Many of the major flash storage providers offer automatic tiering of cold data to the cloud. The advantage of doing so is optimizing storage capacity and costs. But keep in mind that, depending on the software/solution involved, it may also introduce additional complexity and management overhead/configuration.
Among the vendors of all-flash systems that can handle automatic cold-tiering are the following better-known players (not listed according to any preference).
Dell EMC PowerStore with CloudIQ offers an integrated cloud tiering feature that can automatically tier cold data to public cloud storage, including Amazon S3, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform. CloudIQ also provides analytics and insights into data usage, capacity, and performance.
Pure Storage FlashArray//C with Cloud Block Store is another all-flash storage solution that includes an integrated cloud tiering feature. This feature automatically tiers cold data to Amazon S3 or Microsoft Azure Blob Storage, for long-term retention.
Next in line is NetApp's Cloud Volumes ONTAP. It includes a cloud tiering capability to automatically move cold data to public cloud storage. It supports multiple cloud providers, including AWS, Azure, and GCP. With AWS, the default storage class for tiered is AWS Standard and for cold data you change the storage class to one of AWS's cheaper tiers (Intelligent Tiering, One-Zone Infrequent Access, Standard-Infrequent Access, or S3 Glacier Instant Retrieval). Data in Standard storage is moved to the colder class once the data is not accessed after 30 days. In Azure it uses managed disks for hot data and Blob storage for inactive data. In GCP, Cloud Volumes ONTAP makes use of persistent disks as a performance tier and Google Cloud Storage buckets for cold data/.
Other challengers in the space include IBM FlashSystem, which automatically tiers data to the cloud using IBM Cloud Object Storage, and Cisco HyperFlex all-flash, which uses Cisco's CloudCenter Suite for tiering.
Find out what your peers are saying about Dell Technologies, NetApp, Everpure (formerly Pure Storage) and others in All-Flash Storage. Updated: May 2026.
All-Flash Storage offers high-speed data access and reliability required for enterprise applications, significantly reducing latency and enhancing overall system performance. This technology uses flash memory architecture to provide faster data retrieval compared to traditional storage, making it an essential component for data-intensive and transactional workloads. Its energy-efficient design means lower operational costs and reduced data center space. What key features define All-Flash...
Many of the major flash storage providers offer automatic tiering of cold data to the cloud. The advantage of doing so is optimizing storage capacity and costs. But keep in mind that, depending on the software/solution involved, it may also introduce additional complexity and management overhead/configuration.
Among the vendors of all-flash systems that can handle automatic cold-tiering are the following better-known players (not listed according to any preference).
Dell EMC PowerStore with CloudIQ offers an integrated cloud tiering feature that can automatically tier cold data to public cloud storage, including Amazon S3, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform. CloudIQ also provides analytics and insights into data usage, capacity, and performance.
Pure Storage FlashArray//C with Cloud Block Store is another all-flash storage solution that includes an integrated cloud tiering feature. This feature automatically tiers cold data to Amazon S3 or Microsoft Azure Blob Storage, for long-term retention.
Next in line is NetApp's Cloud Volumes ONTAP. It includes a cloud tiering capability to automatically move cold data to public cloud storage. It supports multiple cloud providers, including AWS, Azure, and GCP. With AWS, the default storage class for tiered is AWS Standard and for cold data you change the storage class to one of AWS's cheaper tiers (Intelligent Tiering, One-Zone Infrequent Access, Standard-Infrequent Access, or S3 Glacier Instant Retrieval). Data in Standard storage is moved to the colder class once the data is not accessed after 30 days. In Azure it uses managed disks for hot data and Blob storage for inactive data. In GCP, Cloud Volumes ONTAP makes use of persistent disks as a performance tier and Google Cloud Storage buckets for cold data/.
Other challengers in the space include IBM FlashSystem, which automatically tiers data to the cloud using IBM Cloud Object Storage, and Cisco HyperFlex all-flash, which uses Cisco's CloudCenter Suite for tiering.