Every organization we work with is actively looking for ways to use the power of the cloud to turn data into insights and improve IT efficiency. What we’ve heard from customers is that moving data to the cloud over the network isn’t always enough – even fast networks can take months to move data that is measured in terabytes and petabytes. Customers are asking for another option: a secure, human-portable, and easy-to-get Microsoft appliance that enables the offline transfer of large data sets to the Azure cloud.
Announcing the Azure Data Box preview
Which is why today, we’re thrilled to announce the preview program for the Azure Data Box. The Azure Data Box is a 45 pound, ruggedized, tamper-resistant, and human-manageable appliance that will help organizations overcome the data transfer barriers that can block productivity and slow innovation. We built the Data Box from the ground up to meet the following needs for our customers:
- Secure – Tamper-resistant appliance which supports 256 bit AES encryption on your data
- Tough – Built using the toughest materials to handle the inevitable bumps and bruises during transport, without requiring external packaging
- Easy to use –Plugs right into your network, can store approximately 100 TB, and uses NAS protocols (SMB/CIFS)
- Simple – Order it, fill it up and return it – all tracked in the Azure Portal
- Partner Supported – Integrated with a global array of industry-leading Azure partners
Azure Data Box is already in action!
For the last several months, we’ve been working directly with customers of all industries and sizes to get their data imported into Azure. One of those customers, Oceaneering International, was an adopter of an early prototype of the Azure Data Box. Learn how they are using it to bring data from the depths of the ocean into Azure in a fraction of the original time.
In our evaluation of moving workloads to the cloud, Xerox used Azure Data Box to quickly and efficiently load terabytes of database backups from on premises servers to Azure. The integration into our data center was easy, and within a few minutes we were able to copy data to the Data Box. The entire process, from delivery to return shipping, was simple and saved us considerable time and effort! – Dennis Skrtic, Systems Consultant Principal at Xerox Corporation
Partner friendly
We also know that our customers store their data in conjunction with a myriad of applications and solutions. So, we’ve also been working closely with many of our partners to make sure that the Azure Data Box integrates directly with their products to seamlessly leverage offline transport to the cloud.
Randy DeMeno, Commvault Chief Technologist – Microsoft Products & Partnership says “As with other Azure integration points, the ‘Data Box’ team has made it simple for Commvault to work with the ‘Data Box’ solution such that we can jointly use Commvault Data Management software to seed large amounts of data to Azure via the easy-to-use Azure ‘Data Box’ hardware. This enables not just heterogeneous backup and data management, but the ability to index this data for archiving, E-Discovery/Search, AI and Analytics using Commvault and Microsoft software.”
“We are excited to further extend our Veeam capabilities across Microsoft Azure with support for Data Box,” said Paul Mattes, Vice President of Global Cloud Group at Veeam. “This will enable our customers to accelerate data protection in cloud environments by powering efficient transfers of large Veeam data sets to Azure.”
Sign up today for the preview
The preview is currently available only in the US, but we will continue to expand to more markets in coming months. We expect appliance supplies will be limited due to the already high demand, but we’re continually expanding and adding more systems to the fleet. If you are interested, we want to hear from you.
- Customers can sign up now for the preview
- ISV partners can also sign up today for the preview
We are committed to continuing to deliver innovative solutions to lower the barrier for bringing data to the cloud. Tell us what you think about the new Azure Data Box preview in the comments below – we can’t wait to hear from you.
