Author: Dennis Radeke
One of the favorite aspects of my work at LucidLink is sharing what the solution is and how it can positively impact customer workflows, efficiency, and even work/life balance. LucidLink is so simple and elegant that answering the “how and why” of it is easy.
However, when I talk about the LucidLink cost model, it brings up the subject of egress. I ask people if they know what egress is? Most of the time, the answer is “no” and from there, it takes one or more conversations to communicate what egress is and how it impacts the cost of moving data to the cloud.
What is egress?
So, if you’ve read this far, you may also have the question — what is egress? Webster’s defines it as: “a place or means of going out.” Think about when you’re at a movie theater or on a plane — there’s a point in time where they call out where the exits are. That’s your egress!
Putting it in cloud terms, data egress refers to data leaving a network in transit to an external location. Cloud uploads or files being moved to external storage are simple examples of data egress.
In relation to most cloud object storage providers, you are charged an egress fee when you take data out of the cloud. This egress charge goes back to the early days of AWS, when the idea of storing files in the cloud was new.
Holding the data in the cloud means recurring revenue for companies like AWS. The more data you store up there, the more revenue the cloud provider can realize. So, I believe that the egress charge was instituted to discourage companies from taking their data out of the cloud. If you charge a hefty fee to retrieve your data, then users are likely to stay with one provider.
But here’s the rub — with LucidLink, you’re not taking the data out, you’re just accessing it. So why should an egress charge still exist?
Egress charges are not the future of cloud storage
At LucidLink, we believe that the uses and growth of cloud workflows signal a decline and ultimate end of egress charges. Consider that the adoption and growth of cloud-native workflows continues to explode. With the enterprise cloud market already over $70 billion in 2021, it’s forecasted to grow 24% each year to $376 billion by 2029. As I like to say, the move to the cloud is inevitable!
Another point to consider about the future of egress is that companies using LucidLink are not only retaining their data in the cloud but increasing the capacity because they now have the perfect combination of performance, access, and security.
We think these important trends will have companies like AWS, Google Cloud Platform and Microsoft Azure pivoting their cost models to reduce and ultimately remove egress charges altogether.
LucidLink’s new Advanced option takes egress out of the equation
Today, LucidLink announces new, streamlined product offerings to make every company choose the best option for them.
We are introducing a brand-new Advanced product which provides a complete solution tailored to take advantage of modern cloud workflows. There are no egress or storage charges with this integrated offering and no surprises. For most companies, this is the perfect option to have secure and quick access to their data from anywhere in the world and not worry that unseen charges could show up in the future.
If your company already has an existing relationship with a company like Microsoft Azure, you should explore our Custom option which allows you to create and connect your cloud storage and use LucidLink to access your data and files in real-time with no hardware, no trade-offs and no compromises.
Finally, if you’re looking to develop a backup or archive strategy but still want that instant access to data, at a lower price, our basic option is an ideal solution.
Egress is still something you need to watch out for, but with LucidLink’s new Advanced option, we see the future of cloud storage and access and it doesn’t include egress.
