Top 7 Secure Alternatives to Amazon S3

In a world where data is the lifeblood of our digital existence, the practice of data archiving has become integral to our personal and professional lives. Imagine diligently collecting receipts for a decade, carefully archiving each one for financial analysis or budget planning. This real-life scenario illustrates the value of data archiving in our daily routines, ranging from preserving WhatsApp conversations and emails to storing crucial records.

Data archiving is especially critical for organizations, particularly in highly regulated sectors like healthcare and finance, where compliance regulations necessitate the preservation of vast and diverse datasets.

Smaller data sets can be saved physically or uploaded to personal drives, DVDs, or external hard discs; however, the challenges intensify while dealing with massive data repositories.

Consider a hospital archiving a vast and diverse array of data, from patient records to back-office information and records of denials. The need for safe, organized, and easily accessible data storage becomes paramount.

This evolving landscape has sparked a fundamental question: Where and how should we store this vast volume of data?

How do we efficiently store large volumes of data?

The answer is cloud computing. It stands out as one of the fastest advancing technologies, gaining momentum across both developed and developing nations. The year 2021 witnessed a remarkable surge in cloud adoption, with every sector either transitioning or considering a transition to the cloud as a response to the global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Enter Amazon S3, a cost-effective and user-friendly storage service that allows users to store and retrieve data of any size at any time, from anywhere. As per Fortune Business Insights, the expansive global computing market reached an astounding value of USD 569.31 billion in 2022, with Amazon at the forefront commanding a market share of 31%.

It’s a solution that has garnered widespread acclaim, but it’s not the only player in the field. Alternative storage services offered by companies like Google, Microsoft and many more present their own advantages and unique features.

Alternative Data Storage Services for Amazon S3

Time to explore the various options beyond Amazon S3 for low-cost storage solutions. Read further to gain a comprehensive understanding of the various storage services available, know how to choose the one that best suits your specific needs, and make informed decisions about the future of your data.

1. Google Cloud Storage

Google Cloud Storage (GCS)—one among the ‘big 3’ cloud storage providers—is a secure alternative for Amazon S3. It primarily offers storage for unstructured datasets and supports flexible storage management.

It is an enterprise-level cloud storage and an option worthy of consideration for large businesses. Powerful capabilities are enabled such as multi-region deployments, making it a perfect option for addressing complex requirements for your cloud data—especially hot storage.

GCS stores data as objects within buckets. Buckets are assigned to various storage classes tailored to your particular business needs. Each class is suitable for a different usage pattern.

2. Microsoft Azure Blob

Microsoft Azure Blob, also one among the ‘big 3’ storage providers, is generally recommended for large corporations or those that handle highly sensitive and large sized data files. It offers tiered office storage for protecting stored data. This storage is most suitable when you are in the Azure or Microsoft-file environment. However, Amazon S3 and Azure CBS are similar in complexity and feature diversity.

Considering its granularity, Azure has a ‘Storage Account’ oriented storage tier setting, where an entire storage must be set to use Cool or Hot Storage blobs.

3. Backblaze B2

Established in 2007, Backblaze B2 stands out as one of the most cost-effective S3-compatible cloud storage solutions. Boasting unparalleled performance, B2 presents itself as a storage option priced at just one-fifth of Amazon S3, with no hidden conditions. Additionally, the initial 10 GB of storage comes at no cost.

B2 offers continuous, automatic cloud backup for personal and business use. Its robust offerings include data center options in both the USA and EU, extra security, command line access tools, and bucket versioning policies. These attributes contribute to B2’s standing as a competitive choice in the realm of cloud storage.

4. Oracle Cloud Infrastructure

Oracle Cloud infrastructure stands as a forefront industry-leading cloud platform designed to meet the needs of enterprises aiming for enhanced performance, reduced costs, and simplified application migration to the cloud for their applications.

Here, data is stored in buckets, managed and deployed inside containers. Meta tags are assigned to objects that facilitate advanced resource organization and management, enhancing overall operational efficiency. OCI boasts high reliability and 99.9% availability, ensuring consistent and dependable performance for critical workloads.

Also, OCI is designed to be highly durable, providing 99.999999999% (eleven 9s!) of annual durability. Each object is stored across three servers in different availability domains for regions with multiple availability domains and in various fault domains in regions with single availability domain. While overwriting or versioning, data is never lost. They are saved as previous versions of the object. OCI is a feature-rich option for enterprises embracing the cloud.

5. Wasabi

Established in 2017, Wasabi Technologies has swiftly positioned itself as a versatile cloud storage service offering multi-regional availability. While a lot of other platforms have come up with complex storage tiers, Wasabi offers a universal, one-size-fits-all solution that caters to a broad spectrum of storage performance requirements.

Emphasizing simplicity and cost-efficiency, Wasabi specializes in hot cloud storage, ensuring fast, reliable, and low-cost storage with 100% data immutability. Its noteworthy features include storage commoditization, real-time data storage and retrieval, and freedom from vendor lock-ins.

Unlike competitors, Wasabi exclusively provides low-latency hot storage without archival or warm storage tiers. It stands out in the industry by delivering storage six times faster while being up to 80% cheaper than Amazon S3. It is an optimal choice when you need quick and cost-effective access to files that are not necessarily frequently viewed or updated.

6. Dell EMC Isilon

Dell EMC Isilon stands as a formidable scale-out network- attached storage (NAS) platform, offered by Dell EMC to cater to the extensive storage, backup, and archiving requirements of unstructured data. This solution has a cluster-based storage array that leverages industry standard hardware and is powered by the FreeBDS-derived, OneFS file system. Incredibly scalable, Isilon can accommodate up to 50 petabytes within a single file system.

An Isilon clustered storage system is ingeniously constructed with a minimum of three nodes, where each node is essentially a server integrated with the proprietary OneFS operating system. This approach unifies the nodes into a cohesive and shared resource, ensuring optimal performance and manageability.

Dell Isilon is meticulously crafted to meet the evolving data storage and management needs of an organization, coping with vast and expanding data repositories. Also, Dell EMC, a leading force in the market, offers a diverse range of products and services encompassing data storage, information security, virtualization, analytics, and cloud computing. These extensive offerings empower organizations to effectively store, manage, protect, and analyze their data in a rapidly evolving tech ecosystem.

7. MiniIO

MinIo is renowned for delivering high-performance, S3-compatible object storage. Its native compatibility with Kubernetes enables deployment across various public & private clouds and the Edge. Public clouds include Amazon S3, Azure, and Google Cloud, along with private cloud Kubernetes platforms including Red Hat OpenShift, VMWare Tanzu, HPE Ezmeral, and SUSE Rancher.

Its extended reach to the Edge encompasses ARM chips, 5G POP, edge catching devices, and mini datacenters. MinIO proudly operates as a 100% open-source platform under the GNU AGPL v3 license.

MinIO functions as an object storage server, implementing the same public API as Amazon S3. Thus, applications configured for Amazon S3 can seamlessly integrate with MinIO. It excels in storing diverse unstructured data types, including photos, videos, log files, backups, and container/VM images. The scalability of MinIO allows for object sizes ranging from a few kilobytes to a substantial 5 terabytes.

Structures around the concept of ‘buckets’, MinIO organizes files logically, providing a systemic separation for stored data. To integrate MinIO with your application, you’ll need to include your access key, secret key, and the HTTP address of the MinIO instance.

Choosing the right storage platform depends on the unique needs and use cases of your organization. Whether you prioritize cost-effectiveness, performance, or specific features, each alternative discussed offers its advantages. For those seeking a cheaper option, exploring alternatives to S3 is a wise choice to minimize expenses while maximizing value.

Archon Data Store: Your Comprehensive Solution for Cloud-Based Data Archiving

Unlock the power of seamless integration with major cloud storage platforms, including Amazon S3 and GCP, through Platform 3 Solutions’ Archon Data Store. Our specialized team ensures a hassle-free experience, providing top-notch data archival as a service.

Each of the renowned storage platforms functions as an object storage system within our Archon Data Store. We skillfully archive your data, aligning with object storage buckets to maintain impeccable data integrity and easy access.

At Platform 3 Solutions, we go beyond archiving; we offer complete access to your data even after retention. Once your data is archived, it transitions into a read-only state. We empower you by creating roles for users and defining their permissions, giving you control over data usage.

While data security is paramount, we understand the need for flexibility. Although purging data is generally restricted to upholding your database’s security, Archon Data Store facilitates controlled data purging aligned with your designated retention policy duration. You, as the end user or our esteemed customer, have the autonomy to set these policies according to your specific application needs.

Security is our priority. Our end-to-end data encryption ensures the absolute protection of your archived data within our advanced archival system. We adhere rigorously to decryption protocols, following a predefined set of instructions to guarantee the utmost security.

The ADS suite excels in data ingestion, recognizing the challenge of managing vast amounts of data. Leveraging specialized SQL queries, we facilitate efficient searches within the extensive pool of archived data, ensuring you can retrieve valuable information with ease.

What sets Archon Data Store apart is its flexibility. You can choose any storage system for storing and archiving your data, tailoring it to your specific use case. Whether you opt for high-cost storage systems like S3 or Backblaze for frequently accessed data or choose a different storage system such as Wasabi for non-frequently accessed data, the choice is yours.

Let us handle the complexities of data archiving so you can focus on what matters most—your business. Trust Platform 3 Solutions to archive your data seamlessly, ensuring you extract the maximum value from your investment.