Ctera Updates Cloud Storage Platform

CTERA
Networks announced version 4.0 of its cloud
storage platform, including file sync and share, mobile security,
and cloud storage SLA capabilities.

The platform is a combination of
cloud-side management software and on-premises cloud storage gateways
and end point agents, which enables enterprises and service providers
to deliver scalable cloud storage services, using underlying storage
infrastructure from the likes of EMC, IBM and AWS.

Version 4.0 adds features across the
application suite, with emphasis on a unified client for enterprise
file sync and share and backup, plus mobile collaboration. This
release offers per-tenant SLA policies that control in which storage
bucket their data is stored, wider platform support for backup of
virtual servers, and expanded scalability to hundreds of thousands of
users.

"CTERA has been unique in the
breadth of cloud storage applications it offers and its platform’s
ability to handle large-scale deployments," said Simon
Robinson, VP at 451 Research. "The new release expands the
company’s footprint in enterprise file sync and share applications,
while deepening its roots as a cloud storage enabler."

File sync and share has received
attention in the past year, but enterprises wishing to deploy their
own internal service face challenges. In a recent research note on
Enterprise File Sync and Share (EFSS), Gartner recommends that
enterprises make on-premises integration, collaboration, mobility and
security features buying criteria for choosing private EFSS vendors,
and select an EFSS solution that is flexible enough to operate in a
physical or virtualized infrastructure, as well as within public
cloud facilities.

The company addresses the need for EFSS
that is under the control of corporate IT, allowing enterprises and
service providers to choose where their data is stored and secure it
with private encryption keys, while leveraging their existing storage
infrastructure or their public cloud storage instances.

Features include:

• Team Collaboration: Plan-based
  control over user privileges to create and use team workspaces,
  derived from Active Directory groups. Corporate IT can thus restrict
  file sharing in a transparent manner.

• Mobile Security Policy: Remote
  wipe and ‘sandboxing’ of synchronized files on the device, supporting
  Apple iOS and Android devices, with Windows Phone 8 planned soon.

• Cloud Storage SLAs:
  Differential service levels by storage pool, enabling customers to
  differentiate their offerings to end-users based on storage
  infrastructure features, such as redundancy, performance or uptime
  guarantee.

• Enhanced Scalability: Supporting
  multiple database servers for customer instances in the cloud, making
  it possible to scale out a CTERA-based service to multiple customers
  with hundreds of thousands of connected gateways and end-points.

• Hyper-V Backup: Hypervisor-level
  backup that allows fast backup, replication and recovery of VMs on
  Hyper-V servers.

• SharePoint Backup:
  Application-aware backup and recovery of SharePoint servers. This is
  added to Exchange, SQL Server and Active Directory backup, already
  supported by CTERA.

• Active Directory Integration: Integration with corporate Active Directory and LDAP for user
  authentication and single sign-on. This includes support for tree and
  forest topologies, as well as Kerberos authentication protocols.

"CTERA pioneered the cloud
storage gateway, and was the first to introduce a fully-integrated
solution for backup and file sync last year," said Liran
Eshel, CEO, CTERA. "With this new release CTERA continues
to execute on its vision of a cloud storage platform that combines
all the must-have cloud storage applications under a unified platform
that is infrastructure-agnostic."

The company’s customers include some large financial institutions, government agencies,
pharmaceutical and utility companies. Service providers
including Telefonica, Swisscom and Orange (France Telecom) have
partnered with them to deliver private-label cloud storage services
to business customers. Some deployments span tens of thousands of
connected appliances and hundreds of thousands of end-users.

The
company has experienced 500% year-on-year revenue growth in both 2012
and 2011.

The capabilities are available in
version 4.0, currently deployed with early availability customers and
planned for availability in the next quarter.

Eric Fletcher, VP marketing, Ricoh
Canada, said: "Leveraging our investment in a
Canadian-based infrastructure and developing a portfolio of cloud
solutions relevant to the Canadian marketplace, we have partnered
with CTERA to launch RCloud Services: Backup & Recovery. As a
premier MSP, we found the enterprise-grade security features and
private branding capabilities invaluable in delivering a service that
our customers can rely on."

Marco Lanza, CIO, Angelini Group,
a multinational pharmaceutical conglomerate, said: "We chose CTERA for its tight
integration with our infrastructure and its ability to provide a
truly secure and completely private solution. Alternatives we looked
at all fell short when it came to keeping all data and metadata
in-house, maintaining control over encryption keys, and integrating
with our Active Directory – CTERA was the only solution to tick all
the boxes."

Stoned Elipot, CIO, Universite Paris
Diderot, said: "We needed a way to securely
share files among our faculty for our researcher community, some of
whom are constantly roaming worldwide. CTERA provided us with an easy
way to set up a private file sync and share environment with team
collaboration capabilities and most importantly, complete control
over data security and encryption. This allows us to offer our users
a secure, efficient alternative to public, consumer-grade
applications."