Cohesity SmartFiles is described as a software-defined solution for files and objects, suitable for a variety of workloads including collaboration and productivity apps, large-scale document management, life sciences and medical research, digital archives, and video and surveillance.

SmartFiles provides layers of cybersecurity through Cohesity DataPlatform, including end-to-end software encryption, multi-factor authentication, an immutable file system, and data-lock. Integrated applications detect and block malicious files, detect anomalous file accesses, and identify high-risk information.

It also provides "nearly unprecedented" enterprise search capabilities, both for and within files. Adding the optional Cohesity Helios product extends searching across multiple sites, including Cohesity instances running in public clouds such as Amazon Web Services (AWS) or Microsoft Azure. According to Cohesity, this makes eDiscovery and business research much easier, as well as helping with compliance readiness.

Integrated apps for services such as antivirus, file audit with anomalous access detection, and content search are integrated within Cohesity DataPlatform and are available through the Cohesity MarketPlace.

SmartFiles takes advantage of advanced deduplication, compression, and small file capacity optimisation to increase storage efficiency, and further savings can be made by allowing deduplication across volumes.

SmartFiles provides automated, policy-based tiering to move cold data from an existing NetApp, Isilon, or Pure Storage device to SmartFiles, and to archive even colder data to the cloud.

Other features include multi-protocol (NFS, SMB and S3) support with unified permissions, a high degree of scalability, support for a variety of hardware platforms (including the ability to run in the cloud with the same functionality as on-premises, and seamless horizontal scaling including support for older and newer nodes in a single cluster.

“Cohesity SmartFiles represents a paradigm-shift for file and object services. It is the first unstructured data solution that bring apps to the data, giving customers the ability to easily run antivirus, file audit, and content search natively on the platform,” said Cohesity vice president of product management David Noy.

“SmartFiles also provides boundless scale, exceptional capacity efficiency, robust cybersecurity, and transparent heterogeneous data tiering that transcends traditional scale-out NAS appliances.”

SmartFiles solution is available immediately to all Cohesity DataPlatform customers.