How and why we help organisations bring their data home

The modern organisation runs on data. Whether it is customer information or operational systems, sales numbers, PnL figures or HR information, a business is nothing without its information and IP. Every organisation is different, but all data needs to be available, protected and recoverable in the event that there’s an issue.

For many organisations, standard cloud services are enough but they’re not right for everyone. Those that need clearer control over where their data is hosted, which jurisdiction applies and who is responsible if systems fail need a very different approach to data storage.

That’s why we built SpaceTime. We experienced the problem first-hand in our previous businesses and built the solution we needed.

We provide managed data-hosting infrastructure for organisations that need to host critical data in a more controlled environment, without having to build and run the entire storage platform themselves.

Our customers often have different needs, but they all have the same demands. They need a hosting environment they can understand, control and rely on.

With big data comes great responsibility

Managed service providers (MSPs) need a reliable storage foundation for the IT, cloud, security and data-protection services they deliver to customers. They require infrastructure that can scale with demand, support different workloads and remain dependable while they focus on the applications and relationships they are building.

Governments and public-sector organisations have a different set of priorities. They need to know where information is held, give people confidence that it will remain available over time and work within a jurisdiction they can explain. Data hosting is part of their wider commitment to continuity, sovereignty and public trust which can make overseas providers and cloud-based options unsuitable.

For defence organisations and suppliers, the stakes can be higher still. Data is typically very sensitive, operationally important or subject to strict handling requirements. It must remain secure, available and recoverable, even in the unfortunate event that something goes wrong. We’ve written extensively that compute power and AI is a national security issue, and data storage and security is a key consideration for the defence industry.

Similar concerns can also be found with businesses that have substantial data demands in their operations. They may not necessarily want to run a storage operation, but they still need capacity, resilience and clear operational responsibility for data that the business depends on.

Traditionally, their options were limited.

They could build and run everything themselves, but that’s a tough undertaking that means capacity planning, hardware, maintenance, monitoring, backups and recovery. But simply handing over the task to a service provider would mean less visibility on how the platform works, not ideal when data is so core to the business and its growth.

Having your own data-hosting environment does not mean buying and running every server yourself. It means knowing where your data sits, who is responsible for it and how it is protected, while having infrastructure designed around the way your organisation works.

We run the underlying infrastructure for you. Our customers retain control over the decisions that matter to them and can add capacity or support new workloads as their needs grow, without building a storage operation inside their business.

This is why we are here

We are here to provide a third way. We build and manage the infrastructure underneath a customer’s data, to allow them to retain control of the hosting environment without becoming storage operators. SpaceTime delivers that foundation as a managed service, taking responsibility for its day-to-day operation, monitoring and protection.

DataOcean is the platform at the centre of this approach, and it is designed to bring the best of both worlds.

It combines S3-compatible object storage, high-performance file storage and integrated backup and recovery in one managed environment. We have built immutable offsite backups and 24/7 monitoring into the service, and customers can scale capacity without needing to buy or maintain the hardware themselves.

This combination beats building a mix of storage, backup and recovery products across different platforms. Instead, DataOcean brings them together as one managed service. So that makes the underlying environment easier to manage and easier to explain to customers, auditors and stakeholders.

It is designed for real workloads, not a single type of data. Enterprise systems, backup and archiving, surveillance, AI workloads and large media files all have different requirements. They all depend on storage that is performant, resilient and able to grow. DataOcean provides that common foundation, with specialised solutions such as SurveillanceVault and SpaceStudio built on top for companies that need them.

Location is also a core part of what we offer. All DataOcean data is hosted in our Finland-based data centres under EU jurisdiction. That’s essential for many companies as clarity over the location and legal framework of data can be as important as performance and capacity.

Cloud storage services aren’t bad at all. They revolutionised company building and lowered the barrier for anyone to start a business. They certainly have a place for many companies but they are not a fit for all.

We give customers a controlled, managed hosting environment that lets them concentrate on the services, systems and work they run, while we take responsibility for the infrastructure beneath.

For more information about how our data storage services can work for your business, visit our website or book an exploration call.