In 2025, the International Data Corporation (IDC) projects that unstructured data will account for 80% of all data globally. Therefore, managing data load has become a big part of business-critical issues as organizations welcome petabytes of data daily.

With data volumes skyrocketing, cyber dangers growing, and regulatory pressure mounting, your backup storage option may influence how quickly (or not) you recover after a disaster. However, with so many options—file systems, object storage, and even legacy tape—how do you choose the correct one? The answer is determined by your specific backup use case rather than the technology itself.

In this article, we will review the most common backup requirements and help you determine which storage option is ideal for each. Whether you’re managing cloud-native apps or protecting archive documents, you’ll have a clear sense of what belongs where and why.

Key Backup Requirements That Shape Storage Choices

Before diving into the storage types themselves, let’s look at the real-world needs that should guide your decision:

Storing Large Volumes of Unstructured Data: This includes images, videos, IoT sensor data, logs, and social content. These data are not just large—they’re often static, accessed infrequently, and rapidly growing. You’ll want a storage option that scales effortlessly and doesn’t blow your budget.

Retaining Archived Data for Years: Sometimes, compliance or industry standards require long-term data retention. Consider financial records, legal files, or patient information. These data are rarely accessed but must be preserved securely and affordably.

Recovering from Disasters with Speed:When systems fail or ransomware strikes, time is everything. You’ll need backup storage that supports rapid restore operations and low-latency access, preferably on-site or within fast-reach infrastructure.

Operating in Hybrid and Cloud-Heavy Environments: Remote teams, distributed workloads, and cloud-native apps need accessible, API-driven, and cloud-compatible backup solutions. Scalability and flexibility matter more than physical media here.

With these use cases in mind, let’s now explore the three major backup storage types: file system, object storage, and tape.

File System: How It Works

Data in file system storage is arranged hierarchically using folders and directories. Most people use this model—files are kept on local drives or network-attached storage (NAS) devices; they have paths, names, and extensions.

Why Use a File System for Backup?

File systems are ideal for routinely accessed user-generated material or backed-up structured data. They permit rapid file- or folder-level restores and offer basic backup tools.

Best Use Cases:

• Endpoint backups (laptops, desktops)
• Departmental shares
• File servers
• Daily or weekly incremental backups
• Situations requiring fast and granular recovery

Pros:

• Easy to set up and manage
• Fast access and recovery for smaller datasets
• Familiar structure for users and admins
• Low barrier to entry

Limitations:

• Poor scalability for massive data volumes
• Not optimized for unstructured or infrequently accessed data
• Vulnerable to ransomware if not isolated or air-gapped

File systems are the go-to for daily backup requirements in smaller to mid-sized environments or as part of a multi-tiered backup plan where performance and simplicity of access are paramount.

Object Storage: How It Works

Treated as separate “objects,” object storage bundles metadata and a unique ID for each data. Unlike file systems, it is not dependent on folders or directories. Instead, items are accessed via RESTful APIs from a flat address space.

Why Use Object Storage for Backup?

Objective storage is meant for unstructured data and cloud-scale operations. It’s ideal for backup instances when remote access, long-term retention, and adaptability are critical.

Best Use Cases:

• Backing up cloud-native applications
• Storing logs, images, and sensor data
• Long-term archiving of static files
• Disaster recovery across multiple geographic regions
• Environments using automation or containerization (e.g., Kubernetes)

Pros:

• Virtually unlimited scalability
• Excellent for unstructured and infrequently accessed data
• Easy integration with cloud-based workloads
• Supports metadata-rich backups (great for indexing and search)
• Enables geo-replication and distributed redundancy

Limitations:

• Higher latency for small file access
• Requires API knowledge or management platform
• Not optimal for structured, frequently accessed transactional data

Object storage is an excellent, future-proof choice whether you are managing terabytes or petabytes of backup data—especially if it is headed for cloud or long-term storage.

Tape Backup: How It Works

Tape backup entails writing data to magnetic tape cartridges, typically using dedicated hardware like tape drives or libraries. Once written, these tapes offer physical separation from active systems by being kept offline or delivered elsewhere.

Why Use Tape for Backup?

Tape’s low cost-per-gigabyte, durability, and immutability make it useful for archive and disaster recovery even now. It’s extremely important in air-gapped settings, where ransomware danger is a concern.

Best Use Cases:

• Archiving large volumes of data for 5+ years
• Meeting compliance retention requirements
• Adding an offline layer to your disaster recovery plan
• Cold storage for infrequently accessed backups

Pros:

• High durability and longevity (often 30+ years)
• Highly cost-effective for long-term storage
• Immune to online threats (air-gapped)
• Low energy consumption compared to disk-based storage

Limitations:

• Slower restore times
• Requires physical management and logistics
• Not suitable for fast access or frequent backups
• Limited scalability without manual intervention

Tape is an excellent “last line of defense” and remains a wise choice for deep archiving, especially when combined with faster-access solutions like disk or object storage.

File System vs. Object Storage vs. Tapes: Match Your Storage to Business Strategy

Where to store backups is a question without a one-size-fits-all solution. The correct decision will depend on your company’s data types, access needs, compliance criteria, and financial situation. Many times, a hybrid strategy provides the best of both worlds. Here’s a quick bullet-point guide to help you decide:

Choose File System backup if:

• You need fast and simple access to files.
• You’re backing up structured, active data.
• Your recovery time objective (RTO) is tight.

Choose Object Storage if:

• You handle unstructured or cloud-native data.
• You require scalability and metadata-rich management.
• You need to store backups across regions or integrate with cloud tools

Choose Tape if:

• You need long-term, low-cost archival storage.
• You want offline, ransomware-resistant backups.
• You’re working under strict retention or compliance policies.

In the end, strategic backup storage is about creating resilience rather than only averting disasters. Understanding your backup goals and matching them to the strengths of every storage type helps ensure your data is ready rather than merely secure when the worst strikes.

As businesses increase their digital infrastructure, one thing becomes clear: Traditional cloud solutions frequently introduce as many issues as they solve. From unpredictability in billing and egress fees to vendor lock-in and performance inconsistencies, the promise of flexibility can fall short. That’s where Zadara zCompute steps in.

This Compute-as-a-Service (CaaS) platform is an enterprise-grade cloud solution that eliminates CapEx and streamlines infrastructure management. It provides AWS-compatible services in co-located centers, private data centers, and edge environments. Without negative consequences, it helps companies use the same tools and APIs as in public cloud ecosystems to install virtual machines (VMs), scale on demand, and control workloads.

Let’s examine zCompute’s features, what distinguishes it, and why more managed service providers (MSPs) and business teams choose Zadara over traditional cloud vendors.

How zCompute Works

Fundamentally, Zadara zCompute provides fully managed, consumption-based, deployable elastic compute infrastructure available anywhere: on-site, in edge sites, or via Zadara’s own public cloud regions.

Organizations can operate apps and virtual machines on zCompute using a 100% OpEx pricing model instead of creating or depending just on public cloud providers. This implies no long-term contracts, hardware buying, or hidden costs.

What makes zCompute particularly compelling is its AWS compatibility. Developers and IT teams may quickly access Zadara’s zStorage platform for block, file, and object storage using known APIs such as EC2, Terraform, or other Infrastructure-as-Code tools, then coordinate deployments using zCompute.

Additionally, zCompute’s infrastructure supports:

• Web-based GUI and REST API for provisioning and management
• Virtual machine images, both predefined and fully customizable
• Application load balancers for routing and traffic optimization
• Snapshot-based VM backups for reliable disaster recovery

These capabilities make zCompute cloud-native in function—yet free from the limitations of centralized hyperscaler clouds.

Top Features of zCompute That Enterprises Love

Zadara zCompute is designed to solve the real operational problems that enterprise IT teams face daily. Here’s a breakdown of its most valuable features:

1. Easy Self-Service Provision: zCompute lets IT teams spin up infrastructure in minutes. The web-based dashboard and REST API offer easy controls for distributing, resizing, and managing compute resources without involving complex backend configurations.

2. Customizable Virtual Machines: Ideal for MSPs serving various client needs or businesses supporting several departments, users can select from preconfigured VM images or create their own bespoke templates tailored to specific workloads.

3. Intelligent Auto-Scaling: Using autoscale groups, zCompute automatically adjusts compute capacity based on demand. Resources scale up or down in real time to ensure performance and cost efficiency, whether it’s a seasonal spike or rapid growth.

4. Built-in Load Balancing: zCompute integrates application load balancers to route traffic across VMs. Workloads are shifted dynamically away from underperforming nodes, often in under half a second, ensuring high availability and low latency.

5. Seamless VM Backups with Snapshots: Native VM snapshot features let companies back up entire systems or individual machines, facilitating rapid restore operations should a problem or misconfiguration occur.

6. No Egress or Hidden Usage Fees: Unlike traditional cloud providers that charge high fees for data movement or load balancing, zCompute includes free ingress and egress, DNS, and internal networking—making billing simple and predictable.

7. Full AWS API Compatibility: For teams already using AWS, transitioning to or integrating with zCompute is seamless. The platform supports Terraform, CLI, SDKs, and APIs that mirror public cloud workflows, reducing training time and avoiding vendor lock-in.

Why zCompute Beats Traditional Cloud Infrastructure

ZCompute was created for you should you have ever been burned by a public cloud bill or overwhelmed by complexity during migration.

This is how it stands against conventional hyperscalers as Google Cloud, AWS, and Azure:

• Transparent Pricing: Zadara’s pay-as-you-go model is simple and fair. There are no hidden bandwidth charges, load balancer markups, API calls, or surprise scaling costs.
• 100% OpEx Model: By eliminating upfront infrastructure costs and moving everything to a fully operational expense model, zCompute aligns perfectly with modern CFO priorities. It’s desirable to businesses avoiding CapEx-heavy investments in uncertain economic times.
• Deployment Anywhere: Public, Private, or Edge: Whether migrating from AWS or expanding to remote data centers, zCompute follows you. Deploy it:
  – In your private facility (colocation or on-prem)
  – In Zadara public cloud zones
  – At the network edge near IoT devices or remote operations
  This flexibility makes zCompute a proper hybrid cloud solution—something most hyperscalers can’t offer without complex third-party tools.

• Built for Resilience: zCompute uses active resource rebalancing to redistribute load across compute nodes, ensuring consistent performance. In case of hardware failure or performance degradation, workloads are automatically relocated—without disruption.

Zadara zCompute Use Cases: From Edge to Enterprise

From mid-size businesses to global service providers, zCompute supports a variety of use cases:

• Managed Service Providers (MSPs): MSPs can leverage zCompute to offer white-labeled cloud computing from their own data centers. It provides an AWS-compatible platform they can brand and sell—without building and managing hardware.
• Enterprises in Regulated Industries: Finance, healthcare, and government organizations often require data sovereignty, low latency, and on-premise control. zCompute provides public cloud features without the loss of control.
• DevOps Teams: With Terraform, CLI, and IaC integration, zCompute fits neatly into modern DevOps pipelines. Its AWS-like APIs mean developers don’t need to relearn tools or workflows.
• Edge Deployments for Real-Time Workloads: In logistics, manufacturing, or smart cities, zCompute allows compute power to be deployed closer to the action, reducing latency and dependence on central cloud zones.

Storware and Zadara Technology Partnership

Storware and Zadara have forged a technology partnership to enhance data protection solutions, particularly for cloud computing services. This collaboration, highlighted by the integration of Zadara zCompute support in Storware Backup and Recovery version 7.2, aims to provide organizations with robust and scalable data protection across private, hybrid, multi-cloud, and edge environments. The partnership leverages Storware’s backup and recovery expertise with Zadara’s elastic compute and storage capabilities, offering users enhanced security, performance, and cost-effective, transparent pricing models. This alliance is designed to empower businesses with greater control over their data protection strategies and ensure business continuity in a rapidly evolving digital landscape. Learn more.

Conclusion: Should You Consider zCompute for Your Next Cloud Migration?

Zadara zCompute presents a convincing alternative in a cloud environment increasingly beset by cost overruns, data sprawl, and rigid vendor ecosystems. It aggregates the capability of AWS-style compute, edge, on-site deployment flexibility, and consumption-based pricing clarity into one scalable platform.

If you’re an IT leader, cloud architect, or service provider looking to:

• Eliminate hidden cloud costs
• Maintain control over infrastructure
• Enable hybrid or edge deployment
• Use familiar AWS-compatible tools

Then zCompute is worth serious consideration. It gives you the cloud you wanted without the surprises you didn’t sign up for.

The modern business scene has to manage multi-tier apps, which could provide challenges for companies. These apps run on several virtual machines (VMs) with security, resource needs, and specific requirements. This complexity can create a tangled mess if managed VM-by-VM. That’s where understanding and applying VMware vApp best practices becomes crucial.

VMware vApp provides a powerful, underutilized solution in vSphere environments. It enables the streamlined management of interdependent VMs as a single logical unit. In this guide, we’ll cover everything from application tiering and vApp operations to real-world use cases and the best practices for maximizing efficiency, scalability, and control.

Understanding Application Tiering in Virtualized Environments

Incorporating VMware vApps requires one to understand the problem they solve. Traditional applications operate on monolithic servers. Today, modern apps are built using application tiering, splitting functionality into multiple layers, including:

• Web Tier: Handles user requests
• Application Tier: Processes logic
• Database Tier: Stores data

While this architecture offers better scalability and security, it introduces complexity. Each tier often resides on separate VMs that must be managed in sync. For example, your database VM must start before the application VM, or the app won’t launch correctly. This interdependency is precisely what VMware vApp is designed to manage.

What is a VMware vApp?

In vSphere, a VMware vApp is a logical container for grouping several virtual machines under single entity management. See it as a “smart folder” for VMs that keeps them together and allows:

• Unified power operations (start, stop, suspend)
• Configurable startup/shutdown sequencing
• Centralized resource allocation
• OVF packaging for easy deployment

Unlike basic VM groups, a vApp provides rich operational and configuration features, helping you manage complex workloads more intelligently.

When to Use a VMware vApp: Real-World Use Cases

VMware vApp best practices begin with understanding when it’s most beneficial. Common scenarios include:

• Managing multi-tier applications: vApps simplify dependencies and lifecycle operations
• Security segmentation: Place internet-facing components in separate child vApps
• Environment replication: Export entire applications as OVF templates for staging or disaster recovery
• Dev/Test cloning: Quickly replicate environments using vApp clone features

These use cases are especially valuable in environments with frequent testing, staged rollouts, or tight security requirements.

VMware vApp Operations Explained

Creating a vApp: Navigate to a DRS-enabled cluster and right-click > New vApp to build a vApp in vSphere. During setup, you can define:

• CPU/memory reservations
• Startup order and delays
• Resource pools (optional but recommended)

Power and Lifecycle Management: VMware vApps allow one-click power operations for all included VMs. You can:

• Power On/Off the full app stack
• Suspend/Resume child VMs
• Set startup sequencing, ensuring VMs boot in the proper order (e.g., DB → App → Web)

Cloning and Exporting: Cloning a vApp duplicates all included VMs, configurations, and dependencies. Exporting to OVF lets you transport the whole application environment between environments or sites.

Nested vApps: Advanced users can create nested child vApps to group subsets of VMs (e.g., web tier in one vApp, DB tier in another). This technique supports modular deployments and enhanced control.

Top VMware vApp Best Practices

To maximize performance, scalability, and reliability, consider these battle-tested best practices when working with VMware vApps:

Use vApps for Multi-Tier and Dependent Applications: Avoid the temptation to use vApps for loosely coupled VMs. They shine brightest when used to group tightly integrated systems that must start, stop, or scale together.

Leverage Scalable Shares in vSphere 7+: With scalable shares, vSphere automatically adjusts CPU and memory allocation among VMs based on workload and pool priorities. This technique prevents the classic resource contention issues found in legacy resource pools.

Configure Startup Order Thoughtfully: Group VMs by dependency, not just role. For example:

• Active Directory or DNS servers
• Database servers
• Application servers
• Web servers

Add delays between groups to ensure services are ready before the next tier spins up.

Protect vCenter Server: All vApp metadata lives in vCenter. If vCenter fails or is removed, you lose vApp configuration (though not the VMs themselves). Always back up vCenter as part of your DR strategy.

Export vApps for Portability: Use OVF exports to create standardized, repeatable environments. This format is great for test/dev workflows, compliance validation, or onboarding new regions.

Break Down Large vApps with Child vApps: For very large applications with multiple subsystems, nested vApps can help modularize management and isolate changes. Think of them as microservices within your virtual environment.

Avoiding Common Pitfalls

One can easily run into problems even with the best intentions. Here are mistakes to avoid:

• Ignoring the Dependency on vCenter: Without vCenter, you lose critical metadata like start order and resource allocations. Always document or export settings when planning migrations or maintenance.
• Skipping Resource Reservations: Leaving all vApps on default resource settings can lead to resource starvation. Use custom CPU and memory reservations or scalable shares to ensure critical apps always have what they need.
• Treating vApps Like VMs: A vApp is not a VM—it’s a logical grouping. Don’t snapshot the vApp and assume it captures everything. Snapshots only apply to the VMs inside, not the vApp’s configuration.
• Overusing vApps: Not every app needs a vApp. For simple, stateless workloads with minimal dependencies, managing VMs individually may be more efficient.

Protecting VMware Workloads

Storware leverages VMware’s native APIs (vStorage APIs for Data Protection – VADP) for its backup operations. When a backup solution integrates with VADP, it typically has the ability to interact with the entire vSphere environment, including vApps. Solutions that support VMware backup at the VM level generally also implicitly support vApps because they back up the underlying VMs and their configurations.

We’re thrilled to announce that Storware has been recognized in the recently released 2025-26 DCIG TOP 5 VMware Backup – MSP Edition Report. This report provides critical insights for Managed Service Providers (MSPs) seeking robust and reliable VMware backup solutions, and we’re proud to be included.

The DCIG report highlights the evolving landscape of VMware backup, emphasizing key trends such as the increasing importance of AI-driven anomaly detection, cross-hypervisor capabilities, and advanced cybersecurity features. Storware’s commitment to delivering comprehensive data protection solutions aligns perfectly with these trends.

At Storware, we understand the unique challenges MSPs face in protecting their clients’ virtualized environments. Our solutions are designed to provide:

• Robust VMware Backup: Ensuring reliable protection for critical VMware workloads.
• Advanced Data Protection: Incorporating key modern backup features.
• Flexibility and Scalability: Adapting to the dynamic needs of MSP operations.

This recognition from DCIG reinforces our dedication to providing MSPs with the tools they need to ensure data integrity and business continuity.

We invite you to learn more about how Storware can empower your MSP business. Contact our sales team for more information.

To gain more information about the report, you can visit the DCIG website.

We are proud to be a part of the solutions that are helping MSP’s to protect their clients data.

Storware and GigaCloud announce strategic partnership to deliver secure, scalable data protection

We’re happy to announce our cooperation with GigaCloud, a prominent European cloud service provider with Ukrainian roots. Through this partnership, the companies aim to deliver a robust and resilient cloud infrastructure tailored to the European market’s increasing demand for secure, sovereign and highly protected digital solutions.

GigaCloud, a proven and trusted industry leader on the Ukrainian market, provides a full-service cloud ecosystem in full compliance with European data protection regulations like GDPR, NIS 2 or DORA. The company has Premier tier VMware Cloud Service Provider status and is trusted by government agencies, state-owned enterprises, as well as large, medium and small businesses alike, showing their ability to handle mission-critical workloads and be flexible in dealing with various tasks.  The integration of Storware Backup and Recovery with cloud services, provided by GigaCloud, can provide European customers with a digital infrastructure that meets the highest standards of data protection against any type of ransomware.

Partnership highlights:

• The joint commitment between Storware and GigaCloud aims to strengthen the provision of reliable cloud solutions, providing enterprise-grade backup and recovery protection.
• The solution is designed to meet all requirements of European data privacy and data sovereignty standards.
• The seamless integration of Storware Backup and Recovery with cloud services ensures business continuity and zero data loss in case of emergencies. Integrated immutable backup technology and advanced encryption provide a strong defense against cyber threats, including any type of ransomware.
• The partnership ensures a customer-focused experience, showing a commitment to transparency and building trust.

The demand remains strong for protected cloud solutions that combine agility with scale infrastructure and proofed data protection. And here we are excited to have such a trusted and capable partner as GigaCloud on board as we move forward together. This collaboration reflects the growing importance of technology, designed to safeguard critical data and operations. Working with GigaCloud allows the customers to meet requirements of businesses and government in protected against ransomware attack environment. – comments Jan Sobieszczanski, CEO of Storware.

The provider’s most popular products are Enterprise Cloud and Managed Private Cloud. Enterprise Cloud is a VMware-based IaaS computing resource rental service, which can be ordered as a classic Public cloud or a Dedicated cloud with separate hosts and disk groups. Managed Private Cloud is a cloud infrastructure customized for each client separately and provided for exclusive use, which could be based on VMware or Hyper-V.

Among its extra services, GigaCloud also offers VDI, GPU Cloud, BaaS, DRaaS.

Our partnership with Storware is significant for delivering secure, reliable cloud solutions tailored to the evolving needs of the European market. By combining our scalable infrastructure with Storware’s reliable backup and recovery technology, we’re empowering organizations of all sizes to protect their most valuable asset — data. Together, we’re not just responding to modern security challenges; we’re staying ahead of them, says Nazariy Kurochko, GigaCloud CEO.