SYDNEY, Australia, June 20, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) – Cloudian® today announced that the Australian Genome Research Facility (AGRF) has deployed Cloudian’s S3-compatible object storage solution, enabling AGRF to manage and to store its increasing volumes of genome sequencing data more efficiently and cost effectively at a critical time for the industry.

With facilities across Australia, AGRF strengthens world-class genomic science in the biomedical, clinical, agricultural and environmental sectors, with more than 15,000 customers worldwide. The organization has been at the center of essential research on COVID-19, from assisting researchers in vaccine development to detecting the virus in wastewater. AGRF also distinguishes itself by playing a role in sequencing the genomes of endangered species in Australia to aid conservation efforts.

In an average week, AGRF processes at least 10 terabytes (TB) of data – the equivalent of a year of data from the Hubble Space Telescope. Because this data is essential to conducting some of the world’s most important research, AGRF needs a storage system that allows it to easily manage, protect and access data at the lowest possible cost.

“We are a data organization in every sense of the word,” said Douglas Morrison, IT manager at AGRF. “Mapping a patient’s genome involves 100 to 125 gigabases, and easily three times that if we analyze specific tumor samples. Multiply that by about 1,500 patients in a typical single study, and the data add up quickly.

“Some of our clinical clients need urgent turnaround times to make decisions about how to treat a patient, especially for cancer screening. We are currently working on a project where we aim to dramatically reduce our turnaround times to enable faster decisions. This accelerated process is made possible by the speed with which we can process all the data. “

AGRF used a tape backup system that involved 16 hours of manual tape swapping each week. This tedious process was a huge burden on his small IT team and had started to impact operations.

“Because we had to spend a lot of time on backups, we weren’t always available to help staff with issues,” Morrison said. “Also, if we had to recover backup data for a project, they had to wait until we found the correct backup tape and restored it. “

As its data volumes continued to grow, AGRF realized it needed a better solution. After evaluating alternatives such as tape systems and public cloud, the institution selected the Cloudian HyperStore® object storage solution for its scalability, manageability and cost effectiveness.

“We appreciated that Cloudian provided the scalable capacity to meet our future growth needs without the hassle and time required to manage tapes and access data,” said Morrison. “Additionally, the Cloudian HyperStore solution accounted for half the cost of public cloud storage, a primary consideration for AGRF as a non-profit organization. “

AGRF deployed HyperStore appliances with a total capacity of 1.8 petabytes, using Cloudian’s HyperFile software to move data to HyperStore. The adoption of the Cloudian solution has brought enormous benefits to the leading sequencing vendor.

Cloudian has also enabled AGRF to increase its presence in fast-growing applied markets and commercial diagnostic industries. In addition, the organization will take advantage of HyperStore in an upcoming project to map the genome of the infamous Australian jellyfish, helping researchers develop improved antivenoms and possibly adjunct therapies.

“The importance of genome sequencing and mapping has become even more apparent over the past year in pandemic efforts,” said James Wright, regional director of Cloudian, A / NZ and Oceania. “This industry is the driving force behind medical advancements around the world and is essential in beating the virus.

Reflecting AGRF’s leadership role in the industry, the facility leverages its improved storage infrastructure to deliver better and faster research results that will enable continuous innovation and ultimately improve the lives of customers. people.

About Cloudian
Cloudian is the most widely deployed independent object storage vendor. With a native S3 API, it brings the scalability and flexibility of public cloud storage in the data center while providing protection against ransomware and reducing the total cost of ownership by 60% or more compared to SAN / NAS traditional and public cloud. The geo-distributed architecture enables users to manage and protect object and file data across multiple sites, on-premises and in the cloud, from a single platform. Available as software or as an appliance, Cloudian supports both conventional and containerized applications. More information on cloudian.com.

Media contact for Australia
Oisin O’Callaghan
Watterson
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Media contact in the United States
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10Fold Communications
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