What is our primary use case?
My main use case for Qumulo is at my organization, where I use it for archiving, as a backup repository, and as S3 object storage for immutable storage of OpenShift workloads. I also use it for an IBM data warehouse, as a backup repository with Veeam and NetWorker, and with AFS, CIFS, and SMB for adding files. I replicate everything to the disaster site.
Out of those use cases, the most critical and valuable one for my organization is using Qumulo to back up an IBM data warehouse solution. We tried many other solutions, including native backup solutions such as TSM and NetWorker. Only with Qumulo did we manage to achieve a quick backup using private networks and multiple sessions, which allowed us to back up 20 to 30 terabytes within a backup window of 12 hours. We can also do restores within a limited restore window.
I have clients who are looking to replace their file servers with Qumulo or to use it as object storage. I offer Qumulo to them as the best scalable, scale-up solution. It is also very important for mid-sized companies, such as investment companies and insurance companies, that need a secure solution to share their valuable data. I am also going to show how Qumulo works to a big company that has massive data that needs to be archived and recalled as fast as possible.
We also use Qumulo with backup solutions, especially the S3 option that we have for immutability. In addition, we use it for the disaster recovery solutions that we already have in the bank, with two six-node clusters, a failover and failback mechanism, and all the other capabilities that this solution offers.
How has it helped my organization?
Qumulo has positively impacted my organization. First, it allowed us to bypass the problem we had with other solutions with the bank's data warehouse, which we could not back up within a specific period of time. It was also very valuable because it let us provide storage very easily to applications that needed it.
All customers look not only at the service itself but also at how much it costs, so the cost per terabyte matters to clients, and it is very efficient with this solution.
I can share that we managed to back up 30 terabytes in a very short period of time. In big installations, we also managed to achieve a cost per terabyte of less than 20 euros per month. This makes it very attractive to archive data or to use Qumulo as primary storage for specific solutions with limited cost. The new features, especially S3, are something we were waiting to have.
What is most valuable?
The best features Qumulo offers in my experience are that it is very easy to set up and configure, and I use it every day.
The setup and configuration are easy for me because of both the interface and the documentation. I would also like to state that it is one of the best experiences I have had regarding support. Support was the main reason we first looked at Qumulo back in 2020, when we started evaluating the solution. It was very important then, and it still is, to have a team behind the product that is able to support you at any time of the day. That is very important for me and for my clients.
In terms of performance, scalability, and integrations, I can say the performance is extremely good. Scalability is easy, as it is simple to add extra nodes or new capacity, and even the upgrade procedure is straightforward. All of these things give an extra grade and a better experience when using Qumulo in a customer infrastructure, for me as a contractor, and for the client itself.
What needs improvement?
I believe Qumulo has made a lot of changes over the last five years, and I am waiting to see what comes next. Right now, I do not have anything worth pinpointing as a problem that needs to be solved. It is important to please keep up the good work regarding support, which is very important.
The only issues I have had in the past were during the upgrade procedure. We had some issues with performance, and in some cases some nodes did not react as planned and the procedure did not go as expected, even though it is fully automated. However, this happened in only two or three cases over the last five or six years, so I am just mentioning it. I am sure that every upgrade that is deployed is becoming better and better.
I chose a rating of nine out of 10 because I would prefer not to have a new upgrade every few months, for example.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Qumulo since 2020, approximately.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Qumulo's scalability is very easy, and it works. We have scaled it with no issues.
How are customer service and support?
The customer support is perfect, which is why I keep saying that support needs to continue at the same level as it is today, which is very important.
On a scale of 1 to 10, I rate the customer support a 10.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Previously, I used a different solution from Dell, which was ECS, the Elastic Cloud Storage solution. It was very expensive and gave the client the same value as Qumulo. In some cases, it was also slower in performance than Qumulo, which replaced it.
What was our ROI?
I have seen a return on investment in time saved. I have also seen a return in money, because we had cases where a client decommissioned older storage or did not upgrade to more expensive solutions that give the same value. Compared with traditional storage, it earned money. Time and money are the two returns I can state without a second thought right now.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing is that licensing is straightforward. Pricing is okay, as it also depends on Microsoft costs. For most medium and small companies, it may be prohibitive in some cases. However, in most of the cases I have handled, we had on-premises and some hybrid solutions, and it worked perfectly. We did not have any issues, and the pricing was what we expected.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
Before choosing Qumulo, I evaluated other options from Dell storage, specifically the VNX solution in the past and ECS last year, and we chose Qumulo.
What other advice do I have?
On a scale of 1 to 10, I would rate Qumulo overall a nine.
Regarding Qumulo's AI capabilities, I think it covers most of the IT governance needs of at least the big companies that have IT governance. In our cases, we also have companies that do not have IT governance or do not follow it. I think it covers most of the needs that big companies have in this field.
Regarding Qumulo's AI capabilities and the accuracy and reliability of their output, AI is a tool that helps everyone, but it is still not something you can rely on 100%. In most of the cases where I have used it with Qumulo, it is okay and it helps. In many cases, however, we cannot use it because we do not have access to the internet, as it is forbidden by the company and by security policies. In the cases where I have used it, it is okay and quite fair.
Qumulo is deployed in my organization in on-premises and hybrid configurations; those are the cases I have used, at least.
The cloud provider I use for my hybrid deployment is Azure.
My advice to others looking into using Qumulo is to do a POC to see the value, looking not only at the cost per terabyte and price but also at the features and capabilities. Support, as I mentioned before, and scalability also matter a lot. I think that is the main thing that comes to my mind.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Hybrid Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?