By Robert Amatruda, Technical Marketing Manager, Spectra Logic
The public cloud has become a popular storage location for many organizations’ backup and archive data by promising convenience, scalability and an assumption of cost-effectiveness. Amazon’s cloud services like “S3, Glacier, and Deep Archive” advertise scalability, convenience and apparent affordability. Many organizations are discovering the reality is far more complex. Cloud storage comes with many hidden and unpredictable costs, from retrieval fees to network charges that quickly become expensive and unpredictable.
Low-Cost Cloud Storage, is Not Always Low-Cost
Public cloud providers advertise attractive storage rates. Industry sources cite Amazon “S3 Glacier Deep Archive” pricing around $1 per TiB per month which seems competitive with on-premises options. In reality, the actual costs are loaded with additional charges that are difficult to clearly ascertain at the outset.
Cloud vendors add a plethora of fees on top of their base storage costs
- Storage Requests: Up to $50 per million API requests.
- Outbound Data Transfers: Up to $138 per TiB per month.
- Metadata Overhead: Essential metadata storage costs extra.
- Minimum Storage Duration: S3 Standard and other tiers often enforce a one-month minimum charge regardless of how long the customer needs access.
Plus, there are additional networking charges such as “AWS Direct Connect” and “NAT Gateway” to improve performance and security to acceptable levels. But storage is only part of the problem, when data needs to be used, the ensuing activity and egress charges can become very expensive.
Why Data Retrieval Costs Add Up
For many organizations, the problem isn’t just storing backup or archive data, it is meeting service level agreements which typically focus on access and retrieval. Whether for compliance, analytics, or disaster recovery, retrieval is unavoidable and often unforeseen.
Furthermore, retrieval costs can be expensive and slow. Based on recent AWS pricing and policies, restoring data from “Glacier Flexible Retrieval” costs around $20 per TiB with an access time up to 48 hours. However, to read the data, a copy must be made to “S3 Standard” which can add another $23 per TiB with a required minimum of one month’s storage fee. These issues can make cloud-based cold storage costly for many use cases, particularly when large datasets require ready access.
Object-Based Tape: Cloud-Like Simplicity – Without the Cost
So, what’s the cost-effective alternative?
Spectra Logic Object-Based Tape solutions offer the benefits of cloud – ease of use, scalability, and automation – but with total control and flexibility, at a fraction of the cost.
Key advantages include:
- Massive Scale: Up to multi-exabyte capacity- using proven LTO tape.
- High Performance: Immediate access to data with throughputs exceeding cloud.
- Security & Compliance: Air-gapped copies-, single or multi–tenant configurations, and support for data sovereignty requirements.
- Affordability: No hidden fees for retrievals, API calls, or metadata means total predictability.
- Hybrid Flexibility: Seamless integration with public clouds and on-premises- object storage for a true hybrid approach.
Spectra solutions for Amazon S3-compatible object-based storage are built with the world’s most cost- and power-efficient tape libraries, the Spectra Stack, Spectra Cube and TFinity Plus, delivering reliable and secure archival storage that scales from petabytes to exabytes.
Smarter Data Management Strategies for the AI Era
As AI, analytics, and compliance cause data volumes to surge, organizations need a storage strategy that balances performance, security, and cost. Public cloud has its place, but hidden and unpredictable costs need to be considered.
Object-based tape enables an industry-standard, tiered storage architecture that delivers cost-effective- archiving without sacrificing security, accessibility or scalability. Customers can have predictable TCO with no hidden fees; it’s an ideal solution for managing the explosion of data in the AI era.
By combining the simplicity and convenience of cloud-based workflows with the superior economics of tape, Spectra Logic empowers organizations to take control of their backup and archive strategies – eliminating costly bills and building a sustainable foundation for the future of data management at scale.
##
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Robert Amatruda, Technical Marketing Manager, Spectra Logic
Robert Amatruda, Technical Marketing Manager at Spectra Logic, is a former IDC research director who has parlayed his analytical expertise into high-impact roles at IBM, Dell Technologies, and other leading tech firms. He has shaped market perception and product messaging for new, cutting-edge technologies including AI, quantum computing, and data protection solutions. Over his career, Robert has influenced key industry analyst evaluations, elevated brand visibility, and driven strategic go-to-market initiatives across the technology landscape.
