Tier Three Solution Brief

All the data archiving performance you need, without the extras you don’t

Making data earn its keep

In today’s bustling digital economy, moving data to low-tier storage as it ages or becomes less frequently used offers not only a valuable source of competitive advantage but also helps improve sustainability. As well as addressing big data, regulatory and IT infrastructure complexities, low-tier storage allows organisations to make better lifecycle management decisions based on data access patterns and value and retention requirements. It also releases space on expensive primary storage systems, while reducing on-prem server footprint and public cloud sprawl.

Deciding whether to archive or backup

Both archive and backup are important aspects of data management, and it’s important to carefully consider the pros and cons because they differ in how they scan, organise, and store information. So, it makes sense to choose a solution that’s based on the prime purpose of the data, which in turn determines storage duration and ease of access required.

Data archiving

  • Preserves data for long-term retention such as compliance, historical or reference purposes.
  • Data tends to be inactive and doesn’t require frequent access or modification.
  • Avoids need to keep files in expensive high-spec storage, lowering costs.
  • Requires high degree of data integrity and steps to protect against corruption and deletion.
  • More complex file retrieval based on content, rather than location or name.

Data backup

  • Copies data to another storage medium, often in support of disaster recovery plans.
  • Typically used for active operational data that’s regularly accessed or modified.
  • Restores data to previous points in the event of loss, corruption or a disaster.
  • Requires a shorter storage duration with data updated frequently.
  • Typically uses a simple storage system, searching files by name, not content.

Highly-secure, low-cost archiving

A key component within the Creative Archiving-as-a-Service package, Tier 3 Storage is the ideal choice for customers looking to optimise storage resources by moving less frequently accessed or outdated data to secondary storage media. It frees-up space on expensive primary systems to store active data and improve overall system performance. Along with fresh budget savings, Tier 3 Storage can also help reduce on-prem storage footprint and public cloud sprawl. With no egress charges to pay, customers enjoy 24-hour cost-effective access to their data, protected in environmentally friendly Creative global data centres operating on 100% clean renewable energy.

Access is restricted to authorised users, enforced through robust security controls with full data encryption at rest and in transit. Delivered as a fully managed service
by Creative storage specialists, Tier 3 Storage also comes complete with monitoring and alerting capabilities

Improved data retention

Tier 3 Storage features let you decide a time limit for storing certain files, copy versions and more. In turn, optimising data retrieval speeds and storage expense. On-demand pricing models are also available to make budgets stretch further still.

Advanced searches

A simple user interface provides fast search results – for example, by file name, type, text, keywords, and images – adding eDiscovery to your archiving system for quick retrieval and effective cataloging.

Faster, easier backups

Tier 3 Storage helps protect against accidentally backing-up inactive data. The end result is a simpler process for improved backup and recovery rates.

Stronger cyber protection

Removing inactive data reduces the attack surface and exposure to criminals targeting primary repositories. Additionally, your archive can be set to prevent modification with data preserved in a WORM (Write Once Read Many) format.

Benefits of Creative Tier 3 Storage:

  • Greater cyber protection
  • Faster, easier backups
  • IT budget savings
  • Advanced storage search features
  • Strict user access controls
  • Efficient data retention management