Every emerging market goes through a time of confusion where both vendors and analysts try to \u201cdefine\u201d the solution to a pervasive problem. Meanwhile, companies actually experiencing the problem are left to sort through a cacophony of mixed messages and terminology, all the while struggling to understand how this \u201ccategory\u201d of products solves their problem. As cloud storage moves closer to the IT mainstream, we see this same story arc playing out, with analysts and vendors coining a new category of products \u2013 \u201cCloud Integrated Storage\u201d (CiS) \u2013 that is subtly different from the \u201ccloud storage gateway\u201d term that previously captured the entire category.
\nAccording to an ESG report, CiS entails \u201cprimary and\/or most active data staying onsite (as a tier or cache).\u201d It operates \u201cfor less active data \u2026 as an easily scalable archive\u201d and offers \u201cpowerful remote data protection and business continuity capabilities.\u201d While this description is quite elaborate, in layman\u2019s terms, CiS simply delivers cloud storage in addition to traditional storage to on-premise environments. In fact, it may all sound very familiar to those already using advanced cloud storage gateways and appliances.<\/p>\n