# Best Archive Storage Solutions

  *By [Rachana Hasyagar](https://research.g2.com/insights/author/rachana-hasyagar)*

   Archive storage solutions enable companies to store and retrieve sparsely used data. This data at rest may be used infrequently; however, it may remain vitally important to business operations, making the protection of its storage crucial. This security remains one of the greatest benefits of archival cloud storage to secure backup data and facilitate the transfer of vital information.

Companies use archive storage solutions to keep large amounts of information secure while it rests in the cloud. These tools provide security access control over sensitive information, ensure the availability of archived information, and save companies money by separating rarely accessed data from frequently used sources.

To qualify for inclusion in the Archive Storage category, a product must:

- Provide cloud-based storage for inactive data
- Ensure access control over sensitive information
- Facilitate cold-data retrieval when requested





## Category Overview

**Total Products under this Category:** 38


## Trust & Credibility Stats

**Why You Can Trust G2's Software Rankings:**

- 30 Analysts and Data Experts
- 2,600+ Authentic Reviews
- 38+ Products
- Unbiased Rankings

G2's software rankings are built on verified user reviews, rigorous moderation, and a consistent research methodology maintained by a team of analysts and data experts. Each product is measured using the same transparent criteria, with no paid placement or vendor influence. While reviews reflect real user experiences, which can be subjective, they offer valuable insight into how software performs in the hands of professionals. Together, these inputs power the G2 Score, a standardized way to compare tools within every category.


## Best Archive Storage Solutions At A Glance

- **Leader:** [Amazon S3 Glacier](https://www.g2.com/products/amazon-s3-glacier/reviews)
- **Highest Performer:** [CyberSentriq](https://www.g2.com/products/cybersentriq/reviews)
- **Easiest to Use:** [Backblaze B2 Cloud Storage](https://www.g2.com/products/backblaze-b2-cloud-storage/reviews)
- **Top Trending:** [Amazon S3 Glacier](https://www.g2.com/products/amazon-s3-glacier/reviews)
- **Best Free Software:** [Redstor Backup for Microsoft 365](https://www.g2.com/products/redstor-backup-for-microsoft-365/reviews)


---

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### Arpio

Arpio is a comprehensive disaster recovery platform designed specifically for the cloud. This innovative solution addresses the unique challenges of AWS & Azure environments by automatically replicating an organization’s entire cloud estate, including data, servers, networking and other infrastructure and resources. With Arpio, businesses can ensure complete application recovery in the event of a disaster, unlike traditional disaster recovery tools that weren’t designed for the cloud. Arpio is suitable for businesses of all sizes that prioritize data security and operational continuity in their AWS & Azure cloud environments. Its automated, dynamic environment replication feature allows users to effortlessly maintain backups of their entire cloud setup. This capability is particularly beneficial for companies that require rapid recovery solutions, such as those in finance, healthcare, and e-commerce, where downtime can lead to significant operational and financial repercussions. By offering a tailored solution for comprehensive disaster recovery, Arpio meets the specific needs of organizations that rely heavily on cloud infrastructure. What stands out about Arpio’s approach? Unlike conventional disaster recovery solutions that may only back up data or specific components, Arpio recognizes the interdependencies within cloud workloads and replicates everything necessary for seamless operation. The ability to recover not just data but the entire operational environment is crucial for maintaining business continuity. Additionally, Arpio offers robust testing capabilities, allowing businesses to validate that they can recover within the required RTO & RPO parameters. Arpio can spin up a recovery environment in parallel with the production environment, letting users test recovery without interrupting ongoing operations. Disaster recovery capabilities include, advanced ransomware recovery protocols through a multi-account strategy, storing backups in an immutable “bunker” account to safeguard against malicious attacks, with recovery in a separate, clean room environment. This proactive approach to security enhances the overall resilience of the organization’s cloud infrastructure. With support for the broadest selection of AWS & Azure resources, Arpio provides comprehensive coverage for a wide range of cloud workloads. Its cross-region and cross-account replication capabilities enhance data protection during regional outages and malicious ransomware events alike, ensuring that critical information remains secure and accessible even in the face of significant threats. As new cloud services are continuously supported, Arpio adapts to the evolving needs of its users, solidifying its position as a vital tool for effective disaster recovery in the cloud.



[Visit website](https://www.g2.com/external_clickthroughs/record?secure%5Bad_program%5D=ppc&secure%5Bad_slot%5D=category_product_list&secure%5Bcategory_id%5D=1426&secure%5Bdisplayable_resource_id%5D=1109&secure%5Bdisplayable_resource_type%5D=Category&secure%5Bmedium%5D=sponsored&secure%5Bplacement_reason%5D=neighbor_category&secure%5Bplacement_resource_ids%5D%5B%5D=1109&secure%5Bprioritized%5D=false&secure%5Bproduct_id%5D=145786&secure%5Bresource_id%5D=1426&secure%5Bresource_type%5D=Category&secure%5Bsource_type%5D=category_page&secure%5Bsource_url%5D=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.g2.com%2Fcategories%2Farchive-storage-solutions%3Fpage%3D2&secure%5Btoken%5D=d358f09e36a8996677417303b2bdad550a41d7de815be07f9622d5e5c129f8a4&secure%5Burl%5D=https%3A%2F%2Farpio.io%2Frequest-a-demo%2F&secure%5Burl_type%5D=custom_url&secure%5Bvisitor_segment%5D=180)

---

## Top-Rated Products (Ranked by G2 Score)
### 1. [Amazon S3 Glacier](https://www.g2.com/products/amazon-s3-glacier/reviews)
  Amazon Glacier is a secure, durable, and extremely low-cost cloud storage service for data archiving and long-term backup. It is designed to deliver 99.999999999% durability, and provides comprehensive security and compliance capabilities that can help meet even the most stringent regulatory requirements. Amazon Glacier provides query-in-place functionality, allowing you to run powerful analytics directly on your archive data at rest. Customers can store data for as little as $0.004 per gigabyte per month, a significant savings compared to on-premises solutions. To keep costs low yet suitable for varying retrieval needs, Amazon Glacier provides three options for access to archives, from a few minutes to several hours.


  **Average Rating:** 4.5/5.0
  **Total Reviews:** 122

**User Satisfaction Scores:**

- **Quality of Support:** 8.5/10 (Category avg: 8.8/10)
- **Has the product been a good partner in doing business?:** 8.6/10 (Category avg: 8.8/10)


**Seller Details:**

- **Seller:** [Amazon Web Services (AWS)](https://www.g2.com/sellers/amazon-web-services-aws-3e93cc28-2e9b-4961-b258-c6ce0feec7dd)
- **Year Founded:** 2006
- **HQ Location:** Seattle, WA
- **Twitter:** @awscloud (2,225,864 Twitter followers)
- **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/amazon-web-services/ (156,424 employees on LinkedIn®)
- **Ownership:** NASDAQ: AMZN

**Reviewer Demographics:**
  - **Who Uses This:** Software Engineer, DevOps Engineer
  - **Top Industries:** Information Technology and Services, Computer Software
  - **Company Size:** 38% Small-Business, 32% Enterprise


#### Pros & Cons

**Pros:**

- Affordable (2 reviews)
- Data Security (2 reviews)
- Easy Integrations (2 reviews)
- Features (2 reviews)
- Reliability (2 reviews)

**Cons:**

- High Retrieval Costs (2 reviews)
- Slow Retrieval (2 reviews)
- Pricing Issues (1 reviews)
- Slow Speed (1 reviews)
- Unclear Instructions (1 reviews)

### 2. [Google Cloud Storage](https://www.g2.com/products/google-cloud-storage/reviews)
  Cloud Storage is a managed service for storing unstructured data, like videos and documents. It is most commonly used for data lakes for analytics, storing AI data, or web hosting. With Cloud Storage you can store any amount of data, and retrieve it as often as you like. New customers can use $300 in free credits to try Cloud Storage. All customers get 5 GiB of US regional storage free per month, not charged against your credits. If you’re a consumer or business looking for file sharing, check out Workspace products like Google Drive (https://workspace.google.com/products/drive/). If you’re looking for photo storage, use Google Photos (www.google.com/photos)


  **Average Rating:** 4.6/5.0
  **Total Reviews:** 562

**User Satisfaction Scores:**

- **Quality of Support:** 8.8/10 (Category avg: 8.8/10)
- **Has the product been a good partner in doing business?:** 8.9/10 (Category avg: 8.8/10)


**Seller Details:**

- **Seller:** [Google](https://www.g2.com/sellers/google)
- **Year Founded:** 1998
- **HQ Location:** Mountain View, CA
- **Twitter:** @google (31,910,461 Twitter followers)
- **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/1441/ (336,169 employees on LinkedIn®)
- **Ownership:** NASDAQ:GOOG

**Reviewer Demographics:**
  - **Who Uses This:** Software Engineer, CTO
  - **Top Industries:** Information Technology and Services, Computer Software
  - **Company Size:** 45% Small-Business, 29% Enterprise


#### Pros & Cons

**Pros:**

- Cloud Storage (35 reviews)
- Ease of Use (33 reviews)
- Security (22 reviews)
- Scalability (20 reviews)
- Features (16 reviews)

**Cons:**

- Expensive (16 reviews)
- Storage Limitations (12 reviews)
- Complexity (11 reviews)
- Cost Issues (9 reviews)
- Learning Difficulty (9 reviews)

### 3. [Backblaze B2 Cloud Storage](https://www.g2.com/products/backblaze-b2-cloud-storage/reviews)
  Backblaze B2 is S3 compatible cloud object storage built purposefully to unlock budgets, unburden administrators, and unleash innovators. Delivering performance at 1/5 the cost including free egress up to 3x monthly storage, it’s the easy choice for more than 85,000 organizations including Patagonia, UCLA, Fortune, and Streamlabs for backup, active archive, and application storage needs. Together with technology partners, Backblaze B2 helps customers break free from restrictive, overpriced legacy providers that hold them back, and blaze forward with the full power of the open cloud in their hands.


  **Average Rating:** 4.6/5.0
  **Total Reviews:** 114

**User Satisfaction Scores:**

- **Quality of Support:** 8.7/10 (Category avg: 8.8/10)
- **Has the product been a good partner in doing business?:** 8.9/10 (Category avg: 8.8/10)


**Seller Details:**

- **Seller:** [Backblaze](https://www.g2.com/sellers/backblaze)
- **Company Website:** https://www.backblaze.com/
- **Year Founded:** 2007
- **HQ Location:** San Mateo, California
- **Twitter:** @backblaze (17,830 Twitter followers)
- **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/2749627/ (364 employees on LinkedIn®)

**Reviewer Demographics:**
  - **Who Uses This:** Owner
  - **Top Industries:** Information Technology and Services, Computer Software
  - **Company Size:** 71% Small-Business, 18% Mid-Market


#### Pros & Cons

**Pros:**

- Affordable (17 reviews)
- Reliability (14 reviews)
- Ease of Use (12 reviews)
- Easy Setup (12 reviews)
- Storage Capacity (12 reviews)

**Cons:**

- Poor Interface Design (4 reviews)
- Poor Navigation (4 reviews)
- Storage Issues (4 reviews)
- Storage Limitations (4 reviews)
- Backup Issues (3 reviews)

### 4. [Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Archive Storage Classic](https://www.g2.com/products/oracle-cloud-infrastructure-archive-storage-classic/reviews)
  The most cost-effective storage in the industry, designed for infrequently accessed data with enterprise-grade security, resilience, and elastic scalability.


  **Average Rating:** 4.4/5.0
  **Total Reviews:** 33

**User Satisfaction Scores:**

- **Quality of Support:** 8.4/10 (Category avg: 8.8/10)
- **Has the product been a good partner in doing business?:** 9.2/10 (Category avg: 8.8/10)


**Seller Details:**

- **Seller:** [Oracle](https://www.g2.com/sellers/oracle)
- **Year Founded:** 1977
- **HQ Location:** Austin, TX
- **Twitter:** @Oracle (827,868 Twitter followers)
- **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/1028/ (199,301 employees on LinkedIn®)
- **Ownership:** NYSE:ORCL

**Reviewer Demographics:**
  - **Top Industries:** Computer Software, Information Technology and Services
  - **Company Size:** 49% Mid-Market, 34% Enterprise


#### Pros & Cons

**Pros:**

- Ease of Use (1 reviews)
- Security (1 reviews)


### 5. [Azure Archive Storage](https://www.g2.com/products/azure-archive-storage/reviews)
  Azure Archive Storage offers low-cost, durable, and highly available secure cloud storage for rarely accessed data with flexible latency requirements. Archive Storage provides secure data transfer to the cloud using HTTPS, and automatically secures that data at rest using 256-bit AES keys.


  **Average Rating:** 4.5/5.0
  **Total Reviews:** 52

**User Satisfaction Scores:**

- **Quality of Support:** 9.1/10 (Category avg: 8.8/10)
- **Has the product been a good partner in doing business?:** 8.2/10 (Category avg: 8.8/10)


**Seller Details:**

- **Seller:** [Microsoft](https://www.g2.com/sellers/microsoft)
- **Year Founded:** 1975
- **HQ Location:** Redmond, Washington
- **Twitter:** @microsoft (13,114,353 Twitter followers)
- **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/microsoft/ (227,697 employees on LinkedIn®)
- **Ownership:** MSFT

**Reviewer Demographics:**
  - **Top Industries:** Banking, Computer Software
  - **Company Size:** 41% Small-Business, 31% Mid-Market


### 6. [CyberSentriq](https://www.g2.com/products/cybersentriq/reviews)
  CyberSentriq is an integrated cybersecurity and data protection platform, leveraging solutions from two best-of breed vendors in the MSP space. Partnering with over 3,000 MSPs and protecting over 150,000 SMBs globally, CyberSentriq provides an unmatched combination of proactive AI-driven email and web security, advanced data protection, and operational resilience. The CyberSentriq platform offers: - Data backup & recovery for Microsoft M365 & Entra ID, Azure, Google workspace and more - AI-driven threat intelligence and detection - Advanced email security at both the Mail Exchange (MX) and Integrated Cloud Email Security (ICES) layers. - Security awareness services - Phishing simulation - Email archiving and encryption


  **Average Rating:** 4.6/5.0
  **Total Reviews:** 375

**User Satisfaction Scores:**

- **Quality of Support:** 9.1/10 (Category avg: 8.8/10)
- **Has the product been a good partner in doing business?:** 9.4/10 (Category avg: 8.8/10)


**Seller Details:**

- **Seller:** [CyberSentriq](https://www.g2.com/sellers/cybersentriq-d38aeb75-bc88-459b-a2d2-16ccbed4d6c5)
- **Company Website:** https://cybersentriq.com
- **Year Founded:** 2025
- **HQ Location:** Galway ,Galway
- **Twitter:** @Redstor (1,958 Twitter followers)
- **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/cybersentriq/ (194 employees on LinkedIn®)

**Reviewer Demographics:**
  - **Who Uses This:** IT Manager, Director
  - **Top Industries:** Information Technology and Services, Computer & Network Security
  - **Company Size:** 48% Mid-Market, 41% Small-Business


#### Pros & Cons

**Pros:**

- Ease of Use (58 reviews)
- Backup Solutions (45 reviews)
- Backup Ease (38 reviews)
- Backup Features (36 reviews)
- Backup Frequency (27 reviews)

**Cons:**

- Backup Issues (18 reviews)
- Inadequate Reporting (17 reviews)
- Poor Reporting (15 reviews)
- Backup Failures (12 reviews)
- Reporting Issues (12 reviews)

### 7. [Unitrends Backup and Recovery](https://www.g2.com/products/unitrends-backup-and-recovery/reviews)
  Unitrends Data Center Backup and Recovery offers a Unified BCDR solution enabling our users to address the challenges of today with a complete, agile solution designed to backup, secure and recover all workloads. The platform encompasses protection for traditional data center infrastructure as well as cloud-based IaaS workloads, SaaS applications and the data being generated on endpoint devices such as laptops and PCs. Purposeful integrations with security tools provide end-to-end protection against cybercrime and human error, while automation and artificial intelligence is injected into the platform to simplify complex systems and provide a unified experience with visibility across a complete backup infrastructure.


  **Average Rating:** 4.2/5.0
  **Total Reviews:** 430

**User Satisfaction Scores:**

- **Quality of Support:** 8.5/10 (Category avg: 8.8/10)
- **Has the product been a good partner in doing business?:** 8.5/10 (Category avg: 8.8/10)


**Seller Details:**

- **Seller:** [Kaseya](https://www.g2.com/sellers/kaseya)
- **Company Website:** https://www.kaseya.com/
- **Year Founded:** 2000
- **HQ Location:** Miami, FL
- **Twitter:** @KaseyaCorp (17,429 Twitter followers)
- **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/kaseya/ (5,512 employees on LinkedIn®)

**Reviewer Demographics:**
  - **Who Uses This:** IT Manager, Network Administrator
  - **Top Industries:** Information Technology and Services, Hospital & Health Care
  - **Company Size:** 63% Mid-Market, 26% Small-Business


#### Pros & Cons

**Pros:**

- Backup Solutions (7 reviews)
- Reliability (6 reviews)
- Customer Support (4 reviews)
- User Interface (4 reviews)
- Backup Frequency (3 reviews)

**Cons:**

- Poor Customer Support (5 reviews)
- Backup Issues (4 reviews)
- Needs Improvement (4 reviews)
- Poor Interface Design (4 reviews)
- Missing Features (3 reviews)

### 8. [OpenText Core Business Communication Archive](https://www.g2.com/products/opentext-core-business-communication-archive/reviews)
  OpenText Core Business Communication Archive is a cloud-based archiving solution that captures, stores, and preserves business communications for compliance, legal, and operational needs. It automatically archives emails and other communication data in a secure, tamper-proof environment, making it easy to search, retrieve, and manage information. The solution provides centralized access to archived data with powerful search and eDiscovery capabilities, helping organizations meet regulatory requirements and respond quickly to audits or legal requests. We ensure business communications are securely retained, easily accessible, and compliant with industry regulations.


  **Average Rating:** 4.2/5.0
  **Total Reviews:** 10

**User Satisfaction Scores:**

- **Quality of Support:** 9.7/10 (Category avg: 8.8/10)
- **Has the product been a good partner in doing business?:** 9.3/10 (Category avg: 8.8/10)


**Seller Details:**

- **Seller:** [OpenText](https://www.g2.com/sellers/opentext)
- **Year Founded:** 1991
- **HQ Location:** Waterloo, ON
- **Twitter:** @OpenText (21,586 Twitter followers)
- **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/2709/ (23,339 employees on LinkedIn®)
- **Ownership:** NASDAQ:OTEX

**Reviewer Demographics:**
  - **Company Size:** 70% Small-Business, 30% Mid-Market


### 9. [Qumulo Core](https://www.g2.com/products/qumulo-core/reviews)
  Qumulo is the breakthrough leader in simplifying unstructured data management at massive scale across hybrid-cloud environments. Qumulo provides a high-performance file data platform designed to store, manage and create workflows and applications with data in its native file form. Qumulo’s File Data Platform is both future-proofed and seamlessly works with existing applications and technologies: It enables customers to easily manage the full data lifecycle from ingestion, transformation, publishing and archiving with cost-effective capacity, dynamic scalability, automatic encryption, real-time analytics, and an advanced API so they can easily integrate Qumulo into their technology ecosystem and workflows.


  **Average Rating:** 4.6/5.0
  **Total Reviews:** 17

**User Satisfaction Scores:**

- **Quality of Support:** 9.2/10 (Category avg: 8.8/10)
- **Has the product been a good partner in doing business?:** 9.3/10 (Category avg: 8.8/10)


**Seller Details:**

- **Seller:** [Qumulo](https://www.g2.com/sellers/qumulo)
- **Year Founded:** 2012
- **HQ Location:** Seattle, WA
- **Twitter:** @qumulo (2,780 Twitter followers)
- **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/2533593/ (639 employees on LinkedIn®)

**Reviewer Demographics:**
  - **Company Size:** 58% Mid-Market, 37% Enterprise


### 10. [Redstor Backup for Microsoft 365](https://www.g2.com/products/redstor-backup-for-microsoft-365/reviews)
  Redstor’s Microsoft 365 backup service includes market-leading 365 coverage, including complete protection for SharePoint, OneDrive, Email, Teams, OneNote and even Class and Staff Notebooks. AI infused throughout Redstor’s app highlights 365 data risks, protecting against malware, including preventing the recovery of ransomware, and continuously improves based on community shared insights. Designed for service provision as well as Enterprise environments, Redstor’s disruptive, smart, cloud-native suite of services deliver the new standard in data management and protection. Redstor protects data residing in the broadest range of environments, spanning infrastructure and an ever-widening array of SaaS platforms, through a single multi-tenanted app.


  **Average Rating:** 4.6/5.0
  **Total Reviews:** 110

**User Satisfaction Scores:**

- **Quality of Support:** 9.1/10 (Category avg: 8.8/10)
- **Has the product been a good partner in doing business?:** 9.3/10 (Category avg: 8.8/10)


**Seller Details:**

- **Seller:** [CyberSentriq](https://www.g2.com/sellers/cybersentriq-d38aeb75-bc88-459b-a2d2-16ccbed4d6c5)
- **Year Founded:** 2025
- **HQ Location:** Galway ,Galway
- **Twitter:** @Redstor (1,958 Twitter followers)
- **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/cybersentriq/ (194 employees on LinkedIn®)

**Reviewer Demographics:**
  - **Who Uses This:** Director
  - **Top Industries:** Information Technology and Services, Computer & Network Security
  - **Company Size:** 43% Mid-Market, 43% Small-Business


### 11. [IBM Spectrum Archive](https://www.g2.com/products/ibm-spectrum-archive/reviews)
  IBM Spectrum Archive, a member of the IBM Spectrum Storage family, gives you direct, intuitive and graphical access to data stored in IBM tape drives and libraries by incorporating the Linear Tape File System (LTFS) format standard for reading, writing and exchanging descriptive metadata on formatted tape cartridges. Spectrum Archive eliminates the need for additional tape management and software to access data. Spectrum Archive offers three software solutions for managing your digital files with the LTFS format: Single Drive Edition, Library Edition and Enterprise Edition.


  **Average Rating:** 4.2/5.0
  **Total Reviews:** 11

**User Satisfaction Scores:**

- **Quality of Support:** 8.5/10 (Category avg: 8.8/10)
- **Has the product been a good partner in doing business?:** 9.6/10 (Category avg: 8.8/10)


**Seller Details:**

- **Seller:** [IBM](https://www.g2.com/sellers/ibm)
- **Year Founded:** 1911
- **HQ Location:** Armonk, NY
- **Twitter:** @IBM (709,390 Twitter followers)
- **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/1009/ (324,553 employees on LinkedIn®)
- **Ownership:** SWX:IBM

**Reviewer Demographics:**
  - **Company Size:** 45% Small-Business, 36% Mid-Market


### 12. [OpenText InfoArchive](https://www.g2.com/products/opentext-infoarchive/reviews)
  InfoArchive also helps organizations quickly address dynamic new governance issues and compliance guidelines, such as data privacy regulations and eDiscovery requests, without costly changes to legacy applications and systems.


  **Average Rating:** 4.5/5.0
  **Total Reviews:** 10

**User Satisfaction Scores:**

- **Quality of Support:** 8.5/10 (Category avg: 8.8/10)
- **Has the product been a good partner in doing business?:** 8.9/10 (Category avg: 8.8/10)


**Seller Details:**

- **Seller:** [OpenText](https://www.g2.com/sellers/opentext)
- **Year Founded:** 1991
- **HQ Location:** Waterloo, ON
- **Twitter:** @OpenText (21,586 Twitter followers)
- **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/2709/ (23,339 employees on LinkedIn®)
- **Ownership:** NASDAQ:OTEX

**Reviewer Demographics:**
  - **Company Size:** 50% Small-Business, 30% Enterprise


### 13. [Disk Archive](https://www.g2.com/products/disk-archive/reviews)
  Disk Archive provides easy, secure and affordable technology for archiving and cold data storage, ALTO - the Alternative to LTO.


  **Average Rating:** 4.3/5.0
  **Total Reviews:** 11

**User Satisfaction Scores:**

- **Quality of Support:** 9.1/10 (Category avg: 8.8/10)
- **Has the product been a good partner in doing business?:** 8.3/10 (Category avg: 8.8/10)


**Seller Details:**

- **Seller:** [Disk Archive](https://www.g2.com/sellers/disk-archive)
- **Year Founded:** 2008
- **HQ Location:** London, England
- **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/diskarchive/ (21 employees on LinkedIn®)

**Reviewer Demographics:**
  - **Company Size:** 45% Mid-Market, 27% Enterprise


### 14. [BigMIND](https://www.g2.com/products/bigmind/reviews)
  BigMIND is a complete solution that meets all user needs through a secure, flexible, and smart system


  **Average Rating:** 4.1/5.0
  **Total Reviews:** 10

**User Satisfaction Scores:**

- **Quality of Support:** 8.2/10 (Category avg: 8.8/10)
- **Has the product been a good partner in doing business?:** 8.3/10 (Category avg: 8.8/10)


**Seller Details:**

- **Seller:** [Zoolz](https://www.g2.com/sellers/zoolz)
- **Year Founded:** 2011
- **HQ Location:** London, GB
- **Twitter:** @ZoolzCloud (2,242 Twitter followers)
- **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/zoolz (5 employees on LinkedIn®)

**Reviewer Demographics:**
  - **Company Size:** 50% Mid-Market, 50% Small-Business


### 15. [DefendX Mobility](https://www.g2.com/products/defendx-mobility/reviews)
  Put your corporate files in the right place, at the right time, and at the right cost.


  **Average Rating:** 4.3/5.0
  **Total Reviews:** 10

**User Satisfaction Scores:**

- **Quality of Support:** 8.2/10 (Category avg: 8.8/10)
- **Has the product been a good partner in doing business?:** 10.0/10 (Category avg: 8.8/10)


**Seller Details:**

- **Seller:** [DefendX Software](https://www.g2.com/sellers/defendx-software)
- **Year Founded:** 1994
- **HQ Location:** Chelmsford, US
- **Twitter:** @defendxsoftware (273 Twitter followers)
- **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/19574/ (28 employees on LinkedIn®)

**Reviewer Demographics:**
  - **Company Size:** 55% Mid-Market, 45% Small-Business


### 16. [Ace Data Devices](https://www.g2.com/products/ace-data-devices/reviews)
  Ace Data is your reliable technology partner providing ultra-modern, and cutting-edge cloud back-up solutions tailored to your needs. Having done this for well over two decades, we have everything it takes to safeguard your most critical data. Our latest solution, Virtual Vault comes with an automated backup system, quick data migration, and a single code-based architecture. That's not all. It's fully compliant with all the global standards including HIPAA, HITECH for storage, backup, and disaster recovery. Because we understand the importance of your critical data, our solution offers bank-grade security and fast recovery options. Being an all-inclusive environment, Ace Data cloud allows cloud-based data backup to a physical, virtual, and hybrid environment. It allows the user to backup data in one or more data centers with quick access to dispersed data centers. Data backup to different environments targets complete systems, including all directories and files. Backup also incorporates data de duplication, compression, replication, and life cycle management. If you're seeking to safeguard your data - Virtual Vault is an ideal cloud backup solution tailored to your needs. Schedule a demo today to know more.


  **Average Rating:** 5.0/5.0
  **Total Reviews:** 10

**User Satisfaction Scores:**

- **Has the product been a good partner in doing business?:** 10.0/10 (Category avg: 8.8/10)


**Seller Details:**

- **Seller:** [Ace Data Devices](https://www.g2.com/sellers/ace-data-devices)
- **Year Founded:** 1996
- **HQ Location:** Mumbai, Maharashtra
- **Twitter:** @AceDataDevices (161 Twitter followers)
- **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/900970/ (43 employees on LinkedIn®)

**Reviewer Demographics:**
  - **Company Size:** 64% Mid-Market, 27% Enterprise


### 17. [NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP](https://www.g2.com/products/netapp-cloud-volumes-ontap/reviews)
  NetApp® Cloud Volumes ONTAP® offers a self-managed, unified storage management solution built on NetApp’s industry-leading ONTAP® software—empowering organizations with unmatched control and flexibility across block and file workloads in hybrid and multicloud environments. Seamlessly integrated with all major cloud providers, it runs natively on each cloud platform (Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, AWS), allowing you to deploy and manage storage for mission-critical applications, databases, containers, and user files without requiring extra tooling or complex configuration. With support for iSCSI, NVMe/TCP, NFS, SMB/CIFS, and S3, Cloud Volumes ONTAP brings enterprise-class data services to your cloud environment.  


  **Average Rating:** 4.5/5.0
  **Total Reviews:** 26

**User Satisfaction Scores:**

- **Quality of Support:** 8.5/10 (Category avg: 8.8/10)
- **Has the product been a good partner in doing business?:** 8.3/10 (Category avg: 8.8/10)


**Seller Details:**

- **Seller:** [NetApp](https://www.g2.com/sellers/netapp)
- **Year Founded:** 1992
- **HQ Location:** Sunnyvale, California
- **Twitter:** @NetApp (118,246 Twitter followers)
- **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/2105/ (12,677 employees on LinkedIn®)
- **Ownership:** NASDAQ

**Reviewer Demographics:**
  - **Top Industries:** Information Technology and Services, Computer & Network Security
  - **Company Size:** 41% Enterprise, 32% Small-Business


#### Pros & Cons

**Pros:**

- Comprehensive Solutions (1 reviews)
- Data Storage (1 reviews)
- Ease of Use (1 reviews)
- Features (1 reviews)
- High Availability (1 reviews)

**Cons:**

- Command Line Difficulty (1 reviews)
- Not User-Friendly (1 reviews)
- Poor Interface Design (1 reviews)
- Poor UI (1 reviews)
- Poor Usability (1 reviews)

### 18. [Gearset DevOps](https://www.g2.com/products/gearset-devops/reviews)
  Gearset is the global leader in Salesforce DevOps. It’s a DevOps platform that helps organizations manage, automate, and govern the full Salesforce development lifecycle, from planning and deployment to testing, data management, and compliance. The platform is designed for Salesforce teams that need reliable, scalable DevOps processes across complex org environments. Gearset is used by mid-market and enterprise organizations across regulated and non-regulated industries, including healthcare, financial services, insurance, and technology. Typical users include Salesforce administrators, developers, DevOps engineers, release managers, and platform owners responsible for maintaining deployment quality, security, and operational consistency. The platform supports a wide range of Salesforce use cases, including metadata and CPQ deployments, CI/CD automation, code review workflows, sandbox seeding, test automation, and monitoring. As well as deployment automation, Gearset includes tools for Salesforce data protection and long-term data management, such as automated backups, data restore, and archiving. Observability and Org Intelligence features provide insight into org health, deployment risk, and system changes over time. Gearset also includes governance and compliance capabilities designed for enterprise environments. These features help teams maintain audit readiness and enforce access controls while supporting compliance frameworks such as SOX, ISO, HIPAA, and GDPR. The platform is delivered as a managed service and integrates with Salesforce environments without requiring complex local infrastructure. Key features and capabilities include: - Salesforce metadata, CPQ, and data deployments with CI/CD automation and version control integration - Code review, test automation, and release validation to support quality and consistency - Automated Salesforce backups, restore, and data archiving for data protection and retention - Sandbox seeding, observability, and Org Intelligence to support environment management and visibility - Governance features including audit trails, role-based access controls, and compliance support Gearset is a Salesforce Partner and has supported Salesforce teams globally since 2015. The platform is used by organizations managing multiple orgs (across regions), frequent releases, and complex compliance requirements, helping teams reduce deployment risk, improve operational visibility, and maintain control over Salesforce change management processes.


  **Average Rating:** 4.7/5.0
  **Total Reviews:** 271

**User Satisfaction Scores:**

- **Quality of Support:** 9.5/10 (Category avg: 8.8/10)
- **Has the product been a good partner in doing business?:** 9.5/10 (Category avg: 8.8/10)


**Seller Details:**

- **Seller:** [Gearset](https://www.g2.com/sellers/gearset)
- **Company Website:** https://www.gearset.com
- **Year Founded:** 2015
- **HQ Location:** Cambridge, Cambridgeshire
- **Twitter:** @GearsetHQ (1,190 Twitter followers)
- **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/10478150/ (358 employees on LinkedIn®)

**Reviewer Demographics:**
  - **Who Uses This:** Salesforce Developer, Salesforce Administrator
  - **Top Industries:** Information Technology and Services, Computer Software
  - **Company Size:** 36% Mid-Market, 34% Small-Business


#### Pros & Cons

**Pros:**

- Ease of Use (25 reviews)
- Deployment (21 reviews)
- Easy Deployment (17 reviews)
- Customer Support (16 reviews)
- Deployment Ease (15 reviews)

**Cons:**

- Deployment Issues (6 reviews)
- Complexity (4 reviews)
- Data Management (4 reviews)
- Expensive (4 reviews)
- Missing Features (4 reviews)

### 19. [Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Archive Storage](https://www.g2.com/products/oracle-cloud-infrastructure-archive-storage/reviews)
  Use and manage Archive Storage with the same identity mechanisms and common console, SDK, and APIs as Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Object Storage.


  **Average Rating:** 4.5/5.0
  **Total Reviews:** 6

**User Satisfaction Scores:**

- **Quality of Support:** 9.3/10 (Category avg: 8.8/10)
- **Has the product been a good partner in doing business?:** 10.0/10 (Category avg: 8.8/10)


**Seller Details:**

- **Seller:** [Oracle](https://www.g2.com/sellers/oracle)
- **Year Founded:** 1977
- **HQ Location:** Austin, TX
- **Twitter:** @Oracle (827,868 Twitter followers)
- **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/1028/ (199,301 employees on LinkedIn®)
- **Ownership:** NYSE:ORCL

**Reviewer Demographics:**
  - **Company Size:** 57% Enterprise, 29% Small-Business


#### Pros & Cons

**Pros:**

- Cloud Storage (1 reviews)
- Ease of Use (1 reviews)

**Cons:**

- Difficult Learning (1 reviews)
- Learning Difficulty (1 reviews)

### 20. [Share Archiver](https://www.g2.com/products/share-archiver/reviews)
  Storage volumes and backups have a direct relationship - the more data you hold the longer the backups, Archive over 70% of your rarely accessed data with ease to secondary storage and ensure optimal data security. Easy and secure retrieval and big savings in storage costs, as a direct result of archiving you will shrink your backups without having any impact on data access, or retrieval. ShareArchiver is a flexible on-premise and cloud data archiving solution that comes with a lot of scalability options for growing businesses.


  **Average Rating:** 4.5/5.0
  **Total Reviews:** 4

**User Satisfaction Scores:**

- **Quality of Support:** 8.9/10 (Category avg: 8.8/10)


**Seller Details:**

- **Seller:** [Sharearchiver](https://www.g2.com/sellers/sharearchiver)
- **Year Founded:** 2009
- **HQ Location:** Mississauga, CA
- **Twitter:** @sharearchiver (8 Twitter followers)
- **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/sharearchiver/ (6 employees on LinkedIn®)

**Reviewer Demographics:**
  - **Company Size:** 50% Mid-Market, 50% Small-Business


### 21. [Scaleway](https://www.g2.com/products/scaleway/reviews)
  The cloud of choice. Build, deploy and scale applications on Europe's most complete cloud ecosystem. From Serverless architecture to Elastic Metal and everything in between.


  **Average Rating:** 4.1/5.0
  **Total Reviews:** 20

**User Satisfaction Scores:**

- **Quality of Support:** 6.7/10 (Category avg: 8.8/10)
- **Has the product been a good partner in doing business?:** 7.5/10 (Category avg: 8.8/10)


**Seller Details:**

- **Seller:** [Scaleway](https://www.g2.com/sellers/scaleway)
- **Year Founded:** 1999
- **HQ Location:** Paris, Paris
- **Twitter:** @Scaleway (31,694 Twitter followers)
- **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/scaleway/ (631 employees on LinkedIn®)

**Reviewer Demographics:**
  - **Top Industries:** Information Technology and Services
  - **Company Size:** 85% Small-Business, 10% Enterprise


#### Pros & Cons

**Pros:**

- Affordable (1 reviews)
- Cost Efficiency (1 reviews)
- Custom Dashboards (1 reviews)
- Performance (1 reviews)
- Product Quality (1 reviews)

**Cons:**

- Billing Issues (2 reviews)
- Payment Issues (2 reviews)
- Caching Issues (1 reviews)
- Hidden Costs (1 reviews)
- High Pricing (1 reviews)

### 22. [CrashPlan Platform](https://www.g2.com/products/crashplan-platform/reviews)
  CrashPlan Platform securely, efficiently, and comprehensively backs up files and emails in Microsoft Exchange Online, SharePoint, OneDrive, Gmail, and Google Drive without user action or time-consuming IT intervention. Flexible infrastructure, deployment, management, and restore options allow organizations to back up SaaS data at scale within budget and human resource constraints.


  **Average Rating:** 4.9/5.0
  **Total Reviews:** 248

**User Satisfaction Scores:**

- **Quality of Support:** 9.9/10 (Category avg: 8.8/10)
- **Has the product been a good partner in doing business?:** 9.9/10 (Category avg: 8.8/10)


**Seller Details:**

- **Seller:** [CrashPlan](https://www.g2.com/sellers/crashplan)
- **Company Website:** https://www.crashplan.com/
- **Year Founded:** 2001
- **HQ Location:** Minneapolis, MN
- **Twitter:** @crashplan (24,588 Twitter followers)
- **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/crashplan/ (157 employees on LinkedIn®)

**Reviewer Demographics:**
  - **Who Uses This:** Administrator
  - **Top Industries:** Real Estate, Information Technology and Services
  - **Company Size:** 64% Mid-Market, 35% Enterprise


#### Pros & Cons

**Pros:**

- Backup Frequency (100 reviews)
- Ease of Use (72 reviews)
- Security (61 reviews)
- Customer Support (50 reviews)
- Reporting (37 reviews)

**Cons:**

- Improvement Needed (10 reviews)
- Poor Reporting (8 reviews)
- Restoration Issues (6 reviews)
- Slow Performance (6 reviews)
- Backup Issues (4 reviews)

### 23. [IBM Tape](https://www.g2.com/products/ibm-tape/reviews)
  Tape Storage: Reliable data protection and long-term retention Scalable, durable, secure, and energy efficient. At a compellingly lower cost than other media.


  **Average Rating:** 3.5/5.0
  **Total Reviews:** 2

**User Satisfaction Scores:**

- **Quality of Support:** 8.3/10 (Category avg: 8.8/10)
- **Has the product been a good partner in doing business?:** 8.3/10 (Category avg: 8.8/10)


**Seller Details:**

- **Seller:** [IBM](https://www.g2.com/sellers/ibm)
- **Year Founded:** 1911
- **HQ Location:** Armonk, NY
- **Twitter:** @IBM (709,390 Twitter followers)
- **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/1009/ (324,553 employees on LinkedIn®)
- **Ownership:** SWX:IBM

**Reviewer Demographics:**
  - **Company Size:** 50% Small-Business


### 24. [Quobyte](https://www.g2.com/products/quobyte/reviews)
  From our humble beginnings through today, Quobyte has been empowering customers by providing real software storage so that they can keep up with the ever-increasing amounts of data in today’s data-driven world. We take data storage and make it authentically software-based and unconditionally simple. We enable you to scale performance while managing large amounts of data and streamlining administration. Whether it’s in the cloud, on-prem or a hybrid of the two, Quobyte’s POSIX compatible, distributed parallel file system aids users so they can build a truly flexible software-based storage infrastructure. To find out more about real software storage, visit quobyte.com.


  **Average Rating:** 4.1/5.0
  **Total Reviews:** 5

**User Satisfaction Scores:**

- **Quality of Support:** 10.0/10 (Category avg: 8.8/10)


**Seller Details:**

- **Seller:** [Quobyte](https://www.g2.com/sellers/quobyte)
- **Year Founded:** 2013
- **HQ Location:** Santa Clara, US
- **Twitter:** @Quobyte (408 Twitter followers)
- **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/quobyte/ (25 employees on LinkedIn®)

**Reviewer Demographics:**
  - **Company Size:** 60% Mid-Market, 40% Small-Business


### 25. [Vast Data](https://www.g2.com/products/vast-data/reviews)
  VAST delivers the first AI Operating System, natively unifying and orchestrating storage, database, and compute to unleash the true power of agentic computing and data-intensive applications.​


  **Average Rating:** 4.7/5.0
  **Total Reviews:** 6

**User Satisfaction Scores:**

- **Quality of Support:** 9.6/10 (Category avg: 8.8/10)
- **Has the product been a good partner in doing business?:** 6.7/10 (Category avg: 8.8/10)


**Seller Details:**

- **Seller:** [Vast Data](https://www.g2.com/sellers/vast-data)
- **Year Founded:** 2016
- **HQ Location:** United States
- **Twitter:** @VAST_Data (5,761 Twitter followers)
- **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/vast-data (977 employees on LinkedIn®)

**Reviewer Demographics:**
  - **Company Size:** 33% Enterprise, 33% Mid-Market


#### Pros & Cons

**Pros:**

- Backup (1 reviews)
- Cost-Effective (1 reviews)
- Cost Efficiency (1 reviews)
- Setup Ease (1 reviews)
- Storage Solutions (1 reviews)

**Cons:**

- Complex Setup (1 reviews)



## Parent Category

[Storage Management Software](https://www.g2.com/categories/storage-management)



## Related Categories

- [Disaster Recovery as a Service (DRaaS) Solutions](https://www.g2.com/categories/disaster-recovery-as-a-service-draas)
- [Object Storage Solutions](https://www.g2.com/categories/object-storage-solutions)
- [Online Backup Software](https://www.g2.com/categories/online-backup)



---

## Buyer Guide

### What You Should Know About Archive Storage Solutions

Archive storage solutions act as storage systems for inactive data that businesses must retain but may only access occasionally. [Data archiving](https://learn.g2.com/data-archiving) or data tiering helps companies store and secure older information for regulatory compliance, information governance, business intelligence, lawsuit management, or future references. 

Archive file storage solutions, also known as information archiving solutions, are ideal for structured and unstructured data, such as financial reports, emails, web content, log data, historical data, retired application data, database records, and spreadsheets.

Primary storage demands high input/output operations per second (IOPS) levels for read/write activities. Archive storage systems, however, rely on low-performance, high-capacity storage mediums. These low-cost storage tiers reduce primary storage consumption costs, which is otherwise higher during long-term data retention. The result is cost-effective information storage with efficient data retrieval and transfer.

Some archive systems use write once, read many (WORM) functionality to offer read-only functionality and prevent data modification, while others also provide writing functionality.

### What are the common features of archive storage solutions?

The following are some core features of archive storage solutions that users find helpful:

**Searchability:** Search capability is a must-have feature for data archiving software that lets users search data by type (email, pdf, spreadsheet, etc.), author, source (server, device, application, etc.), creation date, and data structure (social security numbers, bank routing numbers, etc). Archiving solutions also add metadata to each data file to help users find inactive data. 

[Data deduplication](https://www.g2.com/articles/reducing-high-data-storage-costs-with-data-deduplication) **:** Archive software also reduce storage overhead by removing redundant data copies from disk, flash, or tape storage. The result is reduced storage capacity requirements, which translate into storage cost savings. Archiving solutions with data deduplication capabilities enable users to keep a baseline copy of changed and unchanged data and experience less redundancy.

**Data lifecycle management:** Many companies create archiving strategies that let them automatically move less frequently accessed data from primary storage to archive storage. This automation capability saves companies time that would otherwise be spent on creating, changing, and auditing archives throughout the data lifecycle.  

**Access control:** Organizations with large teams often need different permission levels to allow and restrict certain users from accessing archive data. Most archiving systems feature pre-set user roles to help these companies create role-specific access permissions. These solutions feature access logs for ease of user activity monitoring as well.

**Flexibility:** Archiving platforms also must allow businesses to write and retrieve different types of data, such as application logs, customer service requests, and social media posts, using multiple data platforms.

### What types of archive storage solutions exist?

Archive data storage solutions use different mediums, including tapes, hard drives, cloud, disks, and flash storage. Traditionally, archival systems have been file-based but now use object storage.

#### On-premises archive storage

Companies deploy these solutions in their data centers to have complete control over data, hardware, and software. On-premises archive storage tools use a mix of [object storage solutions](https://www.g2.com/categories/object-storage-solutions), tape storage, and disk storage to archive large volumes of data in a scalable and cost-effective manner. 

Financial service providers, government agencies, and healthcare companies use this type of storage to retain sensitive data while meeting audit-related compliance requirements. 

#### Cloud archive storage

Cloud archive storage platforms enable large enterprises with global offices to archive and access data securely from different sources and locations. They eliminate the need for buying, or maintaining IT systems for storage, thus reducing long-term storage costs. These solutions also feature built-in encryption and application integration capabilities. 

Medical institutes, media companies, educational institutions, and government agencies use cloud solutions to archive patient records, video footage, student documents, and public records. However, businesses may need specialized software for data transfer and must be careful about vendor lock-in. 

Archive storage can be divided into the following media types depending on the physical device used for storage. 

#### Other archiving storage solutions

Below are other archiving solutions that companies use in a limited capacity but were quite popular.

##### Optical media storage

Optical disks like DVDs and CDs use the WORM technology to store data in a physically immutable manner. They rely on laser beams to write and read the data to and from spinning disks. Besides having a longer shelf life, this media is also portable because of its compact size. 

Organizations using optical media often struggle with low storage capacity and slower read/write speeds.

##### Tape archive storage

Tape storage systems use magnetic tapes to record and store data. Businesses use them because of their low cost, reliability, and ability to protect data from malware by working offline. Tapes also make error detection and correction easier with read-after-write verification functionality. 

The main challenge is that tapes use sequential access, slowing data searching and retrieval. Plus, tapes deteriorate with use and due to environmental conditions. 

##### Disk drive

Disk drives are electro-mechanical devices that use magnetism for data storage and retrieval. They feature data deduplication and remote replication capabilities. Users can also integrate them with indexing engines to search archived items faster. 

Despite offering an excellent storage-to-cost ratio, disk drives can be expensive to upgrade and maintain. Moreover, they experience a high failure rate without cooling and air filtering.

##### Removable disk

Removable disk storage features random access capabilities that ensure faster media reading and writing. Small and medium-sized companies primarily use removable disks like external hard drives, universal serial bus (USB) drives, and flash drives because of their portability and ease of usage. However, removable disks offer a poor cost-to-storage ratio and don't suit enterprises with large volumes of data.

### What are the benefits of archive storage solutions?

The benefits of using an archiving solution include:

**Reduced storage cost:** Organizations with a rapidly growing amount of data spend a fortune on data storage. The cost is even higher as they store primary data in native formats. An effective archiving solution helps them compress and store primary data as cold data, allowing maximum cost savings. 

For example, a 2:1 compression ratio reduces hot data storage costs by 50%. Companies can also unlock additional savings by opting for cloud-based solutions.

**Meeting regulatory compliance:** Some companies may have to store data in archives for extended periods, depending on regulatory requirements. For example, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires employers to retain payroll records, sales/purchase documents, and collective bargaining agreements for up to three years. Another example is the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), which requires fee-for-service healthcare providers to retain medical records for up to six years from the creation date. 

Data archiving platforms ease data retention and protection with built-in policies. This ease of meeting long-term archival mandates helps organizations prevent premature data destruction. 

**Prevention of data loss:** Data archiving moves in-circulation data to archives, limiting users' ability to modify it. Moreover, archive storage solutions feature robust security measures to protect sensitive information from malware infection, cyberattacks, unauthorized access, and breaches. 

**Easy audit tracking:** Data archiving solutions also feature audit trail tracking, offering organizations complete visibility over who is accessing and modifying what and when. 

**High durability:** Archive storage systems ensure [data integrity](https://www.g2.com/articles/data-integrity) during long-term preservation with redundancy and data replication features that protect companies from data loss.

**Business agility:** Archiving solutions make it easier for businesses to retrieve, extract, and push data to production while deploying new business models. 

### Who uses archive storage solutions?

Archive storage solutions are used by the following professionals:

- **IT administrators:** IT admins are responsible for maintaining networks, security systems, and data storage infrastructure. They use data archiving solutions to optimize the process of storing infrequently accessed data throughout its lifecycle. Besides reducing storage costs, these platforms also enable them to provision data and ensure data accessibility at all times. 
- **Compliance managers:** Archiving platforms enable compliance professionals to adhere to national and international laws, industry-specific regulations, and data retention requirements. The result is efficient data management and timely response to legal requests. 
- **Data analysts:** Data professionals use archiving solutions in tandem with [statistical analysis software](https://www.g2.com/categories/statistical-analysis) to analyze inactive data and discover business insights or historical trends.

Apart from these roles, the following teams use storage archiving systems for different purposes.

- **IT teams** responsible for managing organizational data infrastructure rely on archiving solutions for securely storing inactive data and ensuring it's accessible. 
- **Compliance and legal teams** ensure that their organizations adhere to industry-specific legal regulations. Archive storage helps them meet these data preservation requirements for compliance audits, legal investigations, and data retention.
- **Finance teams** are tasked with improving efficiency by analyzing financial records. They use archiving solutions to maintain audit trails and inspect historical financial data. **Accounting teams** manage historical financial statements and analyze trends using archiving solutions.
- **Backup and recovery teams** combine archiving and [disaster recovery solutions](https://www.g2.com/categories/disaster-recovery) for storing data backups and protecting critical data for an extended period. 
- **Data analysis and research teams** rely on archived data for research projects, data mining, trend analysis, and creating historical benchmarks.
- **Security and data protection teams** rely on data archiving platforms and [data security software](https://www.g2.com/categories/data-security) to protect preserved data from unauthorized access and breaches. 
- **Healthcare providers and medical records teams** use archive storage platforms to store past patient records and infrequently accessed health data in compliance with state and federal laws. For example, the Health Information Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) requires health entities to store patient records for adults for six years and deceased patients for two years. Similarly, they must retain records of newborns until they reach the majority age.
- **Digital asset management teams** that manage digital media at entertainment companies use archiving solutions for long-term retention of media assets like video, audio, and other content. They also use cloud storage solutions to enable users to stream audio or video across distributed regions.

### Archive storage software pricing

The cost of archiving storage solutions depends on factors like:

- Amount and type of data 
- Desired data retrieval time
- Security and compliance requirements

Data archiving solutions use one of the three cost models below.

**Linear model:** Vendors following this pricing model charge buyers on a per gigabyte (GB) basis for the data they store. The data storage cost increases linearly in this model, meaning that the cost per GB stays the same regardless of the data a company stores. Linear models are ideal for companies that don’t want the price to grow exponentially as the volume of data increases. 

**Asymmetric model:** The cost of storing and retrieving data differs in this model. Cloud-based archive storage solutions use the asymmetric model to charge buyers separately for data storage and retrieval. Companies may opt for this model when they need to archive a high volume of data but retrieve a different amount. 

**Symmetric model:** The cost of storing and retrieving data is the same in this model. On-premises archive storage solution providers use this pricing model to offer a fixed data storage and archival cost. This model suits companies that archive and retrieve data frequently.

#### Return on investment (ROI) for archive storage solutions 

The ROI of archive storage systems depends on the following factors:

- Vendor discounts
- Promotions
- Pricing structure
- Data growth
- Data retrieval patterns
- Long-term storage plan

Organizations must conduct a thorough cost analysis while budgeting for archive storage solutions. It’s highly recommended that buyers consult with vendors and solution consultants to make informed decisions. 

### What are the alternatives to archive storage solutions?

Below are the archive storage software alternatives that companies typically use.

- [Backup solutions](https://www.g2.com/categories/backup) **:** Backup platforms enable companies to copy and store business data from sources such as databases, servers, laptops, and desktops. These solutions provide faster data access than archive file storage solutions and are ideal for storing data for a shorter period. Common types of backup solutions are [online backup software](https://www.g2.com/categories/online-backup), [PC backup software](https://www.g2.com/categories/pc-backup), [SaaS backup software](https://www.g2.com/categories/saas-backup), and [server backup software](https://www.g2.com/categories/server-backup).
- [Object storage solutions](https://www.g2.com/categories/object-storage-solutions) **:** Some organizations may also use object storage systems instead of traditional archive storage software for long-term data retention. 
- [Structured data archiving and application retirement software](https://www.g2.com/categories/structured-data-archiving-and-application-retirement) **:** These solutions enable companies to move structured data between databases or warehouses while optimizing storage and maintaining data integrity. 
- [Enterprise information archiving software](https://www.g2.com/categories/enterprise-information-archiving) **:** Organizations rely on these solutions for archiving structured or unstructured data using local, on-premises, or hybrid server models.
- **Data archiving software:** Some organizations use these tools to manage the process of moving data into archive storage systems.

### Archive storage solutions vs. backup software

Archive storage systems are different from [backup software](https://www.g2.com/categories/backup). 

Data backup involves copying active operational data, which businesses may access or modify regularly. Companies update backup files frequently to have a reliable data restoration source for data protection and disaster recovery. It's also worth noting that backup and original data often stay in the exact location. 

On the other hand, archived data is for retention purposes and may not be updated frequently. 

### Software related to archiving storage solutions

Below are some tools teams can use alongside archiving systems. 

- [Document management software](https://www.g2.com/categories/document-management) **:** Document management systems help organizations with electronic document storage, sharing, and management from a single location. Some companies may use these tools in tandem with archiving solutions to save space that rarely accessed documents will otherwise consume.
- [Content management system (CMS) tools](https://www.g2.com/categories/cms-tools) **:** CMS systems enable digital media companies to store and manage digital content. These organizations may use archive storage solutions to store historical content.
- [Cloud file storage software](https://www.g2.com/categories/cloud-file-storage) **:** Organizations use cloud file storage systems to store unstructured data at the file level. They can use data archiving solutions to store cloud-based files in an organized manner.
- [Hybrid cloud storage solutions](https://www.g2.com/categories/hybrid-cloud-storage-solutions) **:** Organizations often use hybrid cloud storage to connect on-premises or private cloud with public cloud securely. They rely on archiving solutions to store inactive files that would otherwise take too much space on hybrid clouds.

### Challenges with archive storage solutions

Some common challenges with archive storage solutions are:

**Future data growth:** Archive data growth significantly impacts organizations that produce large volumes of operational data. They end up paying for additional storage capacity while storing unused data for longer periods. The growing volume of archive data also makes it difficult for them to access and retrieve data easily. 

The best way to tackle this challenge is to create an archive data management plan for easy data, access, retrieval, and deletion. Organizations can also deploy scalable, cloud-based archiving storage solutions to save administrative time while managing archive data workloads. 

**Data security and compliance:** Failing to comply with regulations while keeping data secure is another critical challenge in data archiving.

For example, businesses must determine the laws and regulations for their industry and country of operation. Next, they should set up data security and access control measures besides meeting GDPR and other compliance regulations. 

Archiving solutions with robust encryption, audit trail, and access control features ease how companies keep archived data secure and stay compliant. 

**Data preservation:** Most archived data undergo an extended retention period, which causes media format obsolescence and data decay. 

Moreover, archive systems go through technology upgrades during this time. That's why enterprises must implement data migration and refresh strategies, periodically validating data integrity.

**Data storage and retrieval cost:** Businesses using archive storage solutions also struggle with storing and retrieving data for extended periods. Companies can significantly reduce storage costs by implementing cost-effective storage tiers, data deduplication techniques, and data lifecycle management policies. Business owners should also consider understanding a solution's cost structure and factoring retrieval costs in budget planning. 

**Data accessibility and format compatibility:** Perhaps the biggest post-implementation challenge is to ensure data remains accessible and compatible with changing technologies. Companies typically solve this problem by periodically reviewing and refreshing data formats and migrating data when necessary.

### Which companies should buy archive storage solutions?

Companies of all sizes use archive storage solutions for storing inactive data. Below are some examples of companies that should consider buying archiving solutions.

- **Financial institutions:** Financial companies like brokerage firms, investment dealers, insurance providers, and banks buy archiving solutions to retain customer records and financial transactions longer.
- **Healthcare organizations:** Healthcare companies, including hospitals, medical homes, pay-as-you-go clinics, and managed care organizations, use archiving platforms for retaining patient records and medical images securely. 
- **Legal firms:** All legal practices rely on archive storage solutions to store court records, contracts, and client files.
- **Government agencies:** Data archiving systems also help federal agencies store and protect sensitive information like census data, law enforcement records, and tax documents.
- **Educational companies:** Education industry players use archiving platforms for storing old student records, transcripts, and academic documents in an organized manner. 
- **Retail and manufacturing companies:** Retail companies and manufacturers depend on archiving solutions to store purchase records, inventory documents, product design files, and production records cost-effectively.
- **Media companies:** Media and entertainment organizations use archiving platforms to store and retrieve audio and video files, production documents, and other vital data.

### How to choose archive storage solutions

Buyers must evaluate their archived data storage, access, and retrieval requirements before discussing them with vendors. The following explains the step-by-step process that buyers can use to find suitable archiving storage tools. 

#### Identify business needs and priorities

Evaluating business needs is the first step in identifying long-term data archiving requirements. Companies start with [business impact analysis](https://www.g2.com/articles/business-impact-analysis) to understand resources they want to archive. At this stage, they also look at factors like asset types, data formats, storage duration, access frequency, and retrieval requirements. This information helps organizations in outlining data archiving service requirements. Moreover, they can use this information to create a standardized data archiving and retrieval policy that meets audit and compliance requirements. 

#### Choose the necessary technology and features

This stage requires buyers to create a long list of suitable products that meet their archive data storage requirements. These solutions must have the necessary functionalities, such as:

- Inactive information storage
- Cold data retrieval upon request
- Access control over sensitive data
- Ability to handle growing data volumes
- Indexing and searching for retrieving metadata
- Tiered storage options for cost-effectiveness
- Long-term data integrity and validation options
- Compliance support, along with compliance task automation
- Data protection against unauthorized access and other vulnerabilities

Now, buyers narrow down the long list based on company-specific requirements and must-have functionalities. For example, storage needs will differ for two companies, one storing operational data and another large databases. That's why it's best to consider organizational data complexity and expected data growth before choosing a vendor.

When looking for segment-specific archival solutions, buyers can evaluate [small business archiving solutions](https://www.g2.com/categories/archive-storage-solutions/small-business), [archive storage solutions for medium-sized businesses](https://www.g2.com/categories/archive-storage-solutions/mid-market), and [enterprise archiving platforms](https://www.g2.com/categories/archive-storage-solutions/enterprise) on G2.

#### Review vendor vision, roadmap, viability, and support

This stage involves vetting selected vendors and conducting demos to evaluate whether or not a product meets their requirements efficiently. Ideally, a buyer should share detailed requirements in advance so a vendor knows what features to showcase during the demo. 

Below are some questions buyers should ask vendors during the demo.

- **Technologies and security protocols:** What procedures does the vendor follow to archive, access, and retrieve data? What security measures do they follow to protect data from unauthorized access? Does the platform support archive containers a company plans to use? 
- **Media type, redundancy, and accessibility:** Will the data be stored on a cloud, tape, or disk? What are the accessibility requirements and redundancy options? Does the platform have a native file system format? 
- **Data abstraction:** Can the company abstract data from hardware in case of platform obsolescence or vendor lock-in?
- **Administrative requirements:** Does the platform support automation? What's the labor requirement in case there's no automation? 

#### Evaluate the deployment and purchasing model

Now, buyers bring IT planners and key decision makers into the evaluation discussion to understand whether a platform plugs into the existing workflow or needs to be custom-built for their requirements. The final evaluation should also consider end users’ feedback on workflow integration, usability, and departmental requirements. 

Buyers must also fully understand all costs, including data retrieval costs, recurring fees, and any other charges, before inking deals. They can ask the following questions:

- What will be the estimated archiving service cost for a contract period? 
- What are the tiered storage options available? 
- Does the frequency of data retrieval or archiving influence the total cost of ownership (TCO)? 
- What is the data migration cost?

#### Put it all together

A buyer makes a final decision after getting buy-in from everyone on the selection committee, including end users. This buy-in is essential for faster implementation and solution adoption. 

### Implementation of archive storage solutions

Companies usually implement archive storage solutions after carefully reviewing organizational requirements and archiving needs. The following section outlines the steps businesses must consider during the implementation.

#### How is archive storage solution implemented?

Creating a data archiving strategy is crucial for efficient implementation of archiving solutions. Buyers start by identifying archiving needs and creating a data inventory. The next step is to create a retention schedule based on the data category. 

Finally, they use the data archiving product to store inactive data, maintain data integrity, and keep data secure. Further processes may vary depending on an organization's requirements and chosen archiving solution. 

Businesses must create a team of stakeholders responsible for the software implementation. This team typically comprises chief information officer (CIO), chief information security officer (CISO), compliance team, storage admins, and records management professionals. 

#### Who is responsible for archive storage solutions implementation?

IT, data management, compliance, and business teams are jointly responsible for ensuring successful archive storage solution implementation. They also must ensure that data is securely archived, compliant with regulations, and accessible when needed. 

#### What does the implementation process look like for archive storage solutions?

The implementation process starts with a detailed plan identifying a company's data archiving, retention, and retrieval needs. This plan is the foundation of how the solutions implementation team evaluates different archiving products based on capacity, performance, storage media, budget, and other features. 

The actual implementation starts with software or hardware installation, system configuration, and data migration to a company's new solution. Next, the implementation team tests the platform for data archival and retrieval. The post-testing phase involves training end users on archiving and retrieving data.

#### When should you implement archive storage solutions?

Businesses of all sizes usually implement archiving solutions as they experience a need to retain historical data or backups for an extended period. Below are other situations when companies may consider opting for these platforms:

- Running out of primary storage space
- Increased data retention needs
- Infrequently accessed data consuming primary data storage space
- Privacy regulation compliance-related requirements

### Archive storage solutions trends

- **Active archiving emerging as a regular storage alternative:** The increasing cost of cloud storage and affiliated data protection and egress fees are pushing enterprises to search for traditional storage alternatives like active archiving solutions. These systems enable enterprises to store data in one or multiple clouds and automatically ship data to cold storage tape archives after a set period.
- **AI/MLOps for storage system management automation:** With data growing rapidly, it's increasingly essential for organizations to find efficient ways to manage data storage. That's why modern enterprises are focusing on AI/MLOps integration to automate storage management processes and reduce administrators' burdens. MLOps-enabled storage platforms train on real-time granular systems logs and event data for automating manual tasks like capacity utilization and component failure management.