Compliance and Archive

  • Real-Time Archiving

    Time Management

    Everyone knows that a backup is not an archive. An archived file is a file "version", with sufficient metadata attached that allows for easy search and retrieval. Backup products can't do that. Also, backups give you multiple points of recovery in time for your whole data set or specific parts of it. Archive products can't do that.

    But then came AIMstor. . . . . and AIMstor can do both.

    When you take that version for archive, be it once a month, or 2 seconds ago when that last change took place, is your choice. Searching for that file with rich metadata variables, or clicking through your file system directory structure? Also your choice.

    The fundamental way of operating AIMstor is to create simple policies and classifications of your data. This might not sound like much, but policies are real-time sensitive, and can be triggered by someone changing a file, creating a file, or accessing a file share. Data Classifications are assigned to files the moment they are created. In this way, AIMstor guides and manages your data through a myriad of business processes that different departments may impose upon it. Perhaps several departments have different policies for the same set of data, or the same file.

    AIMstor can accommodate an unlimited number of policy parameters, distribute them in real time, and AIMstor Nodes can use new policies the moment they are distributed. The result is information governance and data compliance on an entirely different level.

    Real-Time Compliance

    While many solutions can promise to help you achieve compliance on one level or another, only AIMstor cuts a wide path across the many sticky points related to regulatory compliance requirements.

    Data Cube

    SEC Rules 17a-3 and 4 require the maintaining extensive records of all transactions, to have an audit capability of electronic data, and to archive necessary information for specified period of retention.

    Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act requires storage of consumers' personal financial information held at financial institutions to meet certain security, access and data protection mandates.

    Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) Sections 103, 104, 105 and 404, govern the rules to archive for periods of 3 to seven years, depending on the data, and to maintain internal controls on data, for prevention of changes and/or destruction of data critical to compliance

    Take a look at the world of Electronic Compliance (FRCP, PCI, Basel II, etc.) and they all require many levels of compliance. Only through using a multi-tool solution such as AIMstor, can you accomplish a safe level of compliance.

    With AIMstor, you can plug many of the existing holes you have in your compliance strategy, and greatly reduce the risk of penalties, fines, lawsuits and legal fees.

    We can help companies achieve data governance on a budget. The Fortune 500 are paying vendors many millions of dollars, all for the benefits that can be had with a small investment in AIMstor.

  • Data Governance

    Time Managemenet

    The world's top companies place a high priority on data governance. In a study of 250 companies, titled "IT Governance: How Top Performers Manage IT Decision Rights for Superior Results" (Weill & Ross, Harvard) found that firms with enhanced data governance had profits that were at least 20 percent higher than firms with inadequate governance.

    At the center of data governance is the implementation of consistent policies, processes, controls and best practices that meet the business process requirements of users and organizations.

    As an example, AIMstor's Track function monitors files on primary storage for their entire lifecycle, based on exact file type, who owns them, etc. This can be a useful tool to help with activities such as spreadsheet governance and document governance.

    Combining tools within AIMstor, together with "creation to expiration" of data and retention policies, allows you to bring functionality into workflow requirements, for immediate needs, and the long term.

  • Repository Search

    The ability to search repository data via a wide range of definable parameters, such as file extension type, user, owner, and many others, and, the ability to browse past snapshot histories, is not just a great way to facilitate user level restore empowerment, it is also an important way for IT managers and users to understand the overall data itself.

    Tag Store Index

    The AIMstor architecture is built on top of search engine technology, allowing real-time Tag-Store-Index of all files and data. The unified metadata store provides a platform built for today, and the future.

    Active Archive from Backup?

    Because Cofio's AIMstor Repository provides many parameters for incredibly fast Search and Restore of files, it can be used quite easily as a disk-based Active Archive that provides fast "retrieval" of searchable files and file versions.

    In the image below, AIMstor shows a full file history with changes captured along the timeline using Version. Restore of particular versions from any specific point in time can help maintain compliance consistency.

    Version Policy Flow with Forensic Tracking

    Several AIMstor Operations can be used to create one single policy for many types of Data Protection and Compliance. Version can be combined with Backup for full retention and high performance deduplication of all data, while still maintaining granular, real-time File Versions. Version can also be teamed up with Track to find the Who, What, When of all touches to the Versioned files.

    File Versioning and Tracking

    AIMstor shows a full file history with changes captured along the timeline using Version. In addition, applying Track to the same policy will show forensic details of all changes and creations. Restore of particular versions from any specific point in time can help maintain compliance consistency. In this example, with 32 million files in this repository, the Version and Tracking search came back with the results in less than 1 second.