Google Cloud Platform adds new on-demand data storage option
Widening the net to an even larger swath of business types and sizes, Google Cloud Platform is adding a new line of storage services with the debut of Google Cloud Storage Nearline.
Nearline is framed as a polar opposite alternative to tiered storage being that Google's new storage option promises virtually immediate access to stored data within seconds (as fast as three seconds) versus hours that could be experienced between online and offline storage infrastructures.
Avtandil Garakanidze, a product manager on the Google Cloud team, argued in favor of on-demand data in a blog post on Wednesday, hinting to businesses that much of their data could now be safely stored online at all times.
"Storing all this data is extremely expensive, and as a result, you often choose to store only critical business information or data needed for regulatory purposes," Garakanidze wrote. "You're at risk of throwing away precious data and diminishing competitive edge you can gain from insights that come as a result of analyzing all of the information.
Touted as a lower cost option too, capacity pricing starts at a penny per gigabyte for data at rest.
By comparison, Google Cloud standard storage (amid many other pricing options, structures and schemes) starts at just over two cents per gigabyte per month.
Nearline doesn't come with any data ceilings or limits, and the line of service is fully integrated with the rest of the Google Cloud Storage structure.
To get Nearline adoption on the fast track, Google has already enlisted a number of enterprise tech partners for product integrations.
So far, the list includes SteelStore, the NetApp-owned data backup appliance, and Symantec's enterprise backup software NetBackup.
Chart via Google Cloud Platform