Examples and Benefits
Let’s take a look at some of the major use cases that Cloud Volumes Edge Cache addresses and the benefits it provides.
Simultaneous Collaboration in ROBO Workforces
Large-scale projects often require collaboration from multiple team members and remote branch offices (ROBO). When team members are scattered across different locations that can lead to siloed workloads. Cloud storage coupled with edge caching in Cloud Volumes Edge Cache brings data together and allows users to work simultaneously on large project files, regardless of their physical location.
This level of collaboration enhances efficiency and accelerates project completion and avoids creating data silos at different branch offices. Plus, Cloud Volumes Edge Cache uses a file-locking mechanism that makes sure concurrent changes can’t be made by multiple users, to avoid conflicting changes.
Keeping End Users Productive
Cloud storage and edge caching give you a way to keep your end users productive, regardless of their location or device.
Imagine a sales team spread across different regions. With cloud storage, they can seamlessly access and collaborate on important documents, presentations, and customer data in real-time. By leveraging edge caching, these files are delivered with minimal latency, ensuring smooth and efficient workflows.
Cloud Volumes Edge Cache provides solutions for both needs. Whether your users are in the office, on the road, or working from home, cloud storage and edge caching enable teams to stay connected, productive, and responsive to client needs.
Seamless File Access Anywhere, Anytime
The days of worrying about file access performance are over. Cloud Volumes Edge Cache uses cloud storage and edge caching to revolutionize how files can be accessed from anywhere, without compromising on speed or reliability.
Whether you're working on a mobile device, a laptop, or a desktop computer, cloud storage ensures that your files are always at your fingertips. With edge caching, files are intelligently cached closer to your location, reducing latency and ensuring a smooth user experience. Now, accessing important documents, presentations, or media files is a breeze, allowing professionals to work efficiently, collaborate effortlessly, and stay connected in today's fast-paced digital world.
How Does Cloud Volumes Edge Cache Work?
Cloud Volumes Edge Cache is built on top of NetApp ONTAP technology that many organizations trust today for their storage and data management needs. This means enterprise-grade capabilities customers love are already built into the solution.
Cloud Volumes Edge Cache offers a cloud-optimized file system with advanced data tiering capabilities and leverages public cloud infrastructure: it’s currently available on Azure with support for AWS and Google Cloud on the way soon. The product helps to reduce the risk of data breaches and data loss by enabling backups to object storage, long-term data retention for archives, and continuous data protection capabilities.
You get a high level of visibility and real-time operations management, so you can be confident that your data is safe and accessible for all your users, anywhere and at any time.
Technical Capabilities and Key Value Points
NetApp Cloud Volumes Edge Cache follows a pay-as-you-go model, which simplifies adoption without requiring upfront capital investments, helping IT teams manage budgets in a cost efficient manner. It’s designed to provide you and your organization with four key value points that are essential to your business:
- Performance is essential to enable data access at the edge, with cloud-native file services that offer a seamless user experience without the management and operational overhead.
- Scale comes via a built-in cloud-based enterprise file system capable of scale to a multi-petabyte size while allowing on-demand access to data from any location and at any time. The native file-locking capabilities prevent duplicate or conflicting work from taking place between multiple users.
- Cost controls help you significantly reduce your IT footprint and complexity by consolidating from multiple scattered solutions at the edge into a single one capable of delivering storage efficiencies, including thin provisioning, data compression, compaction, deduplications, and data tiering.
- Investment protection with existing built-in features such as cross-AZ high availability, local NetApp Snapshot copies, cross-regional disaster recovery, and integrated backups for data protection, Cloud Volumes Edge Cache covers the most demanding business requirements and expectations all in one package.
High Level Architecture and Topology
Today organizations with file storage needs at edge locations often have to manage and operate multiple solutions scattered across the different locations. Cloud Volumes Edge Cache consolidates everything within a unique cloud-based solution that is combined with lightweight software-based edge cache storage possibilities.
From an architectural perspective, this means that data can be made available—transparently cached on demand—in any location required, whether it’s remote/branch office (ROBO) sites across the globe or virtual desktops for a WFH workforce.
Cloud Volumes Edge Cache Overview
For enterprises with large global footprints, the ability to extend file access to any location is a must-have. Cloud Volumes Edge Cache optimizes how that crucial data moves across the cloud and provides file-locking capabilities that help streamline how work gets done on shared files.
One key differentiator with Cloud Volumes Edge Cache is that it natively supports the standard SMB file protocol that you are already familiar with instead of niche proprietary communication protocols. This means that organizations can adopt Cloud Volumes Edge Cache without having to make any changes to their workflow and applications. In addition, the same security paradigm you already have when it comes to access controls and data management can be maintained and further enriched without effort.
You’re a Big Organization. Share Your Data That Way.
NetApp Cloud Volumes Edge Cache is a game-changer for organizations that are geographically distributed.
The solution brings a unique perspective to file collaboration, by enabling businesses to access their data in a fast and secure manner from anywhere. With the built-in enterprise-grade features on security and storage efficiencies, you can optimize your costs and eliminate IT storage waste at a global level.
Try NetApp Cloud Volumes Edge Cache without any commitment today to see how it improves your collaboration experience.