Cloud-based data storage firm Qumulo launched a network attached storage (NAS) tool powered by Cisco Unified Computing System (UCS).

The Qumulo and Cisco Bridge-to-Cloud leverages Cloud Native Qumulo (CNQ) Enterprise to extend select file workloads to the cloud, offering access to data across cloud and edge environments while optimizing on-premises infrastructure. The cloud migration tool allows organizations to adopt cloud capabilities without running into application refactoring, disruptions of existing workflows, or forced migration timelines.

Qumolo added the solution provides a unified global namespace to eschew storage silos and provide universal access to distributed data, while providing a local-esque performance to end users without noticeable degradation.

The offering is available for deployment on Cisco UCS on-premises infrastructure and across Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform (GCP), and Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI).

Qumulo framed the solution as a response to the ongoing memory shortfall, which it noted as pushed high-performance storage and memory prices to surge by more than 400%, while extending lead times to as much as 26 weeks.

The vendor said this toxic cocktail has created a “flash tax” that’s opened up companies on over-provisioned all-flash systems to “significant financial risk and reduced practicality,” and left them with a choice of either undertaking complex, multi-year application migrations to the cloud or stick with their legacy storage platforms. Such legacy options, it claimed, entail extended support contracts that can surpass 150% of the original system cost for just one additional year.

“CNQ Enterprise with Cisco UCS provides the bridge that enterprise infrastructure teams need to deal with the real, immediate pressure they’re feeling without asking them to rip out what’s already working,” Brandon Whitelaw, SVP of product at Qumulo, noted. “Capacity extends to the cloud instantly. Users and applications never know that the systems have been extended into the cloud. Additionally, the entire dataset is fully accessible in the cloud to be used in combination with zero-copy AI pipelines into services like Microsoft AI Foundry, AWS Bedrock, or Google Vertex AI. That combination not only provides immediate relief from today’s pressure but also delivers flexibility for tomorrow’s demands.”