Egnyte’s Hybrid Deployment Meets VDIs in the Amazon Cloud

Moving to the cloud while optimizing on-premises infrastructure utilization is a fine balance for companies of all sizes. At Egnyte, we enable our customers to move to the cloud at their own pace and to leverage the benefits of both cloud and on-premises storage through our unique hybrid deployment option, also known as Storage Sync.Storage Sync Value Proposition in a Hybrid EnvironmentIn most cases, customers deploy Storage Sync at headquarters when they have file-sharing and collaboration requirements with remote employees. Customers also deploy Storage Sync in branch offices in order to optimize network connectivity and productivity when working with large files or at remote locations with limited Internet connectivity or bandwidth constraints. In both cases, they benefit from significantly reduced latency in accessing large files directly from a local network-attached storage (NAS) device, instead of from the cloud. Once the files are modified and saved, Storage Sync efficiently syncs these files between the on-premises storage and the cloud. No need to worry about coherency issues between both storage locations; Storage Sync keeps two copies of the same file, in sync at all times.Storage Sync’s core value proposition, as demonstrated by the above use cases, is to empower on-premises devices with cloud-file sharing capabilities, while preserving the flexibility and performance aspects of on-premises collaboration. Nearly all of our customers who have deployed Storage Sync have a significant on-premises data center footprint and want to continue to have the flexibility of the hybrid cloud architecture.

Storage Sync’s Value Proposition in a Pure-Cloud EnvironmentThe platform-agnostic and adaptive architecture of Storage Sync also makes it relevant in pure-cloud environments. Customers who have deployed third-party cloud solutions, such as Amazon, and do not have any on-premises data footprint can leverage several key features of Storage Sync, vastly benefiting from the combined solution of Egnyte and the third-party cloud.As an example, a customer of ours needs to invest in office infrastructure for a six-month project and doesn’t want to set up an office space with additional on-premises storage expenses. They instead decide to deploy Amazon cloud services for application and desktop virtualization, with each user having his or her own virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) instance. These users need to share files externally with clients and subcontractors, so instead of each VDI hosting a cloud file-sharing application to enable external file sharing, the IT admin deploys Egnyte Storage Sync as a virtual machine (VM) in Amazon’s cloud. Users can access and share files directly stored on the Egnyte Storage Sync VM.This Storage Sync deployment has several key benefits:

• Enhanced Sharing: Like with any other deployment of Storage Sync, employees can easily share files with remote workers and external users who may or may not have Amazon cloud accounts.
• Reduced TCO: The IT admin can optimize VDI deployment time and costs by eliminating the need to install the Egnyte application inside every VDI instance, thanks to the “one and done” approach of Egnyte Storage Sync as a VM.
• Simplified Management: Regardless of whether collaboration occurs within on-premises storage devices or in a cloud-only environment, Storage Sync gives you the flexibility to consolidate all file-syncing activities within a single deployment instance. This simplifies the task of assigning sync policies and streamlining file-sharing activities even when there are many deployed VDI instances.

Pure Cloud vs. Hybrid Deployment: The Yin and YangA cloud-only deployment is a compelling use case for enterprise customers looking to reduce deployment time and infrastructure costs for setting up remote offices or for companies wanting to quickly set up shop in new regions and provide secure file-sharing capabilities for these new users. As noted above, Storage Sync reduces the TCO and simplifies the management for the file-sharing solution in a cloud-only deployment.On the other hand, the on-prem Storage Sync deployment brings a lot of value to customers with cross-office project collaboration requirements, promotes business continuity if there are connectivity issues to the Internet, and streamlines file-sharing for large-sized files. The on-prem deployment is also relevant in scenarios where customers make frequent modifications to files and want to eliminate the latency costs associated with repeated uploading and downloading of such files.Both of these deployment models offer unique sets of benefits and features that address different business needs and environments.Storage Sync for AmazonCustomers who have set up VDI and software application infrastructure on Amazon cloud can deploy Storage Sync as a VM on the Amazon cloud. Users can create and access files on the Storage Sync VM through a network mapped drive on their VDI instance. These files will automatically get synced with the Egnyte cloud file server and can be easily accessed and shared with internal and external users. The Storage Sync virtual instance essentially serves as a gateway between Amazon and the Egnyte cloud for sharing, syncing, and managing files.The spectrum of services offered by different cloud providers is continuously expanding, and this has certainly increased the options for companies to reduce their IT management footprint and offload some of the IT services to the cloud. Egnyte’s Adaptive Enterprise File Services allows it to seamlessly coexist with multiple complementary cloud offerings. Whether you choose Storage Sync deployed with on-premises storage or Amazon cloud, or a combo of both, Storage Sync can effectively solve the file-sharing and access pain points you’re facing in your organization. Our news today is another step in enhancing our hybrid and open architecture to work with any cloud and any on-prem device our customers choose.If you are interested in trying our new Egnyte Storage Sync for Amazon, please submit your request through this form. We are now accepting customer feedback with this new offering, and I’m personally looking forward to seeing the momentum with this new deployment option.