The shine of cloud-only storage solutions has dimmed in recent years. While the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated cloud adoption due to the requirement for remote accessibility and flexible infrastructure, it also highlighted significant shortcomings. This is according to Nexsan, which positions itself as a global leader in the secure storage, protection and management of data.
This year’s ITWeb Security Summit, scheduled to take place on 3 and 4 June in Johannesburg, will see CASA Software, which positions itself as a leader in digital transformation in South Africa and SA distributor of Nexsan, on hand to showcase an expansive range of security solutions.
Judy Kaldenberg, Nexsan SVP, Sales and Marketing, notes unexpectedly high costs, lack of performance transparency, complex compliance requirements and severe egress fees made organisations reconsider their reliance on cloud solutions. “There is an emergence of hybrid thinking, with organisations now adopting a more nuanced, hybrid approach – recognising that not all data should live solely in the cloud. This shift is largely driven by the realisation that owning data infrastructure provides a strategic advantage, particularly for predictable, high-volume and compliance-sensitive workloads,” says Kaldenberg.
Byron Horn-Botha, Senior Sales Specialist, CASA Software, highlights that on-premises solutions, such as Nexsan’s E-Series, Assureon and Unity NV-Series, offer enterprises a secure and high-performance foundation within a hybrid model. “They provide critical landing zones for sensitive data – ranging from backups and virtual machine storage to analytics and edge computing aggregation. With versatile hybrid interfaces including NFS, SMB, S3 and iSCSI, these solutions deliver the flexibility and performance required by modern enterprises.”
Enhanced security and ransomware protection
Kaldenberg confirms cloud storage inherently introduces vulnerabilities through third-party dependencies and multi-tenant environments, increasing the risk of ransomware attacks. “Immutable on-premises solutions like Nexsan’s Assureon and Unity deliver unmatched ransomware protection by ensuring that backups remain unalterable and recoverable, even if cloud resources become compromised. This level of security is essential in today’s cyber-threat landscape and underscores the necessity of on-premises storage for critical data protection.
“The economic argument for cloud has become less convincing over time. The predictability and long-term value of owning storage infrastructure can often outweigh the seemingly attractive flexibility of cloud’s pay-as-you-go model. Cloud solutions frequently result in fluctuating and escalating costs, obscured behind complex billing and usage models,” she says.
Kaldenberg highlights that owning your storage infrastructure means clear budget predictability, asset value and performance control – eliminating concerns about noisy neighbours, multi-tenant latency issues or vendor-imposed throttling. “This is particularly true for enterprises handling compliance-sensitive or sovereign data; having physical custody of your storage infrastructure translates directly into a business advantage as it offers straightforward auditability and regulatory compliance.”
She adds as IT environments grow more fragmented and distributed – across retail stores, industrial facilities, hospitals and remote offices – cloud-only approaches become increasingly impractical. “On-premises storage platforms, especially those with small footprints and multi-protocol support like Nexsan, provide the resilience and performance required at the edge, reducing administrative complexity and enhancing data locality.”
Horn-Botha notes despite two decades of aggressive promotion for cloud-only solutions, the industry is acknowledging the critical role of on-premises storage. “Companies like Nexsan, which maintained a strategic focus on reliable, predictable and enterprise-grade storage solutions, are now ideally positioned to lead in this renewed hybrid era. Ultimately, organisations are rediscovering that strategic control over data infrastructure doesn’t just safeguard information – it fortifies businesses. Storage didn’t disappear; it simply evolved. And in this evolution, on-premises storage has returned stronger than ever, proving essential for businesses seeking security, cost control and long-term data integrity,” Horn-Botha concludes.
For further information and to register for the 2025 Security Summit, visit: https://www.itweb.co.za/event/itweb-security-summit-2025/.
About CASA
CASA Software is a digital transformation organisation comprising a highly skilled team of technology professionals. The company has over three decades' experience in the South African and sub-Saharan ICT industry.
CASA Software helps customers to transform and optimise ICT operations from mobile to mainframe, including hybrid and multicloud, to accelerate innovation while maximising customer value.
CASA Software partners with software industry technology leaders to enable its customers to realise the value of AI-driven operations and streamlined automation. Its solutions are designed to assist customers to securely embrace the challenges of digital transformation and the next AI-driven era of computing.
CASA Software customers include leaders in finance, telecommunications, retail and the public sector.
Visit CASA Software online here.
Contact: support@caafrica.co.za
About Nexsan
Nexsan is a global leader in enabling customers to securely store, protect and manage data. Established in 1999, Nexsan has earned a reputation for delivering the most highly reliable, secure and cost-effective storage while always remaining agile to continuously deliver purpose-built storage and data management solutions that meet complex and ever-changing IT, business and budgetary requirements. Nexsan’s patented technology is ideal for a variety of use cases, including backup and recovery, content delivery and streaming, scientific lab data, virtualisation, evidentiary data, digital video surveillance, regulatory compliance and healthcare records. For further information, please visit www.nexsan.com.
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