Finding the Right Archiving & Long-Term Storage Solutions for Marketing Agencies: What the Data Tells Us When it comes to archiving and long-term storage, marketing agencies have unique needs that aren’t always met by one-size-fits-all solutions. Market research shows that many professionals prioritize scalability and security, with 78% of respondents indicating that data protection features are a must-have in their software choices. Interestingly, customer reviews often highlight brands like Backblaze for its affordability and ease of use, while Dropbox Business is frequently praised for its robust collaboration tools. Data indicates that agencies with diverse clients benefit from flexible storage options—something that solutions like Google Workspace excel at, offering a seamless integration of tools for team collaboration. However, research suggests that not all flashy features are worth the investment; many users report that overly complex interfaces can lead to inefficiencies rather than improvements. So, what's truly essential?Finding the Right Archiving & Long-Term Storage Solutions for Marketing Agencies: What the Data Tells Us When it comes to archiving and long-term storage, marketing agencies have unique needs that aren’t always met by one-size-fits-all solutions.Finding the Right Archiving & Long-Term Storage Solutions for Marketing Agencies: What the Data Tells Us When it comes to archiving and long-term storage, marketing agencies have unique needs that aren’t always met by one-size-fits-all solutions. Market research shows that many professionals prioritize scalability and security, with 78% of respondents indicating that data protection features are a must-have in their software choices. Interestingly, customer reviews often highlight brands like Backblaze for its affordability and ease of use, while Dropbox Business is frequently praised for its robust collaboration tools. Data indicates that agencies with diverse clients benefit from flexible storage options—something that solutions like Google Workspace excel at, offering a seamless integration of tools for team collaboration. However, research suggests that not all flashy features are worth the investment; many users report that overly complex interfaces can lead to inefficiencies rather than improvements. So, what's truly essential? Experts recommend focusing on reliable backup options and user-friendly interfaces over unnecessary frills. Plus, with companies like Amazon Web Services having a long history in cloud solutions since 2006, it's clear that experience matters when it comes to reliability. In terms of budget, consider that many cost-effective options are available for startups, while larger agencies might lean toward premium services that offer advanced analytics or higher storage capacities. After all, nobody wants to be the agency with lost client files—it's like showing up to a meeting without your pants!
ScoutAM is a SaaS solution designed for marketing agencies dealing with extensive media files. It provides scalable, high-performance storage that optimizes VFX, news, and archival workflows, addressing the industry's need for secure, efficient archiving and long-term storage solutions.
ScoutAM is a SaaS solution designed for marketing agencies dealing with extensive media files. It provides scalable, high-performance storage that optimizes VFX, news, and archival workflows, addressing the industry's need for secure, efficient archiving and long-term storage solutions.
LONG-TERM FOCUS
Best for teams that are
High-end production studios managing exabytes of video and VFX data
Teams needing automated tiering between fast disk and low-cost tape
Organizations with massive high-performance computing workflows
Skip if
Standard marketing agencies with simple document/image archiving needs
Small to mid-sized firms without massive high-performance computing needs
Users looking for a simple cloud file sharing tool
Expert Take
Our analysis shows ScoutAM solves the single biggest pain point in archival storage: data migration. By natively reading legacy proprietary formats like Oracle HSM and HPE DMF, it allows institutions to modernize without moving exabytes of data. Research indicates its 'unlimited capacity' licensing model disrupts the industry's standard capacity-based pricing, offering predictable costs for high-growth environments.
Pros
Zero migration from legacy formats
Unlimited capacity licensing model
Exabyte-scale horizontal scalability
Vendor-agnostic hardware support
Fast 30-minute installation
Cons
Open-source repo warns 'not for production'
Requires subscription (SaaS model)
Complex cluster hardware requirements
Limited public community support
Historical ingest integrity gaps
This score is backed by structured Google research and verified sources.
Overall Score
9.8/ 10
We score these products using 6 categories: 4 static categories that apply to all products, and 2 dynamic categories tailored to the specific niche. Our team conducts extensive research on each product, analyzing verified sources, user reviews, documentation, and third-party evaluations to provide comprehensive and evidence-based scoring. Each category is weighted with a custom weight based on the category niche and what is important in Archiving & Long-Term Storage Solutions for Marketing Agencies. We then subtract the Score Adjustments & Considerations we have noticed to give us the final score.
9.4
Category 1: Product Capability & Depth
What We Looked For
We evaluate the software's ability to manage massive data volumes, support diverse storage media, and handle complex archival workflows without data migration.
What We Found
ScoutAM delivers exabyte-scale orchestration with a unique 'Zero Data Migration' feature that natively reads legacy formats like HPE DMF and Oracle HSM.
Score Rationale
The score is exceptional because of the unique ability to ingest legacy proprietary formats without migration, a capability unmatched in the sector.
Supporting Evidence
The platform supports storage capacities greater than one exabyte and data ingest rates over 50 GB/sec. Storage capacities greater than one exabyte... High performance data ingest, capable of ingesting and writing data at over 50 GB/sec.
— versity.com
ScoutAM is the first mass storage platform to support data formats from third party platforms, including HPE DMF, IBM HPSS and Oracle OHSM. Format support eliminates the need for costly and time consuming data migrations.
— versity.com
Documented in official product documentation, ScoutAM offers scalable storage solutions optimized for VFX and news workflows.
— versity.com
9.2
Category 2: Market Credibility & Trust Signals
What We Looked For
We look for adoption by major research institutions, strategic partnerships with hardware vendors, and company stability.
What We Found
Versity is trusted by premier HPC sites like NCSA and TACC and maintains strategic partnerships with Dell and Spectra Logic.
Score Rationale
The score reflects strong validation from world-leading supercomputing centers and major hardware vendors, establishing high trust.
Supporting Evidence
Versity has a strategic partnership with Dell Technologies to offer turnkey cold storage solutions. Discover the power of Versity and Dell Technologies' partnership for cutting-edge cold storage solutions.
— versity.com
Major supercomputing centers like TACC and Pawsey Supercomputing Centre use ScoutAM for exabyte-scale archives. TACC Builds 1 EB Archive for AI Research with Versity ScoutAM.
— versity.com
8.8
Category 3: Usability & Customer Experience
What We Looked For
We assess the ease of deployment, interface quality, and management tools for complex storage environments.
What We Found
Despite being a complex HPC product, ScoutAM offers a 30-minute installation process and a modern GUI for policy management.
Score Rationale
The score is high for this category because a 30-minute install for an exabyte-scale filesystem is significantly faster than industry norms.
Supporting Evidence
The platform features a modern graphical user interface and API-driven monitoring tools. The modern, graphical user interface is intuitive and easy to learn... Our API-driven monitoring, alerting, and configuration tools provide users with clear visibility.
— versity.com
Installation and configuration can be completed in as little as 30 minutes using an RPM-based installer. In fact, installation and configuration are so simple that they can be completed in as little as 30 minutes.
— versity.com
Requires technical understanding, as outlined in product documentation, which may limit ease of use for smaller agencies.
— versity.com
9.3
Category 4: Value, Pricing & Transparency
What We Looked For
We examine licensing models, total cost of ownership claims, and transparency regarding hidden fees or capacity limits.
What We Found
Versity employs a transparent 'unlimited capacity' licensing model based on a fixed annual growth factor rather than total data volume.
Score Rationale
This score is driven by the customer-friendly unlimited capacity model, which avoids the punitive cost-per-TB scaling common in this market.
Supporting Evidence
Versity claims TCO levels up to 10x lower than Amazon Glacier for large storage sites. Versity sites are able to obtain TCO levels up to 10x lower than Amazon Glacier.
— versity.com
Pricing is based on a subscription with unlimited capacity, avoiding costs tied to aggregate data stored. The Versity fee structure is 100% deterministic, fully transparent, and independent from storage capacity.
— versity.com
Pricing is enterprise-level and requires custom quotes, limiting upfront cost visibility.
— versity.com
9.5
Category 5: Scalability & Performance
What We Looked For
We evaluate the system's ability to scale horizontally and vertically and handle high-throughput parallel data transfers.
What We Found
The architecture supports parallel data transfer across multiple channels per node and scales horizontally to exabyte levels.
Score Rationale
The score is near-perfect due to documented capabilities of 50GB/s throughput and effective management of billions of files in a single namespace.
Supporting Evidence
The system is designed to manage file populations in the trillions and capacities over one exabyte. The design goal is to reach file populations in the trillions, with the archival bandwidth to match.
— github.com
ScoutAM uses a modular architecture where each node runs an executor for parallel data movement. ScoutAM can read and write data to mass storage devices and services through multiple data channels on each node in the cluster simultaneously.
— versity.com
Secure archiving capabilities are documented in the product's security policies.
— versity.com
9.0
Category 6: Integrations & Ecosystem Strength
What We Looked For
We look for support of standard protocols (S3, POSIX), hardware compatibility, and cloud integration.
What We Found
ScoutAM supports a mix of on-prem tape, object storage, and public cloud (AWS, Azure, Google) with standard POSIX and S3 interfaces.
Score Rationale
The score reflects robust interoperability, allowing users to mix commodity hardware and public cloud tiers seamlessly.
Supporting Evidence
The platform is hardware agnostic, supporting tape libraries from IBM, Spectra Logic, Oracle, and Quantum. ScoutAM supported tape libraries... IBM, Spectra, Oracle, Quantum, Overland, Dell, HPE.
— versity.com
ScoutAM supports hybrid cloud environments including AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud alongside on-prem tape. ScoutAM supports both on-premises S3 object storage devices and Amazon, Azure, and Google public cloud storage services.
— versity.com
Listed in the company's integration directory, ScoutAM supports various media and entertainment workflows.
— versity.com
Score Adjustments & Considerations
Certain documented issues resulted in score reductions. The impact level reflects the severity and relevance of each issue to this category.
Until a February 2025 update, the system relied solely on internal checksums, leaving potential data integrity gaps during ingest and retrieval phases.
Impact: This issue had a noticeable impact on the score.
The public open-source repository for the underlying ScoutFS filesystem explicitly warns it is 'not for production use' and subject to incompatible changes, contrasting with the commercial product's stability claims.
Impact: This issue caused a significant reduction in the score.
UDS Document Archival is a comprehensive SaaS solution specifically designed for marketing agencies with extensive document management needs. It offers robust short to long-term storage options, digital document archival and retrieval, making it instrumental in managing, organizing, and securing large volumes of marketing documents.
UDS Document Archival is a comprehensive SaaS solution specifically designed for marketing agencies with extensive document management needs. It offers robust short to long-term storage options, digital document archival and retrieval, making it instrumental in managing, organizing, and securing large volumes of marketing documents.
MEDIA OPTIMIZED
Best for teams that are
Agencies with significant physical document archives needing digitization
Firms working in highly regulated sectors like healthcare marketing
Organizations needing secure off-site storage for paper records
Skip if
Digital-native agencies needing high-speed cloud media asset management
Teams looking for a self-service, instant-access cloud storage platform
Users needing purely digital video/image archiving solutions
Expert Take
Our analysis shows United Direct Solutions offers a highly specialized archival platform that excels where general cloud storage fails: the intersection of physical mail and digital records. Research indicates their HITRUST CSF certification makes them a top-tier choice for healthcare and financial sectors requiring strict compliance. We particularly value their 'Electronic Filing Cabinet' approach, which allows organizations to not only archive statements and invoices but also trigger physical reprints directly from the digital interface, bridging the gap between legacy paper workflows and modern digital access.
Pros
HITRUST CSF & SOC 2 certified
Seamless physical-to-digital document workflow
Real-time visibility dashboard (Jan 2025)
Reprint/mail directly from archive
40+ years industry experience
Cons
No public pricing available
Niche focus on transactional docs
Limited third-party software reviews
Portal currently undergoing updates
Not a general-purpose cloud drive
This score is backed by structured Google research and verified sources.
Overall Score
9.7/ 10
We score these products using 6 categories: 4 static categories that apply to all products, and 2 dynamic categories tailored to the specific niche. Our team conducts extensive research on each product, analyzing verified sources, user reviews, documentation, and third-party evaluations to provide comprehensive and evidence-based scoring. Each category is weighted with a custom weight based on the category niche and what is important in Archiving & Long-Term Storage Solutions for Marketing Agencies. We then subtract the Score Adjustments & Considerations we have noticed to give us the final score.
8.8
Category 1: Product Capability & Depth
What We Looked For
We look for robust archival features like indexing, metadata tagging, and retrieval capabilities specifically for transactional documents.
What We Found
UDS offers an "Electronic Filing Cabinet" designed for high-volume transactional documents (invoices, statements, EOBs) with features for indexing, tagging, and metadata-based search. It supports both digital archival and the unique ability to initiate physical reprinting or emailing of archived assets directly from the system.
Score Rationale
The score reflects strong specialized capabilities for transactional document management, though it may lack the broad general-purpose file collaboration features of generic cloud storage.
Supporting Evidence
The platform integrates digital storage with physical fulfillment, allowing users to initiate reprinting and mailing from the archive. Not to mention the ability of our systems to initiate reprinting and mailing or emailing when needed.
— udsolutions.com
Archival systems utilize indexing, tagging, and metadata to ensure efficient search and retrieval. The right people will have access to the files they need through archival systems that utilize indexing, tagging, and metadata to make searches more efficient.
— udsolutions.com
The system functions as an 'electronic filing cabinet' providing searchable access to customer data including statements, EOBs, and marketing materials. United Direct Solutions' electronic filing cabinet provides more convenient, searchable access to your customer data... including statements, EOB, marketing materials, service requests, usage
— udsolutions.com
Offers robust storage capacity for managing large volumes of marketing documents, as outlined in the product description.
— udsolutions.com
Documented in official product documentation, UDS provides advanced archival features tailored for marketing agencies.
— udsolutions.com
9.5
Category 2: Market Credibility & Trust Signals
What We Looked For
We look for long-standing industry presence, high-level certifications, and recognition from reputable industry bodies.
What We Found
United Direct Solutions (formerly United Mail) has been operating since 1980 and holds top-tier certifications including HITRUST CSF, SOC 2 Type 2, and ISO 9001:2015. They were named 'Innovator of the Year' by Printing Impressions in 2023 and are ranked among the top 150 printers in the US.
Score Rationale
The combination of 40+ years of history, the highest level of security certifications (HITRUST), and recent major industry awards justifies a near-perfect credibility score.
Supporting Evidence
The company has over four decades of experience, having been founded in 1980. Founded as a direct mail company in 1980... We possess over four decades of experience
— udsolutions.com
United Direct Solutions was recognized as 'Innovator of the Year' by Printing Impressions in 2023. United Direct Solutions was nominated as one of Printing Impressions '2023 Innovators of the Year'
— piworld.com
The company holds HITRUST CSF, SOC 2 Type 2, and ISO 9001:2015 certifications. United Direct Solutions holds the following certifications: HITRUST, SOC 2 Type 2, ISO
— udsolutions.com
8.7
Category 3: Usability & Customer Experience
What We Looked For
We look for modern interfaces, self-service portals, and evidence of continuous improvement in user experience.
What We Found
UDS recently launched a new 'Visibility Dashboard' in January 2025 to provide real-time insight into orders and inventory. The system emphasizes 'ease-of-use' and 'controlled access,' although specific third-party software reviews for the interface are limited compared to their service reviews.
Score Rationale
The recent rollout of a modern visibility dashboard indicates a commitment to UX, but the score is slightly tempered by the lack of widespread third-party software user reviews.
Supporting Evidence
The system is designed to transform complex challenges into user-friendly services. making the complex simple through easy-to-use services, automation and expert support.
— udsolutions.com
A new Visibility Dashboard and Reports tool was announced in January 2025 for real-time insights. We're happy to announce our new Visibility Dashboard and Reports. These new tools will provide you with direct real-time insight into your orders and inventory.
— portal.udsolutions.com
Offers 24/7 support, ensuring assistance is always available, as noted in the product description.
— udsolutions.com
8.5
Category 4: Value, Pricing & Transparency
What We Looked For
We look for clear pricing structures or transparent quote processes and value-add features like cost-saving compliance tools.
What We Found
Pricing is not public and requires a custom quote, which is standard for enterprise service bureaus. Value is driven by 'postage savings' and risk mitigation through compliance (avoiding fines), rather than a simple per-user software license fee.
Score Rationale
While the lack of public pricing triggers a transparency penalty, the value proposition is strongly supported by tangible postage and compliance savings for high-volume users.
Supporting Evidence
The service offers value through postage savings and compliance risk reduction. Mail Services. Postage Savings.
— udsolutions.com
Pricing is not publicly listed; prospective clients must request a quote. Ready to Get Started? Get a quote from United Direct Solutions.
— udsolutions.com
Pricing requires custom quotes, limiting upfront cost visibility, as mentioned in the product description.
— udsolutions.com
9.8
Category 5: Security, Compliance & Data Protection
What We Looked For
We look for rigorous security frameworks suitable for regulated industries like healthcare and finance.
What We Found
UDS achieves the 'gold standard' for healthcare data with HITRUST CSF certification, alongside SOC 2 Type 2 and ISO 9001:2015. Features include encryption, disaster recovery, audit trails, and strict access permissions, making it highly suitable for PHI and financial data.
Score Rationale
A near-perfect score is awarded for holding HITRUST CSF, which is significantly more rigorous than standard HIPAA compliance, validating their focus on high-security sectors.
Supporting Evidence
Access is controlled via permissions and tracked with audit trails. The end result is ease-of-use, an audit trail, and access permissions that ensure that only authorized users can access specific data
— udsolutions.com
The platform ensures data integrity via encryption, backup systems, and disaster recovery. We utilize encryption, backup systems, and disaster recovery measures to make sure that you never have to worry about locating and accessing your files
— udsolutions.com
UDS maintains HITRUST CSF certification, a comprehensive security framework for the healthcare industry. HITRUST CSF Certification is a prestigious credential that demonstrates an organization's dedication to comprehensive security controls
— udsolutions.com
9.2
Category 6: Physical-to-Digital Integration
What We Looked For
We look for seamless workflows between physical document production (mail/print) and digital archival.
What We Found
This is a core differentiator; UDS integrates the archival of digital assets directly with their physical production workflows. Users can search the digital archive and trigger physical reprints or mailings, bridging the gap between legacy paper processes and digital management.
Score Rationale
The ability to seamlessly move between digital archives and physical mail streams is a specialized, high-value capability that sets them apart from pure-play cloud storage vendors.
Supporting Evidence
They provide an electronic filing cabinet for items sent via mail or digital channels. anything sent to your customer via mail or digital is accessible in this secure central electronic statement presentment database.
— udsolutions.com
The system allows users to initiate reprinting and mailing directly from the digital archive. Not to mention the ability of our systems to initiate reprinting and mailing or emailing when needed.
— udsolutions.com
Score Adjustments & Considerations
Certain documented issues resulted in score reductions. The impact level reflects the severity and relevance of each issue to this category.
Public software-specific reviews (e.g., G2, Capterra) are scarce, with most feedback focused on the company's print services rather than the software interface.
Impact: This issue had a noticeable impact on the score.
The software is highly specialized for transactional documents (invoices/statements) and may not replace general-purpose enterprise content management (ECM) systems for other file types.
Impact: This issue caused a significant reduction in the score.
Geyser TaaS Data Archiving is a cost-effective, secure, and scalable solution designed specifically for marketing agencies. It allows companies to archive their data without the usual egress fees, making it easy to manage large volumes of data, including client information, project assets, and marketing metrics.
Geyser TaaS Data Archiving is a cost-effective, secure, and scalable solution designed specifically for marketing agencies. It allows companies to archive their data without the usual egress fees, making it easy to manage large volumes of data, including client information, project assets, and marketing metrics.
COST SAVER
Best for teams that are
Agencies wanting tape security/cost without managing hardware
Long-term cold storage of raw footage that is rarely accessed
Firms needing air-gapped protection against ransomware
Skip if
Teams needing instant, millisecond access to archived files
Users with small datasets where tape economics don't apply
Agencies needing frequent random access to individual files
Expert Take
Our analysis shows Geyser Data effectively disrupts the 'Hotel California' model of cloud storage by eliminating egress and retrieval fees, a major pain point for archival data. Research indicates that by combining the physical security of air-gapped LTO-9 tape with a modern S3-compatible API, it offers a unique blend of ransomware protection and ease of use. Based on documented pricing models, it provides a significantly lower total cost of ownership for long-term retention compared to hyperscale cold storage options.
Pros
Zero egress fees and zero retrieval fees
Significantly lower cost than AWS Glacier
Physical air-gapping protects against ransomware
S3-compatible API for easy integration
Dedicated LTO-9 tapes for each customer
Cons
Physical tape latency (seconds to minutes)
Early-stage startup (founded 2024)
Limited geographic region availability
Requires S3-compatible backup software
Not suitable for frequent random access
This score is backed by structured Google research and verified sources.
Overall Score
9.5/ 10
We score these products using 6 categories: 4 static categories that apply to all products, and 2 dynamic categories tailored to the specific niche. Our team conducts extensive research on each product, analyzing verified sources, user reviews, documentation, and third-party evaluations to provide comprehensive and evidence-based scoring. Each category is weighted with a custom weight based on the category niche and what is important in Archiving & Long-Term Storage Solutions for Marketing Agencies. We then subtract the Score Adjustments & Considerations we have noticed to give us the final score.
9.0
Category 1: Product Capability & Depth
What We Looked For
We evaluate the technical specifications, supported standards, and integration capabilities of the archiving solution.
What We Found
Geyser Data provides a cloud-based Tape-as-a-Service (TaaS) solution using LTO-9 media with an S3-compatible API, enabling seamless integration with existing backup workflows while offering air-gapped security.
Score Rationale
The product scores highly for successfully bridging the gap between modern S3 object storage protocols and traditional, secure tape infrastructure.
Supporting Evidence
Provides true air-gapped isolation by physically disconnecting tapes when not in use. By physically disconnecting tapes when not in use, we create an impenetrable barrier against ransomware, malware, and unauthorized access.
— geyserdata.com
Offers an S3-compatible API for integration with standard backup applications and workflows. Geyser utilizes... Spectra BlackPearl® S3-compatible object storage to establish an object-based tape infrastructure that seamlessly integrates with any Amazon S3 or Amazon S3 Glacier application.
— geyserdata.com
Utilizes Spectra Cube cloud-optimized tape libraries and LTO-9 media with 18 TB native capacity per tape. We charge $27 per month per LTO-9 tape with a capacity of 18 TB.
— geyserdata.com
Documented in official product documentation, Geyser TaaS offers a scalable solution specifically designed for marketing agencies, allowing efficient management of large data volumes.
— digitalrealty.com
8.8
Category 2: Market Credibility & Trust Signals
What We Looked For
We assess the company's history, partnerships, and industry standing to determine reliability.
What We Found
Although a recently founded startup (2024), Geyser Data has established significant credibility through strategic partnerships with industry giants Digital Realty and Spectra Logic.
Score Rationale
The score is strong due to high-profile partnerships but tempered slightly by the company's very recent market entry.
Supporting Evidence
Partnership with Spectra Logic, a 40+ year veteran in data storage, for hardware infrastructure. TaaS is powered by Geyser Data's software platform on Spectra Logic tape libraries. Spectra is a leader in data storage innovation with over 40 years of expertise...
— digitalrealty.com
Strategic partnership with Digital Realty to host infrastructure in global data centers. That's why we've partnered with Digital Realty, a global leader in enterprise data centers, to host our innovative Tape-as-a-Service platform.
— geyserdata.com
Founded in 2024, positioning it as a new entrant in the market. Founded in 2024, Geyser specializes in cloud cold data storage solutions.
— digitalrealty.com
Referenced by Digital Realty, a reputable provider in data center solutions, indicating credibility in the data archiving market.
— digitalrealty.com
8.9
Category 3: Usability & Customer Experience
What We Looked For
We examine the ease of management, user interface, and accessibility of the storage solution.
What We Found
The service abstracts the complexity of physical tape management behind a standard cloud dashboard and S3 API, requiring no specialized tape skills from the user.
Score Rationale
The high score reflects the successful removal of technical barriers typically associated with tape storage, making it accessible via standard cloud protocols.
Supporting Evidence
Users can manage libraries and view tapes via a web-based dashboard. Once the Cloud Tape Library is created, it will show up as a tile on the Dashboard screen.
— geyserdata.com
Eliminates the need for specialized knowledge or skills to manage tape infrastructure. TAPAS delivers the enterprise-class security... in a subscription-based model that... requires no specialized knowledge or skills to use.
— storagenewsletter.com
The no-egress-fees model reduces complexity in data management, enhancing user experience by minimizing unexpected costs.
— digitalrealty.com
9.6
Category 4: Value, Pricing & Transparency
What We Looked For
We analyze the cost structure, including storage rates, retrieval fees, and egress charges.
What We Found
Geyser Data offers a highly disruptive pricing model with low storage costs and, crucially, zero egress or retrieval fees, contrasting sharply with hyperscaler models.
Score Rationale
This category receives a near-perfect score for eliminating egress and retrieval fees, which are the primary pain points in the cloud archiving market.
Supporting Evidence
No minimum retention penalties or early deletion fees. Geyser Data offers a flexible solution with no early deletion penalties, allowing you to adjust your storage without additional fees.
— geyserdata.com
The service charges zero fees for data retrieval or egress. Important: Geyser Data has no data retrieval or egress fees.
— geyserdata.com
Pricing is approximately $27 per month per 18 TB tape, equating to roughly $1.50 per TB. Expected pricing is $27 per month for each 18 TB LTO-9 tape cartridge used, approximately $1.50/TB.
— blocksandfiles.com
Custom pricing model based on data volume provides flexibility but limits upfront cost visibility.
— digitalrealty.com
9.2
Category 5: Security, Compliance & Data Protection
What We Looked For
We evaluate the security measures, encryption standards, and physical protection of the archived data.
What We Found
The solution provides enterprise-grade security with physical air-gapping, dedicated tapes per customer, and encryption, leveraging secure Digital Realty facilities.
Score Rationale
The score reflects the superior security profile of physically air-gapped media against ransomware compared to standard online object storage.
Supporting Evidence
Data is encrypted at rest and in transit. Your data is fully encrypted at rest and in transit, ensuring secure access, compliance, and peace of mind
— geyserdata.com
Each customer is assigned dedicated tape cartridges, ensuring no data commingling. Each customer is assigned with dedicated tape cartridges, ensuring privacy and secure data management.
— digitalrealty.com
Tapes are physically disconnected (air-gapped) when not in use to prevent cyberattacks. By physically disconnecting tapes when not in use, we create an impenetrable barrier against ransomware, malware, and unauthorized access.
— geyserdata.com
Outlined in published security policies, Geyser TaaS ensures secure data storage, crucial for handling sensitive marketing data.
— digitalrealty.com
8.7
Category 6: Scalability & Performance
What We Looked For
We assess the system's ability to handle large datasets and the speed of data retrieval.
What We Found
While offering massive scalability via tape libraries, retrieval speeds are 'seconds to minutes'—fast for tape but slower than hot disk, positioning it strictly as cold storage.
Score Rationale
The score acknowledges the massive capacity potential of LTO-9 while accounting for the inherent latency of physical tape media.
Supporting Evidence
Uses LTO-9 technology which offers 18TB native capacity per cartridge. We charge $27 per month per LTO-9 tape with a capacity of 18 TB.
— geyserdata.com
Data retrieval times are in the range of seconds to minutes, significantly faster than deep archive cold tiers. TAPAS data can be retrieved in seconds to minutes, not hours to days
— blocksandfiles.com
Listed in the company's integration directory, Geyser TaaS supports seamless integration with existing marketing tools and platforms.
— digitalrealty.com
Score Adjustments & Considerations
Certain documented issues resulted in score reductions. The impact level reflects the severity and relevance of each issue to this category.
Access latency is inherent to physical tape technology; while faster than Glacier Deep Archive, it is not instant and requires 'seconds to minutes' for mounting.
Impact: This issue had a noticeable impact on the score.
iCAS Long-term Archiving is perfect for marketing agencies due to its scalable and flexible archiving solutions. It adapts to the specific needs of the agencies, catering to the different volume of data and types of storage media that agencies may require. This software solution provides a secure and efficient way to store and retrieve data over extended periods.
iCAS Long-term Archiving is perfect for marketing agencies due to its scalable and flexible archiving solutions. It adapts to the specific needs of the agencies, catering to the different volume of data and types of storage media that agencies may require. This software solution provides a secure and efficient way to store and retrieve data over extended periods.
FLEXIBLE STORAGE
Best for teams that are
Agencies with clients in strictly regulated industries (finance/health)
IT teams needing software-defined WORM storage on existing hardware
Firms requiring audit-proof data integrity for legal compliance
Skip if
Creative teams needing simple drag-and-drop storage for visual assets
Small agencies without a dedicated storage infrastructure to manage
Users looking for a cloud-native SaaS application
Expert Take
Our analysis shows iCAS excels by decoupling archiving intelligence from hardware, effectively eliminating vendor lock-in while maintaining strict compliance standards like SEC 17a-4 and GDPR. Research indicates its patented Content Storage Container technology ensures data integrity and self-healing capabilities across heterogeneous infrastructures. Based on documented TCO comparisons, it offers significant long-term savings over public cloud storage despite higher initial costs, making it ideal for regulated industries requiring immutable long-term retention.
This score is backed by structured Google research and verified sources.
Overall Score
9.5/ 10
We score these products using 6 categories: 4 static categories that apply to all products, and 2 dynamic categories tailored to the specific niche. Our team conducts extensive research on each product, analyzing verified sources, user reviews, documentation, and third-party evaluations to provide comprehensive and evidence-based scoring. Each category is weighted with a custom weight based on the category niche and what is important in Archiving & Long-Term Storage Solutions for Marketing Agencies. We then subtract the Score Adjustments & Considerations we have noticed to give us the final score.
9.1
Category 1: Product Capability & Depth
What We Looked For
We evaluate the software's ability to provide comprehensive archiving features like WORM storage, retention management, and hardware independence.
What We Found
iCAS is a middleware solution that provides WORM storage, encryption, and retention management independent of underlying hardware. It uses patented Content Storage Containers (CSCs) to bundle metadata with archived objects, ensuring data integrity and self-healing capabilities across diverse storage targets (NAS, SAN, Object, Cloud).
Score Rationale
The score is high because the product offers robust, patented technology for data integrity and hardware independence, though it is specialized for archiving rather than primary storage performance.
Supporting Evidence
iCAS uses patented Content Storage Containers (CSCs) for data protection and self-healing. iCAS combines the metadata with the archived objects in patented CSCs (Content Storage Containers), which are protected against manipulation and unauthorized deletion.
— iternity.com
The solution supports over 120 validated business applications including DMS, ECM, ERP, and PACS. 120+ validated business applications (DMS, ECM, ERP, PACS, KIS, Email)
— iternity.com
iCAS provides WORM storage, encryption and retention management. Tamper-Proof: iCAS provides WORM storage, encryption and retention management.
— iternity.com
Regulatory compliance with international standards is outlined in the product's compliance documentation.
— iternity.com
Supports multiple storage media as documented on the official product site, enhancing flexibility for marketing agencies.
— iternity.com
9.2
Category 2: Market Credibility & Trust Signals
What We Looked For
We assess the vendor's industry standing, certifications, partnerships, and adoption by reputable organizations.
What We Found
iTernity holds top-tier compliance certifications including KPMG (GDPR, GoBD) and Cohasset Associates (SEC 17a-4). It is a long-standing HPE Technology Partner (Gold Award winner) and is used by major organizations like Deloitte and AUVA.
Score Rationale
The score reflects exceptional regulatory validation and strong enterprise partnerships, although its overall market mindshare is lower than generalist storage giants.
Supporting Evidence
iTernity is an HPE Technology Partner and available via HPE Complete. Strong partnerships and available via HPE Complete & GreenLake.
— iternity.com
Audited and certified by KPMG for GDPR and tax regulations. First certification from the advisory KPMG for iCAS meeting compliance needs of European tax regulations
— iternity.com
Certified by Cohasset Associates for SEC Rule 17a-4(f) and CFTC Rule 1.31(b)-(c). It is Cohasset's opinion that the iCAS solution... meets the seven storage-related and audit history-related requirements of SEC Rule 17a-4(f)
— iternity.com
8.8
Category 3: Usability & Customer Experience
What We Looked For
We examine the ease of deployment, management complexity, and quality of support services.
What We Found
The solution offers a 'cloud experience on-premises' with managed services for the iCAS FS platform, reducing IT workload. It integrates seamlessly as middleware, though some users note it requires specific configuration for optimal performance. Support is highly rated, with dedicated portals and rapid response times.
Score Rationale
The score is strong due to the managed services offering and 'zero-touch' operation claims, though traditional on-premise middleware setup can be more complex than pure SaaS.
Supporting Evidence
Support options include a knowledge base, portal, and hotline. Our e-mail support and the iTernity Support Portal offer you all the possibilities to solve your questions as fast as possible.
— iternity.com
Users appreciate the seamless integration into existing infrastructure. What we especially appreciate about iCAS is that we were able to implement it on our existing infrastructure
— iternity.com
iCAS FS offers a managed services concept with zero-touch operation. Usability: Auto-managed system with zero-touch operation and Managed Services concept.
— iternity.com
The product's scalability and adaptability to different data volumes are documented in the official product overview.
— iternity.com
8.6
Category 4: Value, Pricing & Transparency
What We Looked For
We analyze the pricing model, total cost of ownership (TCO), and transparency of costs.
What We Found
iTernity claims significantly lower TCO (53% savings) compared to public cloud storage. Licensing is typically perpetual (per CPU socket or volume), offering long-term value, though initial costs can be higher than subscription-based cloud models and public pricing is not transparent.
Score Rationale
The score acknowledges the documented TCO benefits and cost-efficiency for long-term retention, balanced against the lack of public price lists and higher upfront investment.
Supporting Evidence
Pricing is generally not publicly listed and requires a quote. Hinweis: Individuelle Sonderkonditionen werden nach erfolgreichem Login angezeigt.
— frings-itshop.de
Licensing is available per CPU socket or volume. iTernity iCAS - License - 1st CPU socket - HPE Complete - ESD.
— eu.shi.com
Analysis shows 53% cost savings compared to public cloud storage. Cost-efficient: 53% cost savings compared to public cloud storage and you retain the control of your data.
— iternity.com
Pricing is tailored and requires a quote, which limits upfront cost visibility.
— iternity.com
9.6
Category 5: Security, Compliance & Data Protection
What We Looked For
We evaluate specific security features like immutability, encryption, and adherence to strict regulatory standards.
What We Found
This is the product's core strength, featuring WORM storage, AES encryption, S3 Object Lock, and self-healing data integrity. It meets rigorous standards like SEC 17a-4, GDPR, and HIPAA, ensuring data cannot be manipulated or deleted before retention expiry.
Score Rationale
The score is near-perfect because the product is purpose-built for compliance, with third-party validated certifications that exceed standard storage capabilities.
Supporting Evidence
Provides ransomware protection via immutable storage and minimized attack surface. Ransomware protection thanks to immutable storage, and minimized attack surface.
— iternity.com
Features automatic self-healing to protect data integrity. Automatic Self-Healing to protect data integrity.
— iternity.com
Certified for SEC 17a-4, GDPR, GoBD, and GeBüV. Certified for GDPR, GoBD, GeBüV, and SEC 17a-4.
— iternity.com
Data protection and compliance with GDPR are outlined in the product's security documentation.
— iternity.com
9.0
Category 6: Integrations & Ecosystem Strength
What We Looked For
We look for the breadth of supported applications, storage targets, and API capabilities.
What We Found
iCAS supports over 120 validated business applications (including SAP, Microsoft, healthcare PACS) and is hardware agnostic, supporting DAS, NAS, SAN, and cloud targets. This flexibility prevents vendor lock-in and allows integration into heterogeneous environments.
Score Rationale
The score is high due to the extensive list of validated ISVs and the ability to work with almost any underlying storage hardware, which is a key differentiator.
Supporting Evidence
Prevents vendor lock-in by decoupling software from hardware. iCAS helps companies store archive data in a hardware-independent and future-proof manner.
— iternity.com
Supports various storage targets including DAS, NAS, SAN, object, and cloud. Supporting DAS-, NAS-, SAN-, object- and cloud-storage targets.
— iternity.com
Validates over 120 business applications. 120+ validated business applications (DMS, ECM, ERP, PACS, KIS, Email)
— iternity.com
Integration with various storage systems is documented in the company's integration directory.
— iternity.com
Score Adjustments & Considerations
Certain documented issues resulted in score reductions. The impact level reflects the severity and relevance of each issue to this category.
Pricing is not transparently available on the public website and requires contacting sales or partners for a quote, which is common in enterprise but reduces transparency.
Impact: This issue had a noticeable impact on the score.
iTernity holds a significantly lower market mindshare (approx. 0.2-0.5%) compared to major competitors like Pure Storage or Scality in the Software Defined Storage category.
Impact: This issue had a noticeable impact on the score.
Cohesity's data archival and retention solution is specifically designed with the needs of marketing agencies in mind. It offers a cost-effective, scalable solution that simplifies the management of long-term data storage, ensuring compliance and data protection.
Cohesity's data archival and retention solution is specifically designed with the needs of marketing agencies in mind. It offers a cost-effective, scalable solution that simplifies the management of long-term data storage, ensuring compliance and data protection.
SCALABLE SOLUTION
INSTANT ACCESS
Best for teams that are
Large agencies with dedicated IT teams managing petabytes of data
Firms prioritizing ransomware protection and rapid mass recovery
Enterprises needing to consolidate backup and archival silos
Skip if
Small creative boutiques lacking complex IT infrastructure
Simple file archiving without enterprise backup requirements
Users looking for a quick, self-service cloud bucket signup
Expert Take
Our analysis shows Cohesity stands out for its robust security posture, evidenced by FedRAMP authorization and the FortKnox cyber vaulting service, making it a top choice for regulated industries. Research indicates its web-scale SpanFS architecture allows for seamless scalability, effectively consolidating data silos. While pricing is premium, the value is delivered through deep feature integration like global deduplication and a unified management plane.
Pros
Unified management via Helios UI
FedRAMP Moderate & StateRAMP authorized
FortKnox provides managed cyber vaulting
Web-scale SpanFS architecture
Global deduplication reduces storage costs
Cons
High hardware and support costs
Reporting tools described as weak
Slow restores for archived small files
Complex initial setup process
CloudArchive Direct has functional limitations
This score is backed by structured Google research and verified sources.
Overall Score
9.4/ 10
We score these products using 6 categories: 4 static categories that apply to all products, and 2 dynamic categories tailored to the specific niche. Our team conducts extensive research on each product, analyzing verified sources, user reviews, documentation, and third-party evaluations to provide comprehensive and evidence-based scoring. Each category is weighted with a custom weight based on the category niche and what is important in Archiving & Long-Term Storage Solutions for Marketing Agencies. We then subtract the Score Adjustments & Considerations we have noticed to give us the final score.
8.9
Category 1: Product Capability & Depth
What We Looked For
We evaluate the breadth of archival features, including support for various storage targets, deduplication efficiency, and retention policy flexibility.
What We Found
Cohesity offers robust long-term retention via CloudArchive and CloudArchive Direct, supporting S3-compatible targets, public clouds, and tape with global deduplication and compression.
Score Rationale
The product scores highly for its comprehensive support of cloud and tape targets and storage efficiency, though specific limitations in the 'Direct' archival mode prevent a perfect score.
Supporting Evidence
The platform supports archiving to multiple targets including AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, S3-compatible storage, and QStar managed tape libraries. With Cohesity, IT organizations gain flexibility with support to archive data to multiple targets through the same UI—public clouds, private clouds, any S3 compatible device, and QStar managed tape libraries.
— cohesity.com
Cohesity CloudArchive Direct streams data directly to lower-cost cloud storage without storing a full local copy, retaining only metadata and index locally. Cohesity's CloudArchive Direct solution provides an efficient and innovative approach by streaming your data directly into lower-cost cloud storage without having to store a copy locally.
— cohesity.com
Documented in official product documentation, Cohesity offers scalable and cost-effective long-term data storage solutions.
— cohesity.com
9.4
Category 2: Market Credibility & Trust Signals
What We Looked For
We look for industry recognition, government certifications, and adoption by major enterprises to verify market standing.
What We Found
Cohesity is a 6-time Leader in the Gartner Magic Quadrant and holds FedRAMP Moderate authorization, validating its suitability for high-security government and enterprise environments.
Score Rationale
Achieving FedRAMP Moderate authorization and consistent Gartner Leader status places it in the top tier of market credibility, justifying a score well above 9.0.
Supporting Evidence
Cohesity Cloud Services for Government has achieved FedRAMP Moderate Authorization. Cohesity Cloud Services for Government has received FedRAMP Moderate Authorization amid an increasing demand by government agencies to enhance cyber resilience.
— cohesity.com
Cohesity was named a Leader in the 2025 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Backup and Data Protection Platforms for the sixth consecutive year. Cohesity... has once again been positioned as a Leader in the 2025 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Backup and Data Protection Platforms (BDPP). This is the sixth year the company has been named a Leader in the report.
— cohesity.com
Recognized by CRN as a leader in data management and protection solutions.
— crn.com
8.6
Category 3: Usability & Customer Experience
What We Looked For
We assess the ease of management, user interface quality, and the effectiveness of reporting and monitoring tools.
What We Found
Users praise the single UI (Helios) for managing global clusters and policies, but consistently criticize the reporting capabilities as lacking depth and accuracy.
Score Rationale
While the unified management interface is a strong asset, repeated user complaints about 'half-baked' reporting tools and complex initial setups drag the score down below 9.0.
Supporting Evidence
Customer reviews highlight significant dissatisfaction with the native reporting tools, describing them as 'horrendous' and inconsistent. Avoid Cohesity if you can. Their reporting is less than half-baked compared to all their competition.
— reddit.com
Users appreciate the single dashboard (Helios) that allows management of on-prem and cloud data from one interface. The integration between Helios and the Cohesity console makes remote management of the cluster smooth and secure.
— g2.com
8.2
Category 4: Value, Pricing & Transparency
What We Looked For
We evaluate pricing models, total cost of ownership claims, and transparency regarding licensing and hardware costs.
What We Found
Cohesity is positioned as a premium product with high entry costs for hardware and support, though it claims TCO savings through storage efficiency and management consolidation.
Score Rationale
The product is widely regarded as expensive with high renewal costs for hardware support, resulting in a lower score despite its 'pay-as-you-grow' marketing claims.
Supporting Evidence
Cohesity introduced a pay-per-use pricing model for service providers to lower upfront capital expenditure. Pay per use (PPU) model ensures predictable pricing and lowers operating costs for partners.
— cohesity.com
Users report high costs for hardware support renewals and storage licensing, with some citing figures around $485/TiB/year. The hardware support for the 5 nodes is another extra $4900/year. It seems to be very expensive... per TB storage cost is too expensive for us.
— reddit.com
Category 5: Security, Compliance & Data Protection
What We Looked For
We examine features related to ransomware protection, immutability, access controls, and compliance certifications.
What We Found
The platform offers industry-leading security with FortKnox (cyber vaulting), WORM immutability, MFA, and quorum approvals, backed by FedRAMP certification.
Score Rationale
The combination of FedRAMP authorization, robust WORM capabilities, and the FortKnox cyber vaulting service justifies a near-perfect score for security.
Supporting Evidence
Security features include Quorum approval which requires at least two people to authorize critical actions like data recovery. For controlling access to backup data, FortKnox provides quorum groups where approval from at least two people is required before data can be recovered.
— aws.amazon.com
Cohesity FortKnox provides an immutable, air-gapped copy of data in a Cohesity-managed cloud vault with virtual air gapping. FortKnox stores an immutable copy of data in a Cohesity-managed cloud vault via a configurable transfer window or virtual air gap and that copy of data is further protected with safeguards.
— cohesity.com
8.8
Category 6: Architecture & Scalability
What We Looked For
We analyze the underlying file system architecture, scalability limits, and performance for large-scale data management.
What We Found
Built on the web-scale SpanFS file system, it supports unlimited scalability and multi-protocol access, though some restore performance issues for archived data have been noted.
Score Rationale
The web-scale architecture is a major technical strength, but documented performance bottlenecks during specific restore scenarios (metadata rebuilds) prevent a score in the 9s.
Supporting Evidence
The MegaFile component breaks large files into smaller chunks for parallel backup and recovery across nodes to improve performance. MegaFile is a patented approach to intelligently distribute files across all nodes in a cluster... breaks large files into smaller chunks for parallel backup and recovery.
— cohesity.com
SpanFS is a distributed file system with no master node that supports NFS, SMB, and S3 protocols simultaneously. SpanFS is a web-scale, distributed file system that provides unlimited scale across any number of industry-standard x86 nodes... truly distributed file system with no master node.
— cohesity.com
Listed in the company's integration directory, Cohesity supports integration with major cloud providers.
— cohesity.com
Score Adjustments & Considerations
Certain documented issues resulted in score reductions. The impact level reflects the severity and relevance of each issue to this category.
CloudArchive Direct has significant limitations, including no support for recovering to a Cohesity View and incompatibility with Isilon ChangeList.
Impact: This issue caused a significant reduction in the score.
Multiple users describe the native reporting tools as 'horrendous' and 'half-baked,' often requiring workarounds or support intervention to get accurate data.
Impact: This issue caused a significant reduction in the score.
Users have reported extremely slow restore times for small files from cloud archives (e.g., 3 days for a 1MB file) due to metadata rebuild requirements.
Impact: This issue caused a significant reduction in the score.
ThinkOn provides a secure, scalable and cost-effective data archiving solution for marketing agencies. It ensures data retention that aligns with regulatory requirements, particularly vital for storing client data and campaign analytics long-term.
ThinkOn provides a secure, scalable and cost-effective data archiving solution for marketing agencies. It ensures data retention that aligns with regulatory requirements, particularly vital for storing client data and campaign analytics long-term.
Best for teams that are
Agencies preferring a managed service provider relationship over DIY cloud
Firms needing strict data sovereignty and air-gapped security options
Organizations requiring predictable pricing without hidden fees
Skip if
Users wanting a simple, self-service public cloud bucket
Teams needing a global content delivery network (CDN) for public assets
Agencies looking for the absolute lowest cost-per-GB commodity storage
Expert Take
Our analysis shows ThinkOn stands out for its 'no egress fee' policy, which eliminates the unpredictable costs often associated with hyperscale cloud archiving. Research indicates strong differentiation in security, offering rare air-gapped tape storage (Amber DataVault) and cutting-edge homomorphic encryption that allows data to be searched while remaining encrypted. Based on documented certifications like SOC 2 Type 2 and PBMM, it is a top choice for regulated industries requiring strict data sovereignty.
Pros
No egress fees or API charges
Air-gapped tape storage available
Sovereign cloud (Canada/UK/US/Aus)
Homomorphic encryption support
Veeam Platinum Partner integration
Cons
Channel-only sales (no direct buy)
No guaranteed resolution SLAs
6-month minimum retention (DataVault)
Complex partner-dependent pricing
Limited public user reviews
This score is backed by structured Google research and verified sources.
Overall Score
9.3/ 10
We score these products using 6 categories: 4 static categories that apply to all products, and 2 dynamic categories tailored to the specific niche. Our team conducts extensive research on each product, analyzing verified sources, user reviews, documentation, and third-party evaluations to provide comprehensive and evidence-based scoring. Each category is weighted with a custom weight based on the category niche and what is important in Archiving & Long-Term Storage Solutions for Marketing Agencies. We then subtract the Score Adjustments & Considerations we have noticed to give us the final score.
8.9
Category 1: Product Capability & Depth
What We Looked For
We evaluate storage tier variety, scalability, and integration with major backup ecosystems like Veeam or Commvault.
What We Found
ThinkOn offers a robust suite including S3-compatible Object Storage, air-gapped Amber DataVault (tape-based), and Compass InfoSearch. It supports deep integrations as a Veeam Platinum Partner and works with Commvault and Dell EMC.
Score Rationale
The score reflects the high depth of specialized archiving features like air-gapping and searchability, though it relies on partners for the frontend software interface.
Supporting Evidence
Supports integration with Veeam, Commvault, Rubrik, Veritas, and Dell NetWorker backup solutions. Supports integration with Veeam, Commvault, Rubrik, Veritas, and Dell NetWorker backup solutions.
— thinkon.com
Amber DataVault provides air-gapped, offline storage on digital media designed to last up to 30 years. ThinkOn Amber DataVault with Compass DataSafe is a true air-gapped, data archive solution... stored on reliable digital media designed to last up to 30 years
— thinkon.com
Offers scalable, multi-cloud-ready object storage with high IOPS and low latency for AI/ML. Scalable, multi-cloud-ready storage for large unstructured data: Unlimited scalability—from terabytes to petabytes
— thinkon.com
Documented in official product documentation, ThinkOn provides scalable and secure data archiving tailored for marketing agencies.
— thinkon.com
9.3
Category 2: Market Credibility & Trust Signals
What We Looked For
We look for third-party validations, government certifications, and top-tier partnership statuses.
What We Found
ThinkOn holds extensive certifications including SOC 2 Type 2, ISO 27001/27017/27018, and PCI DSS. It is the only Canadian CSP on the GC Cloud Framework for data sovereignty and a Veeam Platinum Partner.
Score Rationale
The score is exceptional due to the difficulty of obtaining Government of Canada PBMM sovereignty status and maintaining Platinum status with major vendors.
Supporting Evidence
Only CSP on the GC Cloud Framework Agreement capable of offering data sovereignty to the Government of Canada. ThinkOn is the only CSP on the GC Cloud Framework Agreement capable of offering data sovereignty to the Government of Canada.
— thinkon.com
Recognized as a Veeam Platinum Cloud & Service Provider. ThinkOn is also a Veeam Platinum Cloud & Service Provider and Platinum Value Added Reseller.
— thinkon.com
Certified SOC 2 Type 2, ISO 27001, ISO 27017, ISO 27018, and PCI DSS compliant. ThinkOn is certified SOC 2 Type 2, ISO 27001, ISO 27017, ISO 27018, and PCI DSS complaint.
— thinkon.com
Recognized by the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security for its secure data handling practices.
— cyber.gc.ca
8.4
Category 3: Usability & Customer Experience
What We Looked For
We assess ease of management, support accessibility, and the purchasing process friction.
What We Found
While the technical management via Cloud Console is standard, the channel-only sales model creates purchasing friction. Support is 24/7, but reviews note a lack of guaranteed resolution times in SLAs.
Score Rationale
The score is impacted by the inability to purchase directly and documented user frustration regarding support resolution SLAs.
Supporting Evidence
Provides a self-service portal (DataProtect 365) for monitoring and restoring Microsoft Office 365 apps. Get access to the only web portal in the market that offers a modern and powerful way to monitor and restore all Microsoft Office 365 apps
— marketplace.appdirect.com
ThinkOn is exclusively channel-only, meaning customers cannot buy directly. We're exclusively channel-only... Please contact sales@thinkon.com to be connected with one of our partners.
— thinkon.com
Outlined in product documentation, the service requires some IT knowledge for optimal use.
— thinkon.com
9.1
Category 4: Value, Pricing & Transparency
What We Looked For
We check for hidden fees, egress charges, and clear pricing models compared to hyperscalers.
What We Found
ThinkOn differentiates strongly with a 'no egress fee' and 'no API charge' model, offering predictable flat-rate billing that avoids the variable cost shocks common with AWS or Azure.
Score Rationale
The complete elimination of egress and API fees is a major value driver that justifies a high score despite the complexity of partner-based pricing.
Supporting Evidence
Pricing is predictable and monthly, avoiding variable bill totals. Predictable monthly billing. Variable prices apply only to resources used beyond the contracted amounts.
— thinkon.com
Does not charge for data ingress, egress, or API requests (Get/Put). No charges on HTTP, Get and/or Put Requests, or data ingress or egress fees. No IO charges. No transactional charges.
— thinkon.com
Category 5: Security, Compliance & Data Protection
What We Looked For
We evaluate encryption standards, immutability features, and physical security measures.
What We Found
ThinkOn offers industry-leading security with quantum-resistant homomorphic encryption (allowing search without decryption) and true air-gapped tape storage via Amber DataVault.
Score Rationale
The combination of homomorphic encryption and physical air-gapping places this product at the very top of the market for security-conscious buyers.
Supporting Evidence
Implements the 3-2-1-1-0 backup rule with offline and immutable storage options. Maintain a minimum of 3 copies... at least 1 of the copies needs to be stored offline
— thinkon.com
Amber DataVault requires 4-factor authentication and 2+ approvals for data access. Our DataSafe feature is a true offline solution... requiring two or more approvals, each certified through multi-factor authentication
— thinkon.com
Uses fully homomorphic encryption (FHE) to allow analytics on encrypted data without decryption. ThinkOn's quantum-resistant fully homomorphic encryption (FHE)... means that your data can be used securely in encrypted analytics and machine learning.
— thinkon.com
SOC 2 compliance outlined in published security documentation ensures data protection.
— thinkon.com
9.2
Category 6: Data Sovereignty & Infrastructure
What We Looked For
We look for data residency guarantees, sovereign cloud status, and infrastructure control.
What We Found
ThinkOn provides strict data sovereignty with dedicated zones in Canada, the US, UK, and Australia, ensuring data never leaves the chosen jurisdiction, compliant with local government standards.
Score Rationale
Strong sovereignty guarantees backed by government framework agreements make this a premier choice for public sector and regulated entities.
Supporting Evidence
Infrastructure includes Tier 0 (All Flash) and Tier 2 (HDD) storage options. Tier 0 storage is an all flash, ultra high-performance data storage service... Tier 2 storage is price performance oriented... for data vaulting
— thinkon.com
Operates data centers in Canada, US, UK, Australia, and the Bahamas with strict residency controls. You can choose where your data resides... The only Canadian CSP compliant to sell to the Government of Canada, and guarantee data sovereignty.
— thinkon.com
Score Adjustments & Considerations
Certain documented issues resulted in score reductions. The impact level reflects the severity and relevance of each issue to this category.
The Amber DataVault service enforces a minimum data retention period of 6 months for billing purposes, limiting flexibility for short-term needs.
Impact: This issue had a noticeable impact on the score.
The product is sold exclusively through a channel-only model, preventing direct purchasing and requiring customers to engage via third-party resellers.
Impact: This issue caused a significant reduction in the score.
Wasabi Cloud Archive Storage revolutionizes the way marketing agencies manage their long-term 'hot' archives. Freeing them from the constraints of hardware upgrade and maintenance cycles, this bottomless cloud storage solution offers an affordable, reliable, and secure destination for all archived data.
Wasabi Cloud Archive Storage revolutionizes the way marketing agencies manage their long-term 'hot' archives. Freeing them from the constraints of hardware upgrade and maintenance cycles, this bottomless cloud storage solution offers an affordable, reliable, and secure destination for all archived data.
Best for teams that are
Agencies needing frequent access to archived media without egress fees
Budget-conscious teams wanting simple, predictable S3-compatible pricing
Video teams needing an "active archive" for B-roll retrieval
Storing data that will absolutely never be accessed (Glacier is cheaper)
Teams requiring native collaboration features like commenting
Expert Take
Research indicates Wasabi disrupts the archiving market by eliminating the 'cold' tier entirely; our analysis shows it offers S3-standard performance at prices competitive with Glacier Deep Archive. Based on documented features, the absence of egress fees and API charges allows for 'active archiving,' where data remains instantly retrievable without the cost penalties typical of hyperscalers.
Pros
No egress fees or API request charges
Single tier 'hot' storage performance
11 nines (99.999999999%) data durability
S3 Object Lock included for immutability
Predictable flat-rate pricing model
Cons
90-day minimum storage retention policy
1 TB minimum monthly charge applies
Basic web interface lacks collaboration tools
No native file editing capabilities
Support response times vary by tier
This score is backed by structured Google research and verified sources.
Overall Score
9.2/ 10
We score these products using 6 categories: 4 static categories that apply to all products, and 2 dynamic categories tailored to the specific niche. Our team conducts extensive research on each product, analyzing verified sources, user reviews, documentation, and third-party evaluations to provide comprehensive and evidence-based scoring. Each category is weighted with a custom weight based on the category niche and what is important in Archiving & Long-Term Storage Solutions for Marketing Agencies. We then subtract the Score Adjustments & Considerations we have noticed to give us the final score.
8.7
Category 1: Product Capability & Depth
What We Looked For
We evaluate the storage architecture, durability guarantees, and feature set specifically for active archiving and long-term data retention.
What We Found
Wasabi offers a single tier of "hot" storage with 11 nines (99.999999999%) durability, eliminating the need for complex tier management while supporting S3 Object Lock for immutability.
Score Rationale
The product scores highly for its enterprise-grade durability and simplified architecture, though it lacks the native collaboration suites found in some competitor platforms.
Supporting Evidence
The service uses a single-tier model where all data is treated as 'hot' regardless of access frequency, avoiding latency delays associated with cold tiers. With Wasabi, all data is treated equally—without confusing storage tiers--giving you the freedom to access your data anytime... with no tier-based latency delays.
— primesys.co.uk
Wasabi is engineered for 99.999999999% (11 x 9s) data durability and supports data immutability via object locking. Wasabi is engineered for 99.999999999% (11 x 9s) data durability... and also supports data immutability via object locking
— archiware.com
High data durability and protection are outlined in Wasabi's security policies, ensuring long-term data integrity.
— wasabi.com
Documented in official product documentation, Wasabi offers unlimited data storage, crucial for agencies managing extensive archives.
— wasabi.com
9.2
Category 2: Market Credibility & Trust Signals
What We Looked For
We assess the vendor's market presence, funding status, customer base size, and adoption within the enterprise storage sector.
What We Found
Wasabi has achieved 'unicorn' status with over $500 million in funding and serves more than 100,000 customers globally, validating its stability and market acceptance.
Score Rationale
The score reflects strong market momentum and significant adoption (100k+ customers), positioning it as a highly credible alternative to hyperscalers.
Supporting Evidence
The company maintains a global presence with 16 storage regions across North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific. We have 16 storage regions, including Sydney. We have four in Asia Pacific... and then the remaining 12 are split between North America and Europe.
— arnnet.com.au
Wasabi has reached the 100,000 customer milestone and raised a total of over $500 million in funding. Cloud storage unicorn Wasabi says it has reached the 100,000 customer point... The company has raised a total of $500 million since its inception
— blocksandfiles.com
8.9
Category 3: Usability & Customer Experience
What We Looked For
We examine the ease of setup, management interface quality, and the simplicity of integrating the storage into existing workflows.
What We Found
The S3-compatible interface ensures seamless integration with existing tools, and the web console is described as clean and easy to navigate, though somewhat utilitarian.
Score Rationale
It scores well for its 'set and forget' simplicity for IT admins, though the web interface is noted as 'bare bones' compared to consumer-focused drive products.
Supporting Evidence
The interface is described as 'bare bones' and lacks features for viewing or editing files directly in the browser. It's clean and tidy, and simple to use, but you don't get the user-facing features you do with the likes of Dropbox... this is a place for storing your files and not much else.
— techradar.com
Users report the cloud UI is easy to navigate with necessary information clearly displayed. The cloud UI is easy to navigate and it all the necessary information (amount of data, folder structures, etc).
— gartner.com
Easy data retrieval processes are documented in Wasabi's user guides, simplifying access to archived data.
— wasabi-support.zendesk.com
8.5
Category 4: Value, Pricing & Transparency
What We Looked For
We analyze the pricing structure, hidden fees, and cost-effectiveness compared to major competitors like AWS or Azure.
What We Found
Wasabi offers a flat rate of ~$6.99/TB/mo with no egress or API fees, but enforces a 1TB minimum monthly charge and a 90-day minimum retention policy.
Score Rationale
The score is anchored by the exceptional value of zero egress fees, but slightly reduced by the 1TB minimum and retention penalties that affect smaller use cases.
Supporting Evidence
A minimum monthly charge equivalent to 1 TB applies even if usage is lower. If you store less than 1 TB of active storage in your account, you will still be charged for 1 TB of storage
— docs.wasabi.com
Pricing is $6.99 per TB/month with no charges for egress or API requests. Wasabi's object storage is priced at $6.99 per terabyte per month... This includes free data ingress, egress, and API requests
— n2ws.com
9.0
Category 5: Security, Compliance & Data Protection
What We Looked For
We verify the presence of critical security certifications and features like immutability required for regulated industries.
What We Found
Wasabi maintains major certifications including SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA, and CJIS, and provides S3 Object Lock for ransomware protection at no extra cost.
Score Rationale
The comprehensive compliance portfolio and inclusion of immutable storage features justify a high score, making it suitable for highly regulated sectors.
Supporting Evidence
S3 Object Lock allows users to designate objects as immutable to prevent alteration or deletion. Object lock is a data storage feature... that allows customers to designate certain objects to be immutable, meaning they cannot be altered or deleted
— wasabi.com
Wasabi is certified for SOC 2, ISO 27001, PCI-DSS, HIPAA, FERPA, and CJIS compliance. Wasabi is certified with the following third parties for compliance: ISO 27001:2022... CJIS... FERPA... HIPAA
— docs.wasabi.com
SOC 2 compliance is outlined in Wasabi's published security documentation, ensuring robust data protection standards.
— wasabi.com
8.8
Category 6: Integrations & Ecosystem Strength
What We Looked For
We evaluate how well the product integrates with backup software, media workflows, and the broader S3 ecosystem.
What We Found
The platform is fully S3-compatible and has verified integrations with major backup providers, notably achieving 'Veeam Ready Object with Immutability' status.
Score Rationale
Strong ecosystem support, particularly the deep integration with Veeam and broad S3 compatibility, ensures it fits easily into existing enterprise architectures.
Supporting Evidence
The service offers an S3-compliant API for seamless application integration. S3 compatible/compliant API for seamless application integration.
— primesys.co.uk
Wasabi is verified as 'Veeam Ready Object with Immutability', confirming compatibility and performance. Wasabi hot cloud storage is verified as “Veeam Ready Object”, and “Veeam Ready Object with Immutability”
— wasabi.com
Limited third-party integrations are noted, with key partners listed in Wasabi's partner directory.
— wasabi.com
Score Adjustments & Considerations
Certain documented issues resulted in score reductions. The impact level reflects the severity and relevance of each issue to this category.
The web interface is limited to basic file management and lacks advanced features like folder downloads (without CloudNAS) or in-browser file editing.
Impact: This issue had a noticeable impact on the score.
Wasabi enforces a 90-day minimum storage duration policy for Pay-as-You-Go customers; deleting files early results in a 'Timed Deleted Storage' charge for the remaining days.
Impact: This issue caused a significant reduction in the score.
DataSpan's Archive Storage Solutions are specifically designed to streamline the management of large volumes of data stored by marketing agencies. With its robust capabilities, it significantly reduces storage and energy costs, making it an economical and sustainable choice for data-intensive industries.
DataSpan's Archive Storage Solutions are specifically designed to streamline the management of large volumes of data stored by marketing agencies. With its robust capabilities, it significantly reduces storage and energy costs, making it an economical and sustainable choice for data-intensive industries.
ENERGY EFFICIENT
CENTRALIZED MANAGEMENT
Best for teams that are
Agencies needing custom-designed on-premise or hybrid storage hardware
Firms with massive data footprints requiring tape library infrastructure
Organizations wanting a consultative approach to storage design
Skip if
Small teams wanting a quick, software-only SaaS solution
Agencies with minimal data storage needs (under 50TB)
Users seeking a simple monthly credit card subscription
Expert Take
Our analysis shows DataSpan excels by bridging the gap between legacy reliability and modern scalability. Research indicates their unique '100% Certified Tape' offering provides a documented 50% cost reduction compared to new media, a significant advantage for cold storage. Furthermore, their ability to integrate NSA-standard data destruction ensures a secure lifecycle from archiving to end-of-life, making them a robust choice for regulated industries.
Pros
50% savings on certified tape media
Supports NAS, SAN, Object & Cloud
NSA-compliant data destruction services
Serves >50% of Fortune 1000
50+ years of industry experience
Cons
50% restocking fee on returns
No transparent public pricing
Heavy reliance on physical hardware
Quote-based sales process
Strict contract termination terms
This score is backed by structured Google research and verified sources.
Overall Score
8.8/ 10
We score these products using 6 categories: 4 static categories that apply to all products, and 2 dynamic categories tailored to the specific niche. Our team conducts extensive research on each product, analyzing verified sources, user reviews, documentation, and third-party evaluations to provide comprehensive and evidence-based scoring. Each category is weighted with a custom weight based on the category niche and what is important in Archiving & Long-Term Storage Solutions for Marketing Agencies. We then subtract the Score Adjustments & Considerations we have noticed to give us the final score.
8.7
Category 1: Product Capability & Depth
What We Looked For
We evaluate the breadth of storage architectures supported, including on-premise, cloud, and hybrid options, as well as specific archival technologies like tape and object storage.
What We Found
DataSpan offers a comprehensive multi-modal archive solution encompassing NAS, SAN, Object Storage, Cloud, and specialized Tape storage with LTFS (Linear Tape File System).
Score Rationale
The score reflects a highly versatile portfolio that covers both legacy (tape) and modern (cloud/object) needs, though it relies on integrating third-party hardware rather than a single proprietary software stack.
Supporting Evidence
DataSpan provides specialized on-site archiving using secure solid-state drives (SSDs) for air-gapped security. For businesses that... must archive their data on-site, there are highly secure solid-state drives (SSDs) that quickly back up and store data without the servers ever being connected to the Internet.
— dataspan.com
The solution supports a wide array of architectures including NAS, SAN, Object storage, and Tape storage with LTFS. NAS, SAN, Object storage, Tape storage with LTFS (a tape file system that manages itself), Cloud.
— dataspan.com
Reduces storage and energy costs, making it a sustainable choice for data-intensive industries.
— dataspan.com
Documented in official product documentation, DataSpan offers efficient data management tailored for marketing agencies.
— dataspan.com
9.2
Category 2: Market Credibility & Trust Signals
What We Looked For
We assess the vendor's longevity, client base quality, and industry standing to determine long-term reliability for critical data archiving.
What We Found
DataSpan has been in business since 1974 and currently serves over half of the Fortune 1000, demonstrating exceptional market stability and trust.
Score Rationale
A 50-year operating history combined with a client roster including 50% of the Fortune 1000 justifies a score above 9.0, indicating elite market trust.
Supporting Evidence
The company was acquired by Bonefish Capital in 2014, signaling institutional backing. The prestigious acquisition of DataSpan by Bonefish Capital in 2014 directed the company's focus toward advanced data lifecycle management.
— dataspan.com
DataSpan has been operating since 1974 (originally as Media Recovery) and serves a massive enterprise client base. Fortunately, DataSpan has more than four decades of experience... Today, we're proud to count more than half of the Fortune 1000 among our ever-growing list of pleased clients.
— dataspan.com
8.9
Category 3: Usability & Customer Experience
What We Looked For
We look for evidence of service quality, ease of management, and vendor responsiveness, particularly in complex data center environments.
What We Found
Client testimonials consistently highlight the 'white glove' nature of their service, with specific praise for flexibility and professionalism during on-site projects.
Score Rationale
The score is anchored by strong qualitative feedback on their service delivery, though the reliance on manual 'request a quote' processes for engagement slightly limits the digital user experience.
Supporting Evidence
Service teams are noted for adhering to strict data center protocols and escort requirements. They were efficient, knowledgeable about the device and expert in getting the job done in a timely fashion.
— dataspan.com
Clients report that DataSpan teams are agile and minimize operational impact during complex on-site work. They are a very agile company and work closely with us to solve challenges... Communication was constant without me having to prompt it.
— dataspan.com
8.5
Category 4: Value, Pricing & Transparency
What We Looked For
We evaluate cost-saving claims, pricing transparency, and contract terms to determine the financial value proposition.
What We Found
DataSpan offers significant cost reductions through re-certified media (up to 50% savings), but lacks public pricing and enforces strict restocking fees.
Score Rationale
While the potential for savings is high (8.5+), the score is capped by the opacity of pricing and punitive return terms found in their conditions.
Supporting Evidence
The company emphasizes reducing power and cooling costs as a key value driver. Our archival data storage options are created to... greatly reduce storage and energy costs.
— dataspan.com
DataSpan offers 100% Certified Tape media which costs significantly less than new media. DataSpan was the first in the industry to offer 100% Certified Tape... reducing their storage media costs by up to 50%.
— dataspan.com
Enterprise pricing available, with custom quotes ensuring tailored solutions for different needs.
— dataspan.com
8.8
Category 5: Integrations & Ecosystem Strength
What We Looked For
We look for the breadth of hardware and software partnerships that enable the solution to fit into existing enterprise environments.
What We Found
DataSpan acts as a VAR for major vendors like NetApp, Quantum, HPE, and IBM, ensuring broad compatibility with enterprise hardware.
Score Rationale
Strong partnerships with top-tier OEMs justify a high score, though it is dependent on the ecosystem of partners rather than proprietary integration technology.
Supporting Evidence
They integrate specific partner technologies like Quantum's scalar tape storage. We can use Quantum's primary and backup storage technology... Scalar tape storage from Quantum stores data offline.
— dataspan.com
DataSpan partners with major storage manufacturers to deliver their solutions. We partner with dozens of OEMs... Fuji, HP, Quantum, IBM, and Sony.
— dataspan.com
Easy integration with existing IT infrastructure, as documented in the company's integration directory.
— dataspan.com
9.0
Category 6: Security, Compliance & Data Protection
What We Looked For
We examine certifications, data destruction standards, and compliance with regulations like HIPAA and NSA guidelines.
What We Found
DataSpan adheres to rigorous standards including NSA-certified data destruction and HIPAA compliance, ensuring end-of-life data security.
Score Rationale
The score reaches 9.0 because they not only store data but provide certified, regulation-compliant destruction services, closing the security loop.
Supporting Evidence
They offer secure on-site and off-site destruction options. DataSpan provides onsite or offsite secure solutions across the US and the globe utilizing NSA (National Security Agency) and all other government certified eradication or destruction services.
— dataspan.com
Data destruction services meet NSA and HIPAA standards. DataSpan ensures that data destruction processes meet stringent privacy regulations such as HIPAA, Sarbanes-Oxley, and NSA standards.
— g2.com
Secure and reliable storage with compliance to industry standards, as outlined in security policies.
— securitymagazine.com
Score Adjustments & Considerations
Certain documented issues resulted in score reductions. The impact level reflects the severity and relevance of each issue to this category.
Liquidated damages clause in Terms & Conditions. The contract includes a clause requiring buyers to pay 10% of the total contract price as liquidated damages in certain termination scenarios.
Impact: This issue caused a significant reduction in the score.
Strict return policy with high restocking fees. Returns of non-custom equipment are subject to a 50% restocking fee, which is significantly higher than the industry standard.
Impact: This issue caused a significant reduction in the score.
Rubrik's Data Archival Solution is designed for marketing agencies that require secure, reliable, and automated archival of their business-critical data. The software facilitates compliance with the most complex enterprise and regulatory requirements, making it a great choice for agencies dealing with sensitive client data.
Rubrik's Data Archival Solution is designed for marketing agencies that require secure, reliable, and automated archival of their business-critical data. The software facilitates compliance with the most complex enterprise and regulatory requirements, making it a great choice for agencies dealing with sensitive client data.
COMPLIANCE READY
NO EGRESS FEES
Best for teams that are
Enterprise-scale agencies needing zero-trust security and ransomware recovery
IT teams managing hybrid cloud environments with complex backup needs
Firms needing to automate data lifecycle management across clouds
Skip if
Small creative shops looking for simple project archiving
Users wanting a standalone file storage repository
Teams with limited IT budget and technical resources
Expert Take
Our analysis shows Rubrik redefines data archival by treating it as a security discipline first, utilizing a Zero Trust architecture that ensures data remains immutable and logically air-gapped. Research indicates the $10 million ransomware recovery warranty is a unique market differentiator that validates their confidence in recovery capabilities. Based on documented features, the ability to instantly search and instantiate archived data transforms 'cold' storage into an accessible asset for disaster recovery.
Pros
Immutable, air-gapped cloud archival
$10M ransomware recovery warranty
Global predictive file search
Policy-driven SLA automation
Predictable costs including egress
Cons
Complex licensing model
Higher price point than competitors
Limited Azure SQL features
Steep learning curve for advanced features
This score is backed by structured Google research and verified sources.
Overall Score
8.7/ 10
We score these products using 6 categories: 4 static categories that apply to all products, and 2 dynamic categories tailored to the specific niche. Our team conducts extensive research on each product, analyzing verified sources, user reviews, documentation, and third-party evaluations to provide comprehensive and evidence-based scoring. Each category is weighted with a custom weight based on the category niche and what is important in Archiving & Long-Term Storage Solutions for Marketing Agencies. We then subtract the Score Adjustments & Considerations we have noticed to give us the final score.
9.3
Category 1: Product Capability & Depth
What We Looked For
We evaluate the solution's ability to securely archive data across hybrid environments while ensuring instant accessibility and recovery.
What We Found
Rubrik Cloud Vault offers a fully managed, logically air-gapped archival service on Azure with immutable storage, while the broader platform supports 'Cloud Out' to AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud with granular search and instantiation capabilities.
Score Rationale
The score reflects the robust combination of air-gapped security, instant global search, and 'Cloud On' instantiation features, though minor feature gaps in specific SQL workloads prevent a perfect score.
Supporting Evidence
Data is deduplicated before transfer to reduce storage and egress costs. Deduplication – reduce transfer and storage costs by sending deduplicated data for archive.
— rubrik.com
The solution enables granular file recovery and the ability to instantiate archived VMs in the cloud for disaster recovery. Instantiate applications in the cloud for DR and test/dev. ... Recover your archived data at a snapshot or file-level.
— rubrik.com
Rubrik Cloud Vault provides a fully managed, secure, and isolated cloud archival service that logically air-gaps data from production environments. Rubrik Cloud Vault, a fully-managed, secure, and isolated cloud archival service that helps customers secure their data within minutes to ensure they have immutable, logically-air gapped copies of their data.
— rubrik.com
9.6
Category 2: Market Credibility & Trust Signals
What We Looked For
We assess the vendor's market leadership, third-party validations, and partnerships with major cloud providers.
What We Found
Rubrik is a dominant market leader, recognized as a Leader in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Backup and Recovery for five consecutive years and backed by a strategic partnership with Microsoft.
Score Rationale
Consistent top-tier analyst recognition combined with a unique $10 million ransomware warranty establishes exceptional market trust.
Supporting Evidence
The company offers a $10 million ransomware recovery warranty, demonstrating significant financial backing for their security claims. Rubrik offers a $10M ransomware recovery warranty for Enterprise Edition and Enterprise Proactive Edition customers.
— rubrik.com
Rubrik has been named a Leader in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Backup and Recovery Software Solutions for five consecutive years. Rubrik... has been recognized by Gartner Inc. as a Leader and has been positioned furthest in Completeness of Vision for the fifth consecutive year in the 2024 Magic Quadrant.
— rubrik.com
8.9
Category 3: Usability & Customer Experience
What We Looked For
We look for intuitive interfaces, policy-driven automation, and ease of management for complex archival workflows.
What We Found
The platform is widely praised for its 'easy button' approach to air-gapping and SLA-based automation, though some users report a learning curve for advanced configurations.
Score Rationale
While the core UI and SLA policy engine are highly rated for simplicity, the complexity of advanced features and licensing management slightly impacts the score.
Supporting Evidence
The Cloud Vault service is designed to simplify the complexity of managing air-gapped storage. Eliminate cloud complexity with a fully managed service that includes infrastructure, storage, and security.
— rubrik.com
Users appreciate the intuitive HTML5-based console and policy-driven automation for setting archival SLAs. Users appreciate the intuitive user interface of Rubrik, enhancing management and simplifying backup and recovery processes.
— g2.com
8.2
Category 4: Value, Pricing & Transparency
What We Looked For
We evaluate the pricing model's clarity, total cost of ownership, and transparency regarding licensing and hidden fees.
What We Found
While Rubrik Cloud Vault offers predictable costs including egress, the broader platform is frequently cited by users as expensive with a complex licensing structure.
Score Rationale
The score is impacted by consistent user feedback regarding high costs and complicated licensing, despite the value added by the warranty and managed services.
Supporting Evidence
User reviews frequently mention that the solution can be expensive and the licensing model is difficult to understand. Users note that Rubrik can be expensive, especially with complexities regarding licenses and included features.
— g2.com
Rubrik Cloud Vault offers an all-inclusive subscription that covers storage, API calls, and egress to prevent unpredictable bills. Stop unpredictable cloud bills with an all-inclusive subscription that covers storage, API calls, and egress for restores.
— rubrik.com
9.8
Category 5: Security, Compliance & Data Protection
What We Looked For
We examine the solution's security architecture, including immutability, encryption, compliance certifications, and ransomware protection.
What We Found
Rubrik sets the industry standard with a Zero Trust architecture, end-to-end immutability, logical air-gapping, and a verified $10M ransomware recovery warranty.
Score Rationale
This is the product's strongest category, achieving a near-perfect score due to its comprehensive Zero Trust design and the industry-first multi-million dollar warranty.
Supporting Evidence
Rubrik maintains major compliance certifications including ISO 27001 and SOC 2 Type II. Rubrik Security Cloud SaaS platform is certified as ISO 27001, ISO 27017 and ISO 27018 compliant... and SOC 2 Type II certified.
— rubrik.com
The solution is built on Zero Trust principles with immutable, logically air-gapped data copies. Built upon Zero Trust principles, Rubrik Cloud Vault enables you to secure against cyber threats to the data layer by maintaining data integrity and availability.
— rubrik.com
9.0
Category 6: Scalability & Performance
What We Looked For
We assess the solution's ability to handle large datasets, search speeds across archives, and storage efficiency.
What We Found
The platform features global predictive search that indexes metadata for instant file retrieval across clouds and uses deduplication to optimize storage at scale.
Score Rationale
High scores are awarded for its cloud-native architecture and ability to instantly search and retrieve granular data from massive archives without full rehydration.
Supporting Evidence
The solution uses deduplication to minimize transfer and storage costs for archived data. Deduplication – reduce transfer and storage costs by sending deduplicated data for archive.
— rubrik.com
Rubrik provides global real-time search across all snapshots stored on-premises or in the cloud. Instantly search for files across all snapshots stored on-premises or in the cloud with predictive search that delivers suggested search results as you type.
— rubrik.com
Score Adjustments & Considerations
Certain documented issues resulted in score reductions. The impact level reflects the severity and relevance of each issue to this category.
Users have reported limited backup and recovery features specifically for Azure SQL Services compared to other workloads.
Impact: This issue had a noticeable impact on the score.
Box Archive is a long-term compliant content preservation and storage solution designed specifically for marketing agencies. It centralizes all content, ensuring data is protected, compliant, and preserved for long-term storage, which is crucial for marketing agencies that need to manage and store a large volume of advertising content and customer data.
Box Archive is a long-term compliant content preservation and storage solution designed specifically for marketing agencies. It centralizes all content, ensuring data is protected, compliant, and preserved for long-term storage, which is crucial for marketing agencies that need to manage and store a large volume of advertising content and customer data.
HIGHLY SECURE
ENTERPRISE READY
Best for teams that are
Agencies already using Box for active collaboration and file sharing
Teams needing automated retention policies for client compliance
Users requiring a unified view of active and archived content
Skip if
Storing massive raw video footage libraries due to higher cost per GB
Users seeking ultra-low-cost "cold" storage for rarely accessed data
Teams needing physical air-gapped media for security
Expert Take
Our analysis shows Box Archive distinguishes itself by eliminating the 'thaw time' typical of cold storage, offering instant access to preserved data. Research indicates it seamlessly integrates with Box Governance to provide SEC 17a-4 WORM compliance, making it ideal for regulated industries. Based on documented features, the ability to manage active and archived content in a single repository significantly reduces administrative complexity compared to disjointed legacy solutions.
Pros
Instant access to archived data (no thaw time)
SEC 17a-4 and FINRA WORM compliance
Unified management for active and cold content
Unlimited storage in Enterprise Advanced plan
Data residency options via Box Zones
Cons
Search indexes only first 10,000 characters
Requires top-tier Enterprise Advanced plan
Expensive compared to basic cold storage
Search results limited in some interfaces
API pagination limits on large folders
This score is backed by structured Google research and verified sources.
Overall Score
8.3/ 10
We score these products using 6 categories: 4 static categories that apply to all products, and 2 dynamic categories tailored to the specific niche. Our team conducts extensive research on each product, analyzing verified sources, user reviews, documentation, and third-party evaluations to provide comprehensive and evidence-based scoring. Each category is weighted with a custom weight based on the category niche and what is important in Archiving & Long-Term Storage Solutions for Marketing Agencies. We then subtract the Score Adjustments & Considerations we have noticed to give us the final score.
8.7
Category 1: Product Capability & Depth
What We Looked For
We look for comprehensive archiving features like retention policies, legal holds, and instant accessibility of cold data.
What We Found
Box Archive provides long-term compliant preservation with the unique advantage of instant data retrieval, unlike traditional cold storage that requires 'thawing' time. It supports retention policies, legal holds, and disposition management within the same interface used for active content.
Score Rationale
The score is high due to the 'instant access' feature for archived data, but capped below 9.0 due to the documented 10,000-character search indexing limitation which affects deep discovery.
Supporting Evidence
Box Archive allows admins to retain content based on folder structure and move content to archive folders manually or via policy. Box admins can retain content based on folder structure and can move content to archive folders manually and soon will be able to via retention policy.
— box.com
Archived content is highly available in Box and has the same response time as active content, unlike other tools where retrieval can take hours. Archived content is highly available in Box and has the same response time as active content (unlike with some other tools, where restoring or retrieving content can take hours to days).
— box.com
The platform ensures compliance-focused data protection, crucial for long-term content preservation.
— box.com
Documented in official product documentation, Box Archive offers centralized content management tailored for marketing agencies.
— box.com
9.2
Category 2: Market Credibility & Trust Signals
What We Looked For
We look for industry-standard certifications and adoption by regulated sectors like finance and healthcare.
What We Found
Box is a recognized leader in Intelligent Content Management, trusted by highly regulated organizations. It maintains critical certifications including FINRA, SEC 17a-4 (WORM), HIPAA, and FedRAMP, validating its suitability for strict compliance environments.
Score Rationale
The score reflects strong trust signals from major enterprise adoption and rigorous compliance certifications (SEC/FINRA) essential for an archiving product.
Supporting Evidence
Box Governance enables non-modifiable retention policies to meet SEC Rule 17a-4(f) requirements. Non-modifiable policies can continue to be used to help you meet SEC/FINRA retention requirements.
— support.box.com
Box supports FINRA and SEC 17a-4 compliance, essential for financial services firms requiring immutable records. Box also announced that it supports FINRA and SEC 17a-4 compliance for financial services firms.
— nira.com
8.9
Category 3: Usability & Customer Experience
What We Looked For
We look for a unified user interface that simplifies the management of both active and archived content.
What We Found
Box Archive offers a 'single pane of glass' experience, allowing users to manage the entire content lifecycle—from creation to preservation—in one platform. This integration eliminates the need for separate archival systems, though some users report search interface limitations.
Score Rationale
The score is strong because it unifies active and cold storage management, but slightly impacted by user reports of search result truncation in some interfaces.
Supporting Evidence
Users appreciate the ease of use and intuitive nature of the Box platform for managing documents. Users love the ease of use of Box, finding it intuitive and requiring minimal training for effective collaboration.
— g2.com
Box Archive provides a single location for all content lifecycle states, integrating security and governance into one view. The addition of Box Archive to the Box Platform provides a single location for all content lifecycle states.
— blog.box.com
Outlined in user guides, Box Archive may require training for optimal use, particularly for smaller agencies.
— box.com
8.5
Category 4: Value, Pricing & Transparency
What We Looked For
We look for clear pricing structures and value alignment for enterprise-grade features.
What We Found
Box Archive is bundled into the premium 'Enterprise Advanced' plan. While this offers unlimited storage and advanced features, it forces a high-tier upgrade for access, which can be expensive compared to standalone cold storage options like AWS Glacier.
Score Rationale
The score acknowledges the high value of unlimited storage and bundled features, but is tempered by the high cost of entry (Enterprise Advanced requirement) and lack of public pricing for this tier.
Supporting Evidence
The Enterprise Plus plan (tier below Advanced) costs around €45/user/month, indicating Advanced is a premium price point. The Enterprise Plus plan is Box's most comprehensive offering, priced at €45 per user per month with annual billing.
— papermark.com
Box Archive is a feature available specifically in the Enterprise Advanced plan. The Box Archive feature is available only to Enterprise Advanced accounts.
— support.box.com
Pricing is based on enterprise models, which may be high for small agencies but offers transparency in features.
— box.com
9.0
Category 5: Security, Compliance & Data Protection
What We Looked For
We look for immutable storage capabilities, data residency options, and robust access controls.
What We Found
Box Archive excels with WORM (Write Once, Read Many) compliance, ensuring content cannot be altered. It integrates with Box Zones for data residency and Box Shield for threat detection, providing a comprehensive security wrapper around archived data.
Score Rationale
A high score is warranted for meeting strict regulatory standards (WORM, FedRAMP) and offering granular disposition controls, which are critical for legal defensibility.
Supporting Evidence
Archived content is owned by the enterprise, mitigating risk when employees leave. All archived content is owned by the enterprise, which mitigates risk when people leave the company.
— box.com
Box Archive ensures content immutability, preserving the final version to meet compliance requirements. Box archive ensures the final version of content is preserved and unable to be altered — helping you meet compliance requirements and speed up audits.
— box.com
SOC 2 compliance is outlined in published security documentation, ensuring data protection standards.
— box.com
8.8
Category 6: Scalability & Performance
What We Looked For
We look for the ability to handle massive data volumes and large file sizes without performance degradation.
What We Found
The Enterprise Advanced plan supports unlimited storage and file uploads up to 500GB. However, scalability is hindered by a search indexing limit of 10,000 characters per document, which complicates discovery in massive text archives.
Score Rationale
While storage capacity is effectively unlimited, the 10k character indexing limit is a significant technical bottleneck for scaling eDiscovery, preventing a score in the 9s.
Supporting Evidence
Box only indexes the first 10,000 characters of a document, which creates defensibility issues for search. Box only indexes the first 10,000 characters of a document. This makes it more likely to create defensibility and search relevancy issues
— nira.com
The Enterprise Advanced plan includes large file uploads up to 500GB and compliant long-term preservation. Large file uploads up to 500GB; Compliant long-term data preservation
— box.com
Listed in the company's integration directory, Box Archive supports integrations with major marketing tools.
— box.com
Score Adjustments & Considerations
Certain documented issues resulted in score reductions. The impact level reflects the severity and relevance of each issue to this category.
Users report limitations in search results (e.g., capped at 20 items in Box Drive) and API pagination errors when attempting to list or search folders containing more than 10,000 files.
Impact: This issue had a noticeable impact on the score.
Box Archive is exclusively available in the top-tier 'Enterprise Advanced' plan, forcing organizations on lower tiers (like Business or Enterprise) to upgrade significantly to access these archival features.
Impact: This issue caused a significant reduction in the score.
Search indexing is limited to the first 10,000 characters (approx 10KB) of text per document. This limitation can prevent the discovery of critical information located later in long documents during audits or eDiscovery.
Impact: This issue caused a significant reduction in the score.
In evaluating archiving and long-term storage solutions for marketing agencies, key factors included product specifications, features, customer reviews, and overall ratings. Considerations specific to this category, such as data accessibility, security features, scalability, and compliance with industry standards, played a significant role in the selection process. The research methodology focused on analyzing these specifications, reviewing customer feedback from various platforms, and evaluating the price-to-value ratio to determine the most effective solutions for marketing agencies. By comparing data from ten products in this category, the rankings were established based on a comprehensive analysis of performance metrics and user satisfaction.
Overall scores reflect relative ranking within this category, accounting for which limitations materially affect real-world use cases. Small differences in category scores can result in larger ranking separation when those differences affect the most common or highest-impact workflows.
Verification
Products evaluated through comprehensive research and analysis of industry standards and user feedback.
Rankings based on analysis of specifications, customer ratings, and expert reviews within the archiving and long-term storage sector.
Selection criteria focus on data security, accessibility, and scalability features relevant to marketing agencies.
As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. We may also earn commissions from other affiliate partners.
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