SMBs Explore STaaS to Create Hybrid Data Storage Solutions

With fewer resources to combat an increasing number of security threats, Storage as a Service solutions are gaining momentum in the small to medium sized business market. STaaS offers the best of both worlds providing greater flexibility and agility while protecting the investment in on-site equipment.

  • November 29, 2023 | Author: Susan Biagi
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Small and medium-sized businesses have similar IT needs as larger companies, scaled down to match their size. However, they often lack the resources to support those needs. As the pandemic chaos settles and SMBs balance growth and security against cost, cloud-based data storage solutions become increasingly important. Adopting Storage as a Service (STaaS) offers these companies a path to the cloud, while protecting their investment in existing on-premises equipment.

STaaS provides cost-effective storage solutions and services, while eliminating the need for additional capital investments in physical infrastructure. By its very nature, STaaS is flexible, allowing SMBs to maintain their on-premises solutions and test out cloud-based storage as their needs—and their comfort level—grow. As business ramps up post-pandemic, STaaS enables SMBs to scale up or down as storage needs change while reducing the data center footprint and costs over time.

 

Post-pandemic Security Challenges

Having flexible storage services not only saves money, it keeps businesses operating even under security threats, which have been rising since the pandemic. SMBs are attractive targets because their resources are stretched thin, and attacks on smaller companies are less likely to draw outside attention. In the past year, 61 percent of SMBs have been the victim of a successful cyberattack. In 2021, 46 percent of all cyber breaches were against companies with fewer than 1,000 employees.

Breaches that cause business functions to stop working, even temporarily, can have a substantial impact on that business and its reputation. STaaS can help here, too. In the event of a breach, SMBs can prioritize critical business functions and leverage storage as needed to support them. STaaS can help maintain the safety of on-prem storage and offer third-party cloud management, shifting the tasks of service maintenance and support to a provider.

SMB IT spending is higher than anticipated, according to Business Research Insights, fueled in part by market growth and increased demand for data-intensive applications. The global SMB IT spending market is projected climb from $213 million in 2021 to nearly $331 million in 2031 at an annual CAGR of 4.49 percent.

Now is a good time to explore STaaS for your customers. Hitachi Vantara, through its partner ecosystem, offers both consumption-based, managed hybrid cloud block and object storage and custom STaaS services. With a pay-as-you-go model, STaaS enables SMBs to create a hybrid storage solution optimized for each unique business environment. The cloud-based service brings flexibility and agility while supporting on-prem equipment that may be necessary for security and compliance requirements.

 

Learn more about Hitachi Vantara.

Find out more about Hitachi Storage Platforms.

Download the Hitachi Vantara StaaS solution brief.

 

 

Image Credit: Hitachi Vantara / Getty Images

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