Scality, San Francisco, California, United States: Scality ARTESCA 2.0

Written answers to the questions

New version of existing product - ARTESCA 2.0 shipped June 5, 2023

Total 349 words used.

ARTESCA 2.0 updates Scality’s simple, secure S3 object storage software for data deployments starting at a few terabytes. With ransomware attacks an unfortunate inevitability,  ARTESCA 2.0 adds a dozen innovations that strengthen cyber resiliency and ransomware protection, while building upon the product’s best-in-class simplicity and lightweight object storage capabilities — at entry-level pricing starting at under $4,000/year, including 24x7 support, that won’t give CFOs heartburn.
1. New hardened attack surface for greater ransomware protection.

New integrated, security-hardened and minimal Linux Operating System that precludes OS access, reduces exposure to critical vulnerability exposures (CVEs) endemic to Linux packages, limiting a wide range of potential malicious attacks.

Multi-factor authentication (MFA) for secure administrator UI login, making it harder for malicious actors to log in.

Identity&access management (IAM) policies for secure access fromVeeam® Data Platform.

Immutability at the API layer through S3 object locking on top of intrinsic immutable object storage.

Lockdown of unused network ports to further reduce the attack surface.

To simplify network security management, ARTESCA 2.0 automatically configures firewall rules upon deployment.

2. More enterprise-grade features with low entry costs.

Comprehensive support of Veeam Data Platform’s new Direct to Object and Smart  Object Storage API, enabling added ransomware protection, data immutability, operational efficiencies. 

Simplified installer gets systems up and running fast to enable mission-critical Veeam backups and restores. 

Shorter backup windows and faster restores get resources operational swiftly after an event.

Validated to scale from 1 TB - 5 PB in usable capacity, a 250% increase in capacity from previous releases, with dual-level data protection.

Extra storage resilience, via distributed erasure coding that renders data indecipherable to low-level and data exfiltration attacks, and metadata in secure repository on intrinsically immutable object storage layer.

Extra geographic resilience via asynchronous replication to separate security and management domain for “air-gapped” offsite storage.

3. New deployment options provide increased freedom of choice. 

ARTESCA software appliance with integrated, secure minimal Linux OS, and automated patch upgrades to further simplify security management.

ARTESCA as virtual appliance in OVA format for fast installation on VMware vSphere version 7.0 and later.

Total 348 words used.

After the initial version debuted in April 2021, ARTESCA achieved a fast ramp with a projected ARR growth rate of another 300% in 2023. Targeting midmarket firms with modern applications where IT resources are lean or nonexistent, ARTESCA addressed demand for enterprise capabilities in deployments between 100-500 TB with the potential to grow. Its versatility is rare in the industry, and highly differentiated from competitors Object First, Data Domain, MinIO and Cloudian. It is small and lightweight enough for edge deployments, and enterprise-grade enough that midrange service providers that use it to offer Backup-as-a-service - and larger companies use it as an immutable S3 storage target for Veeam backups and ransomware protection.

Since ARTESCA 2.0 became generally available June 5, 2023, sales figures are not yet compiled, yet response from customers and partners was extremely favorable.
Renaud Massé, director of infrastructure, AP-HM: "After an in-depth competitive study on alternative flash and purpose-built backup appliances in 2022, we opted for an ARTESCA solution delivering 1 usable petabyte for our backup production data. Our decision was motivated by the simplicity of the software appliance, excellent performance on backup and especially for restores, as well as strong security around the S3 protocol. ARTESCA gives us all of these values plus an efficient cost per TB in a configuration that can seamlessly double capacity to 2 PB.”

Larissa Crandall, Veeam vice president of global channel and alliances: “By supporting both Veeam’s performance tier for direct-to-object and its capacity tier for short and long-term retention, ARTESCA is an ideal object storage solution to deliver on the promise of Veeam’s 3-2-1-1-0 rule. Our joint customers gain ransomware protection and data immutability without sacrificing performance.”

Competitively differentiated against MinIO and Cloudian:
1. Minio is a super-small S3 compatible product better characterized as an “S3 server” that does not perform usual storage management. To use Minio requires that the customer also has a separate “backend” storage solution.  

2. Cloudian require a 3-node cluster as minimum deployment target (not lightweight). It stores object data in underlying host file system (not intrinsically immutable object storage.)

Total 249 words used.

NAND Research industry analyst Steve McDowell’s analysis of ARTESCA 2.0 (NOTE: firm has no paid relationship with Scality). https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevemcdowell/2023/06/11/scality-artesca-20-object-storage-focuses-on-cybersecurity-and-enterprise-features/?sh=24c2989a7135

The Analyst’s Take

Scality has carved a nice niche in the software-defined file and object space. The company has focused on establishing the right strategic partnerships and integrations with major cloud providers, allowing customers to extend their storage infrastructure into the cloud seamlessly. This integration with leading cloud platforms enhances data mobility and enables efficient data management across hybrid environments.
Scality has gained recognition in the industry for its ability to cater to the needs of diverse sectors, including media and entertainment, healthcare, finance, and more. The company continues to demonstrate impressive growth in an increasingly crowded market. Scality competes well against peers such as MinIO and Cloudian. That’s no small feat.
Scality enables organizations to overcome the complexities associated with managing large-scale data. The new features released in ARTESCA 2.0 demonstrates that Scality continues to play a pivotal role in the storage landscape, empowering enterprises to navigate the data-driven era with a little more safety and security.

Gartner #1 Rankings for the Backup use case in the 2022 Gartner® Critical Capabilities report for Distributed File Systems and Object Storage, among 18 vendors - AND a Leader in 2022 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Distributed File Systems and Object Storage — for the seventh year in a row.
https://www.scality.com/landing/2022-gartner-critical-capabilities/
https://www.scality.com/press-releases/gartner-critical-capabilities-2022/

Scality ARTESCA 2.0 blog:
https://solved.scality.com/solved/artesca-2-0-enhanced-s3-data-storage/