New Customer Spotlight: Earth Sciences New Zealand Chooses Versity to Modernize Massive Weather Archive

In an era where unstructured datasets are growing at an exponential pace, efficiently managing these vast and complex collections is more crucial than ever. Earth Sciences New Zealand is at the forefront of this challenge. Their mission to understand and protect the nation’s environment relies on a massive, ever-growing collection of unstructured data. This data is the lifeblood of their research, informing critical decisions about climate change, water resources, and marine ecosystems.

To meet this challenge, ESNZ required a storage solution that could not only accommodate their massive dataset but also ensure its long-term preservation, accessibility, and security. Versity’s innovative approach to data management addressed their specific needs and delivered a solution that safeguards New Zealand’s environmental legacy for generations to come.​​

Leaders in Environmental Science

Earth Sciences New Zealand is a cornerstone in understanding and safeguarding the nation’s environment. Their comprehensive data collection, from the ocean floor to the upper atmosphere, provides invaluable insights into climate patterns, freshwater systems, and marine ecosystems.

At the heart of their research capabilities is the new Cascade supercomputer, which triples the institute’s previous compute capacity, delivering 2.4 petaflops of performance across 61,440 CPU cores, supported by 240 TB of RAM and 7 PB of high-speed storage. This power enables researchers to run more complex simulations, produce higher-resolution forecasts, and incorporate AI-driven analyses to tackle pressing environmental questions. Designed for scalability and sustainability, Cascade is expected to save millions in energy costs over its lifetime.

Complementing this computational power is the Rapids archive: a robust, long-term data repository that begins with 22 PB of capacity and is designed to scale to 100 PB over the next decade. Rapids safeguards decades of critical environmental data — from atmospheric measurements to oceanographic surveys — ensuring that New Zealand’s scientific heritage is preserved for generations and readily available to researchers.

This vast and well-curated dataset is central to informed decision-making. By translating complex scientific findings into actionable insights, ESNZ equips policymakers and stakeholders to make data-driven choices that strengthen resilience to environmental change and guide the stewardship of New Zealand’s aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. By harnessing the full potential of their data, ESNZ continues to pioneer innovative solutions that address environmental challenges and foster a sustainable future for the country.

Why ESNZ Chose Versity

ESNZ selected Versity to manage their Rapids archive due to our innovative approach to data management and our commitment to addressing their unique needs. At the heart of our solution is Versity’s ScoutAM, a cutting-edge mass storage platform designed to provide exceptional control and flexibility in data archiving. ESNZ needed a solution that gave them more control over their archive, and they favored ScoutAM’s explicit archiving model, which effectively decouples filesystems from tape storage. This allows for intentional data management while avoiding vendor lock-in, ensuring that ESNZ can adapt and expand their solution as their needs evolve without being tied to a single vendor.

Furthermore, our commitment to open formats guarantees ESNZ data ownership and independent access. This transparency enables ESNZ to maintain control of their data even if they choose to use another system in the future. 

To complement this foundation, our modern, high-performance tape management system offers enhanced recall times and superior data management capabilities. Versity’s ScoutAM stands out as the only mass storage platform that supports existing data formats, providing ESNZ with a seamless and efficient archiving experience. This eliminates the time-consuming and costly challenges of data migration, ensuring that ESNZ’s critical data remains secure and intact.

Data protection and accessibility are paramount for organizations like ESNZ. Our solution features automatic data replication between primary and secondary sites, which is essential for maintaining data integrity across locations. This capability ensures that ESNZ’s data remains consistently protected and readily available, meeting their high standards for reliable and efficient management.

Finally, ESNZ values our customer-centric approach and the open, influential support we provide. Our commitment to understanding and addressing their specific needs underscores our dedication to delivering a solution that supports their mission and enhances their data management capabilities. 

“We are pleased to have prevailed in the competitive bidding process to provide the high capacity data management technology for ESNZ in support of this crucial modernization effort,” said Bruce Gilpin, CEO of Versity Software. “ScoutAM’s advanced capabilities ensure that ESNZ can access its entire historical data collection while transitioning from its legacy storage systems. This enables ESNZ to convert to a modern platform without the pain of a traditional data migration, which is a key element of the Versity value proposition.