What are the consequences of public cloud?

Written by Peter Watling, Head of Sales – EMEA at Object Matrix

Consequence: a result or effect, typically one that is unwelcome or unpleasant.

We have all done things we regret, some intentionally and some not. The consequences of our actions are often not great, but they are usually something we can deal with and learn from, hopefully without it becoming too much of an issue.

That’s very much the case for companies that have been using public cloud storage over the years and are now suffering the consequences that maybe weren’t apparent in the beginning.

To make this clear, I am talking about the large public cloud providers, and I am talking about ransomware. Let me explain.

The face value of public cloud storage looks reasonable, with potentially manageable costs that make sense for offsite archive content, but the reality is very different.

However, those manageable costs can easily escalate out of control with very little predictability to forecast, which is far from ideal for any business to model. But that’s not the worst of it.

The problems start if you want to move your data away — and let me highlight the words “your data” — as it will cost you an absolute fortune.

For example, let’s assume you have assets from a large-scale production of 100TB that you decided to keep in public cloud. You would have been paying the storage costs each month based on the tier that you kept that data in and any egress fees to access it (which are hefty enough as it is).

But when the day comes that you want or need to retrieve it all (public cloud terms are “transfer to the internet”), you should expect to receive a bill of at least $10k, just to get it out. That is for 100TB.

Now, if that number were larger, let’s say 2PB, as you have been using public cloud as an archive for your content and have decided to move it all to another platform, then you can expect a bill of over $100k, and that’s just to get it back, your data! $100k to get your data back.

Remember, that is on top of storage costs, egress fees, S3 commands, etc., and I haven’t even begun to mention asset management. It’s not an easy cost to swallow, if at all, and I am fairly certain that it isn’t a cost that you have factored in when you chose to use public cloud.

It’s very simple: if you have a lot of data held in public cloud storage, they have you by the goolies, and there is nothing you can do apart from pay the price — ransomware!

If you have another copy elsewhere, then you are in luck, but if your only copy is in public cloud and you want to leave, eek.

Now the good news is that public cloud isn’t the only option, and now is the time to look elsewhere.

There are plenty of options available from media-focused technology companies that care.
MatrixStore Cloud from Object Matrix is a private cloud storage platform that gives you unrivalled access to your content at all times with no penalties, fixed and predictable pricing, no egress fees, and no barrier to exit, i.e., no cost to get your data back when you want or need it.

There are many further benefits that include a media and metadata management interface and world-class support, which are all included at no additional cost.

What’s more, Object Matrix will also help pay the fees you will incur moving your data out of public cloud*.

The consequences for those who adopted public cloud storage can be severe, but we can move on and learn from our actions without too much of an issue thanks to companies that value your business and the fact that your data is your data.

*Subject to terms and conditions