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Shift From Amazon Glacier to Amazon Glacier Deep Archive and Save (S3) Buckets of Money
Amazon Glacier is hardly an expensive storage option. But for those users who store massive amounts of rarely needed data, it may not be worthwhile. Enter Glacier Deep Archive, an even cheaper storage option for data with an access SLA of 12 hours.
In its announcement, Amazon highlights a few use cases for its new product, including security camera footage, financial transaction archives, and raw production footage for media organizations.
Pricing is low (Amazon claims it is competitive with traditional tape archival services). At press time, Glacier costs $.004/month per GB, while Glacier Deep Archive comes in at $.00099, about a quarter the price (though pricing varies by region). Amazon makes a lot more money per GB transferred out of S3.
For those organizations with large data footprints in Glacier, or with contracts with providers like Iron Mountain, Glacier Deep Archive is worth a second look.
Our Take
For many users, Glacier today serves a function that Glacier Deep Archive could serve equally effectively. For those users, making the switch is an obvious option. Storage costs are rarely a large chunk of cloud spend. But cost savings are cost savings. If there is anything in Glacier that users are comfortable with waiting a little while to retrieve, the money is there. Everyone using Glacier should explore the Deep Archive option.