In our environment, we're using Exagrid [EX Series] on Remote/smaller sites, with something around 50TB of data (to be protected) and it works really well. I see no reason for it to work on larger scales, it is very scalable, you can natively replicate backup data between Exagrid appliances (like in a Prod/DR scenario). So, it should work fine on larger environments also.
The NetApp StorageGRID solution fits in perfectly with what our company was trying to accomplish. Our goal was to free up our expensive storage flash (SSD) capacity for our critical applications to allow for growth and added performance capabilities. I do not believe this solution would be greatly suited for those without a Cloud solution or secondary site/system to tier data.
NetApp Support was able to quickly resolve a networking issue during the deployment of the NetApp StorageGRID system, which we, unfortunately, could not figure out on our own. Not only did Support engage quickly, but they also provided guidance on how to properly troubleshoot various issues such as the one we encountered and also provided excellent documentation.
Lower cost of implementation versus scalability. In addition to promoting a perfect interface with Veem, which has become the company's backup tool. We also had the opportunity with Exagrid [EX Series] to have a global maintenance contract, which meant a reduction in support expenses.
We chose NetApp StorageGRID because we were not looking for a true backup solution but wanted the features to included a DR centric ideology. The IBM Cloud Backup solution was purely backup focused and did not fit the requirements for our needs. NetApp StorageGRID checked all of our boxes in regards to cost, use case, and ease of manageability.
