Azure NetApp Files vs. IBM Cloud Internet Services

For us, with Azure NetApp Files, the ease of use has been big. We have an operations organization where ease of use is key--also it simplifies migration to the cloud. Azure NetApp Files eliminates a common cloud-first barrier by creating the right infrastructure environment for agencies' resources, budgets, and skillsets. We would like to be able to version the files that are coming in. So, if a file is accidentally deleted, there should have a recycle bin option where we can go back and, at least once, clean it up. They could probably improve the versioning and other advanced features. The replication is not available in all the Azure Availability Zones.

Incentivized

In terms of business challenges, it simplifies the job of my engineers and significantly increases the productivity of my teams when they collaborate with IBM teams all over the world. Now that we have completed a proof-of-concept using the services supplied by IBM, we expect it to assist us in managing them more efficiently; thus far, management has been straightforward.

Incentivized

• We have found that it scales very well. In some cases we had a large existing storage infrastructure and were able to migrate it while other times we started from scratch with low storage demands and Azure NetApp Files fit the bill each time.
• We have been impressed with the replication capabailities.
• The read and write speed when interacting with files is a major asset.

Incentivized

• build servers in Power PC architecture (ppc)
• take advantage of IBM datacenters infrastructure around the world
• continue to use your apps running on AIX

Incentivized

• Backup/files versioning still needs to be improved
• Netapp/Storage administrators may need some time to adapt managing it through Azure Portal interface, it can be really confusing sometimes
• Reporting/data intelligence solutions would be a great addition

Incentivized

• Request proxying is done by way of DNS name resolution, which is inflexible.
• Proxy services do not work on wildcard DNS entries.

Incentivized

I have seen faster and more user friendly interfaces like Azure

Incentivized

We tried the same with Azure File Share (Azure Storage Account), but it has a really small limit (5TB per share). It didnt fulfilled our requirements, as we have some on-prem shares with 60+TB each, still to be migrated. We have also evaluated a different approach, which is Komprise archiving solution, to archive older files to Azure BLOBS and free up some space on the on-prem storages to accomodate new data.

Incentivized

I have used Salesforce to explore it as an app but I have found them both able to solve my needs and requirements when it comes to security. While I choose IBM Cloud Internet Services for more accessibility, a better price was available with Saleforce. Although that is just my observation.

Incentivized

• The main hurdle in promoting this solution is the price. Its price definitely requires an improvement. It is more expensive than other options, so customers go for a cheaper option.
• Its security and ease of use are most valuable.
• It is stable and scalable.

Incentivized

• Reduced security configuration time for Internet of Things applications by more than 50%
• Provided better security incident SLA for CouchDB databases via IBM Cloudant
• Reduced security verification time for CloudFoundry applications by ~15%

Incentivized