Google launches cheap storage service for data you don't often use

Google launched a new storage platform for cold data, known as infrequently used and accessed information, on Wednesday.

Cold data is often kept for legal or regulatory reasons, so the service is clearly designed with businesses in mind. The new platform, called Google Cloud Storage Nearline, costs just $0.01 per GB at rest each month.

"Organizations can no longer afford to throw data away, as it’s critical to conducting analysis and gaining market intelligence," according to Google's blog post announcing the storage platform. "But they also can’t afford to overpay for growing volumes of storage."

Other services like this already exist. Amazon Glacier, for example, has comparable pricing. A huge advantage for Google's Nearline, however, is that it promises it will take mere seconds to access your cold data. With Amazon Glacier, it can take "several hours" to retrieve information.

Nearline hopes to blur the line between online and offline storage, hence the "near" part of its name. Cold data is often stored offline to save money. Keeping data immediately available in an online format can be expensive and strenuous, so Nearline offers a potentially game-changing option for businesses with customers who want quick access to stored information without paying the premium price of online storage.

Retrieval and deletion costs can vary with Nearline. More information on pricing can be found, here, and the following chart outlines how it works.

Posted by : Gizmeon