Druva doubled down on data management and protection with a new multi-tier intelligent data storage technology for Amazon Web Services (AWS) S3, Glacier, and Deep Archive storage, as well as disaster recovery-as-a-service (DRaaS) for enterprise workloads.

The cloud data protection startup claims this new tiering service, which automatically drops backup data into the appropriate AWS storage layer, can reduce total cost of ownership by up to 50%.

“As enterprise data continues to scale, the volume of storage required and protection scales with it,” said Druva’s chief product officer Mike Palmer in emailed response to questions. “This data growth is driving many organizations to re-examine their current data storage practices, looking for ways to limit rising cost, risk, and complexity of data protection.”  

Druva’s multi-tier platform uses machine learning to power an automatic tiering architecture that places data in a three-tier hierarchy within Amazon’s storage services:

• AWS S3 for “hot” data, or data that’s used regularly and needs to be accessed quickly,
• AWS Glacier for “warm” data, and
• AWS Glacier Deep Archive for “cold” data.

“60% of corporate data is 'cold' and not needed on a regular basis, so there is little need for organizations to keep it in more costly storage tiers,” Palmer explained. 

According to Palmer, that data is moved to more cost effective storage tiers as it is deemed less critical for instant recovery, which is reflected in the discounted value — Glacier and Glacier Deep Archive being the cheaper alternatives for data that does not require immediate accessibility — for end users. 

Druva’s intelligent tiering comes in the form of two offerings: automatic and user-driven tiering. 

Automatic tiering is available for non-technical enterprises that may not have the skillset or bandwidth to manage its data. Machine learning does the heavy lifting, determining when it should tier to Glacier or Deep Archive based on data age and access patterns, optimizing value and agility without impacting operations.

User-driven tiering is designed for those with a more technical skillset and bandwidth for day-to-day control that prefer to manually select tiering based on specific warm and cold storage for a tighter handling of their data.

Druva also announced DRaaS for AWS that offers integrated backup and disaster recover in congruence with users’ AWS Virtual Private Cloud (VPC). 

According to Palmer, Druva’s DRaaS technology's speedy data recovery time helps to lower costs by eliminating on-site hardware and software.

“Instead of utilizing a completely different system simply for DR, companies can now leverage their daily backups for DR at scale with recovery time objectives of minutes and recovery point objectives of an hour across any AWS Region,” Palmer said.  Additionally, “IT teams can better automate runbooks to ensure successful recoveries, and have peace of mind for business continuity at a fraction of the cost.”

Last month Druva acquired CloudLanes to further expand its cloud storage and data management capabilities as it competes in the storage and management space against companies like Rubrik and Cohesity.

According to Druva CEO Jaspreet Singh, an initial public offering is likely in the company’s future. 

“We feel a public offering is likely Druva’s most appropriate course, but we are focused on continuing our global expansion and supporting customers as they prepare for the cloud era given the rapid market growth,” he said in an email. “We will monitor industry conditions and make decisions based on what best positions Druva for future growth and success.”