Cloud the way it should be?

Connected Data has announced the UK launch of Transporter for Business, the first private cloud storage platform to combine the convenience of public cloud services with the privacy and security of traditional network-attached storage.

With prices starting from £2,000, Transporter for Business enables organisations to keep cloud data on-site without having to pay recurring monthly fees, manage storage capacity limits or replace legacy storage systems. Available in a variety of configurations ranging from 8TB to 24TB, it delivers a fast and secure private cloud experience through intuitive hardware that is fully controlled by the end user.

Transporter for Business enables up to 150 users per device to create and share company files with an unlimited number of colleagues, all in complete privacy. All products in the Transporter for Business family also work seamlessly together, so businesses can simply add new Transporters to an existing network when additional storage or user capacity is needed.

"As an on-premise offering with private cloud capabilities, Connected Data's Transporter for Business mixes the best features of public cloud, such as ubiquitous access and sharing, with key benefits of on-premise offerings including privacy, redundancy, and one-time pricing,” said Jingwen Li, research analyst, storage group, IDC. “These features will be attractive to companies that refrain from public cloud because of data security concerns as well as companies whose on-premise storage lacks the data access or sync and share feasibility.”

The urgent and growing need for private cloud solutions among UK businesses has been highlighted by the findings of a new survey commissioned by Connected Data. The survey of 100 UK firms revealed significant concerns about the safety and privacy of public cloud solutions such as Dropbox and Box in the business environment. Over 90% of senior IT decision makers questioned felt that sharing company data via public cloud represented a risk to their business. As a result, a third (33%) of companies questioned already ban the use of public cloud for sharing and synching confidential data.

However, this is not deterring many employees who increasingly desire the same ease of use and data accessibility in their working environment that they can enjoy in their personal lives. Over two thirds (69%) of businesses questioned believed that public cloud services were being used by some proportion of their workforce regardless of company policy (with 29% suspecting over half their employees of doing so). When asked what they felt led these employees to use public cloud services, the top three factors cited were cross-device accessibility (54%), ease of use (48%) and speed of use (43%).

Transporter for Business offers all of the key benefits of a public cloud platform, without any of the privacy or security concerns, making it an ideal solution in tightly regulated industries such as financial, legal and healthcare. It is also perfectly suited to sectors where employees dispersed over large areas need to share data quickly and securely, such as transportation and logistics, broadcast, and film production.

Key features and benefits of Transporter for Business include:

? “Anytime, anywhere” file access and sharing
? Total control over location and redundancy of data
? Elimination of privacy concerns linked to public cloud storage
? Automatic syncing data between Transporter systems
? Integration with Microsoft Active Directory
? Versioning, auditing and read-only controls included
? Provision up to 24TB of cloud accessible storage per Transporter unit
? No monthly or per user fees

“Transporter for Business appliances are 100% owned and managed by the company they belong to, which removes any uncertainty around the longevity, privacy or location of data,” said Dr. Geoff Barrall, CEO, Connected Data. “Because organisations have complete control over their Transporter hardware, they can also leverage their existing infrastructure and simply add more Transporters each time additional capacity is required. This way, they can scale their network as needed without ever having to pay for unused capacity or deal with increasing complexity and escalating monthly fees.”

British Olympic snowboarder and entrepreneur, Zoe Gillings-Brier uses Transporter for Business technology to securely share data and information with her coaching team and business partners, regardless of her location:

“Transporter provides me with the perfect private cloud solution for syncing, sharing and protecting my data,” said Gillings-Brier. "As a professional athlete, my schedule means I am regularly on the road between training and competitions. But through Transporter I can securely share all of my latest training data with my coaching team in the UK and around the world, keeping them fully up to date. Transporter also lets me share content with my business partners quickly and securely, without worrying about privacy issues or the ongoing subscription costs incurred when using public cloud services such as Dropbox.”