FileShadow delivers thin provisioned storage for virtual desktops, allowing access to the FileShadow vault within the desktop

FileShadow announced this week FileShadow for Windows Virtual Desktop that provides thin provisioned storage to companies using virtual desktops, separating users’ data from the operating system, local applications and user settings in the data center—reducing costs for any company using virtual desktops.

FileShadow thin provisioned storage allows virtual desktops to have access to large vaults without synchronizing data to the virtual desktop server. All of the content is available, but only downloaded on demand to the local virtual desktop when edited or modified.

FileShadow is a service that aggregates files from multiple cloud sources, Windows Virtual Desktops, Windows PC and macOS desktops and Drobo network and direct attached storage (NAS/DAS) devices into one secure, reliable and searchable cloud vault.

Compatible with Amazon WorkSpaces, Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops, HVE ConneXions VDI Solutions, IOXO Workspace Technology, Microsoft Windows Virtual Desktop, and VMWare Horizon, FileShadow for Windows Virtual Desktop delivers thin provisioned access to the user’s vault.

Using machine learning, FileShadow provides superior indexing and searching capabilities. With FileShadow, users can quickly find any file with advanced search features such as file content, OCR of PDFs, GPS location and image searches.

FileShadow is hosted on Google Cloud and IBM Cloud with storage on IBM Cloud Object Storage (COS) and Wasabi’s Hot Cloud Storage, providing “11 nines” of durability for optimal file protection. FileShadow supports multiple cloud storage sources, including Windows PC and macOS desktops (including iCloud Drive files and iCloud Photos), Drobo NAS/DAS devices, Adobe Creative Cloud, Adobe’s Lightroom solutions, Box, Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive and OneDrive for Business.

Users can store all of their content in FileShadow, enabling them to access their content and receive the archiving, aggregating and searching capabilities of FileShadow’s service. IT departments will save money by using FileShadow to minimize the amount of storage allocated for their virtual desktop servers, and user storage will be protected by the FileShadow vault—made explicitly for reliable storage, search and access of files.

FileShadow for Windows Virtual Desktop supports and integrates with cloud-based Desktop as a Service (DaaS) and premise-based Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) solutions. With FileShadow in place, customers can move between DaaS and VDI because their data is now portable.

“One of the issues that accompany a virtual desktop deployment is how to secure long-term storage of users’ files,” said Tyrone Pike, president and CEO of FileShadow. “With FileShadow, all of the archiving, aggregation and searching capabilities used by traditional desktop users are now available for virtual desktop users. Users simply install the FileShadow Desktop App on their virtual desktop and sign in; all of their files are available.”

The FileShadow Service is free of charge for up to 100 GB of data. Subscriptions for FileShadow for Virtual Desktops are available for $25/month for 2TB and each additional terabyte is $10/month.

J.P. Morgan joins Microsoft to push adoption of Quorum in a bid to get more enterprises on to its free-to-use platform

J.P. Morgan and Microsoft announced Thursday that they have signed a memorandum of understanding to form a strategic partnership to accelerate the adoption of enterprise blockchain.

Through this partnership, Quorum, developed by J.P. Morgan, will become the first distributed ledger platform available through Azure Blockchain Service, enabling J.P. Morgan and Microsoft customers to build and scale blockchain networks in the cloud.

The partnership with Azure will further strengthen Quorum as a fully integrated, Ethereum-based blockchain platform and suite of applications. Together, the platform will enable enterprise businesses across industries to shift their focus from infrastructure management to application development, driving transformative business value. Customers will be able to rapidly grow their networks while benefiting from lower costs, simplified deployment and built-in governance enabled through Azure Blockchain Service.

Going forward, J.P. Morgan and Microsoft will continue to work together to address common enterprise, Independent Software Vendor, and developer needs for building and deploying blockchain applications on Quorum in the cloud. Microsoft will also provide engineering, consulting and go-to-market support for Quorum.

“We are incredibly proud of the success Quorum has had over the last four years, as organizations around the world use Quorum to solve complex business and societal problems via blockchain solutions,” said Umar Farooq, Global Head of Blockchain, J.P. Morgan. “We are delighted to partner alongside Microsoft as we continue to strengthen Quorum and expand capabilities and services on the platform. Azure will bring unique strengths to enterprise clients using Quorum.”

“As digital transformation extends beyond the walls of an individual organization, companies need solutions that enable them to securely share their business processes and data in order to drive imaginative new business models and reinvent industries. We’re thrilled to partner with a leader like J.P. Morgan to establish a foundation on which enterprises and partners can rapidly build and scale blockchain networks,” said Peggy Johnson, Executive Vice President of Business Development, Microsoft. “Together, we’re taking a truly transformative technology like Quorum and making it available through the Azure platform to accelerate innovation for our customers.”

In addition to providing a platform for Quorum customers to build blockchain networks and applications, Quorum will continue to power J.P. Morgan and Microsoft blockchain programs and first-party apps, such as the Interbank Information Network, JPM Coin and Microsoft’s Xbox royalty payment process, among others.

Virtium debuts high-endurance, low-power, M.2-compliant USB 3.1 solid-state drives for industrial embedded applications

Virtium introduced this week its TuffDrive M.2 USB line of SSDs that bring high-endurance, low-power, small-form-factor solid-state storage to industrial-embedded applications.

These SSDs enable designers to take advantage of USB 3.1’s widespread host support and efficiently connect M.2 form factor drives to host systems lacking the SATA storage interface. The drives provide cost-effective, secure storage to a wide range of uses that require lower capacities, such as operating system boot, code and application storage, virtualization, and light data logging.

Virtium’s TuffDrive SSDs leverage the M.2 2242 form factor (22mm x 42mm) and USB 3.1 to achieve small-footprint solid-state storage connected to host systems via a common, cost-effective interface. That combination reduces power consumption, and thus heat generation, compared to SATA-SSD storage.

It also lowers electromagnetic interference (EMI), making the SSDs a viable option for medical, telecommunications and other EMI-sensitive applications, as well as for densely populated circuit boards. Additionally, the new drives’ high-integrity M.2-to-USB 3.1 connection enables shock and vibration resistance superior to designs using alternative form factors and interfaces.

The hot-pluggable TuffDrive M.2 USB line is designed with lower-capacity applications in mind; the embedded SSDs not only lower power requirements and generate less heat than SATA drives, they also reduce system bill-of-materials outlays because those applications call for relatively low capacities.

The drives are available with high-endurance options and supported by Virtium’s vtGuard power-fail protection, vtView industrial SSD software for drive monitoring, and value-added service and support that includes ten-plus years of product availability and in-field integration support. Additionally, Virtium offers optional AES-256 self-encryption for the TuffDrive M.2 USB line, as encrypted SSDs with this feature provide significantly greater protection for data at rest than drives without it.

“Virtium is bringing to market the lowest-power, highest-reliability, M.2-compliant USB drives,” said Scott Phillips, vice president of marketing at Virtium. “Our engineers took a highly creative approach in developing an SSD line that leverages a form factor proven in embedded-industrial designs and a widely used, highly efficient interface. This achievement is particularly important for designers designing with IIoT SSDs and have to work with host systems that lack SATA, while still requiring lower power and heat.”

“By combining the ubiquitous USB interface with the small form factor of the M.2 SSD, Virtium makes it easy for embedded-industrial systems designers to extend Flash data storage into new applications,” said Alan Niebel, president of WebFeet Research and author of the 2018 Non-Volatile Memory Market Shares by Vendor Report. “The drives' high endurance, low power and cost-effectiveness empower those designers with solid-state storage providing secure data storage in demanding designs.”

The TuffDrive M.2 USB solid-state drives are sampling now and have been qualified by select Virtium customers.