GigaOm Key Criteria for Evaluating Cloud-Native Globally Distributed File System Solutionsv1.0

1. Executive Summary

File storage has long been an important element of enterprise data storage infrastructure, so it’s no surprise that now, more than ever, users ask for file services in the cloud.

At first, cloud providers focused on block and object storage, leaving file services out of their initial offerings. Block and object storage work well for many use cases, and newer applications can be designed to make file storage unnecessary. However, the reality is that in many circumstances, file storage is preferable for the following reasons:

• Simplicity: File storage is the most user-friendly storage, making it a go-to for developers who want to build more portable applications and simplify the sharing of machine- and human-generated data.
• Lift and shift: As more enterprises transition to the public cloud for their primary IT infrastructure, “lift-and-shift” migrations are now commonplace. In this scenario, users want to replicate the same services they had in their on-premises data center, including POSIX-compliant file systems, data services, and all the other enterprise features they are accustomed to.
• Performance: Though object storage performance has improved by leaps and bounds, file systems still provide the best combination of performance, usability, and scalability for many workloads. They’re still the primary interface for most big data, AI/ML, and high-performance computing (HPC) applications, and they usually offer data services such as snapshots to improve data management operations.
• Collaboration: With hybrid cloud infrastructures and distributed organizations spanning the world, the ability to seamlessly access data from everywhere facilitates teamwork while keeping data under control.

In recent years, file systems have evolved from being cloud-friendly to cloud-native, offering better integration with elastic infrastructure elements across public and private cloud providers. This feature brought several advantages to end users:

• Better scalability: File systems specifically designed to work with multiprotocol elastic storage elements provide a good balance between performance and cost.
• Cost tuning: Policy-driven tiering mechanisms allow cold data to be moved to low-cost storage, saving precious resources in the high-performance tier.
• Dynamic data placement: Many modern file systems can replicate data to remote file or object stores, in the cloud or on-premises. This makes it possible to synchronize and serve datasets across different infrastructures to optimize compute proximity, which lowers latency.
• Disaster recovery: Syncing data to a remote object store enables users to leverage a lower cost storage repository and repopulate a file system when necessary.

Business Imperative
These capabilities are particularly important as vendors optimize their file systems to take advantage of newer classes of flash memory, distributed computing, and networking technologies. This enables users to design, build, and scale highly optimized IO/$/GB ratios across disparate infrastructure providers and hardware paradigms. Furthermore, as more users embrace hybrid and multicloud strategies, his storage infrastructure fits very well in this context.

That trend highlights why cloud-native file systems are becoming increasingly successful, especially as they mature and bridge the gap between on-premises and public cloud storage service providers while delivering a globally consistent experience.

Sector Adoption Score
To help executives and decision-makers assess the potential impact and value of deploying a cloud-native globally distributed file system, this GigaOm Key Criteria report provides a structured assessment of the sector across five factors: benefit, maturity, urgency, impact, and effort. By scoring each factor based on how strongly it compels or deters adoption of a cloud-native globally distributed file system, we provide an overall Sector Adoption Score (Figure 1) of 4.2 out of 5, with 5 indicating the strongest possible recommendation to adopt. This indicates that a cloud-native globally distributed file system is a compelling candidate for deployment and worthy of thoughtful consideration.

The factors contributing to the Sector Adoption Score for cloud-native globally distributed file systems are explained in more detail in the Sector Brief section that follows.

Figure 1. Sector Adoption Score for Cloud-Native Globally Distributed File System

This is the first year that GigaOm has reported on the cloud-native globally distributed file system space in the context of our Key Criteria and Radar reports. This GigaOm Key Criteria report highlights the capabilities (table stakes, key features, and emerging features) and nonfunctional requirements (business criteria) for selecting an effective cloud-native globally distributed file system. The companion GigaOm Radar report identifies vendors and products that excel in those decision criteria. Together, these reports provide an overview of the market, identify leading cloud-native globally distributed file systems, and help decision-makers evaluate these solutions so they can make a more informed investment decision.