Panzura Collaborates With Microsoft Azure Storage

Panzura, Inc. is adding support for Microsoft Azure, helping to transform cloud storage into a distributed enterprise file system.

Panzura adds this new offering so that customers can enable collaboration between users at distributed offices and use Microsoft Azure Storage not just for DR and backup, but also as primary storage.

Panzura’s patented file locking technology and Azure enable enterprises to treat their disbursed operations as one infinitely large workgroup. Using Panzura and Azure enables companies to keep the in-office performance they need while centralizing their data with infinite scalability, better cost models and a higher level of security. Panzura works with Azure to provide the storage fabric that solves cross-site collaboration issues with latency and bandwidth sensitive applications and provides all tiers of storage.

“Recent price reductions in cloud storage are setting up the cloud as the new generation in storage and file systems,” said Randy Chou, co-founder and CEO, Panzura. “Panzura’s global file system with patented file locking is the transformative technology that turns cloud storage into an enterprise file system. But there has to be a new storage architecture that takes advantage of this new datacenter concept. Using Microsoft Azure encourages CIOs to rethink their storage strategy and determine whether they need to continue buying on-premise storage arrays or focus on storage as a utility.“

“Panzura is at the cutting edge of the transformation of cloud storage into enterprise-wide file systems,” said Danielle Allen, senior product marketing manager, Microsoft Azure. “The economics of cloud storage alone are compelling. There are also significant business benefits to cross-site collaboration, and Panzura is driving innovation in this area.“

Panzura empowers customers to work across multiple sites, regardless of location. Panzura’s file locking capability reduces file open and sync time of users in distributed sites from 20 minutes to 10s, enabling all users to work as if they were in the same room. In one customer case, it enables collaboration across 265 different sites.

“It is essential for our business to be able to collaborate across sites for projects without corrupting each other’s files,” said Sam Ghnaim, director of IT, Essex Property Trust, Inc. “At Essex Property Trust, we tried many different products out there and vendors would initially tell you they had a file locking system in place. As we got deeper into the meetings and tried out the technology, it wasn’t a true file locking solution. Panzura had the only true file locking system.“

Panzura’s new solution will be available for release in September 2014.