If you’ve ever built against Amazon S3, you already know the appeal of object storage. It offers virtually limitless scale. It uses simple key-value access. It has a mature API that has become the standard for storing unstructured data.
Object storage powers data lakes, content delivery, backups, and analytics. It quietly supports countless modern applications behind the scenes.
But relying on one provider can create challenges. It can cause vendor lock-in, lead to unpredictable costs, and make it hard to meet data-residency requirements.
S3-compatible storage solves these problems. It gives you the same developer experience. You keep the same authentication model, bucket and object structure, and familiar tools. You also gain the freedom to run on different infrastructure with better cost, control, and compliance options.
What is S3-compatible storage?
S3-compatible storage is object storage that implements the Amazon S3 API. It enables your applications, SDKs, and tools to interact with buckets and objects in the same way they do with Amazon S3.
In practice, that means you can:
- Point your existing tools like AWS CLI, rclone, s3cmd, or SDKs to a new endpoint
- Swap in new access keys and credentials
- Keep your pipelines, automation scripts, and backup jobs intact
If your applications speak the S3 API, they can talk to any S3-compatible target with little to no code changes. This makes it easier to:
- Use hybrid strategies by keeping some data in the public cloud and placing the rest on private or hosted infrastructure
- Gain smarter cost control by avoiding hyperscale features you don’t need while keeping the same access model
- Create clean exit paths so you can switch providers without rewriting pipelines or retraining your teams.
What is object storage?
Object storage is built for scale, durability, and cost efficiency. It stores blobs as objects with metadata inside buckets and delivers them over HTTP(S).
This is the exact model the S3 API was created for. It is ideal for data lakes, analytics, media, AI artifacts, backups, and archives.
What are the benefits of S3-compatible storage?
S3-compatible storage gives you the best of both worlds. You get the familiar S3 experience and gain new freedom to choose where your data lives. Some of the key benefits include:
Portability without rewrites
You can swap endpoints and credentials while leaving your existing pipelines, backup jobs, and ingest tasks untouched.
Ecosystem continuity
Your standard tools and SDKs work as they are.
Cost and performance control
You can place data on infrastructure with the price and performance profile that fits your needs.
Operational simplicity at scale
HTTP(S) access and flat namespaces make it easy to manage billions of objects programmatically.
Future-proof design
Because the API is the contract, you are not tied to a single proprietary platform.
What are the best use cases for S3-compatible storage?
S3-compatible storage is ideal for large, unstructured data accessed by many clients in parallel. Common use cases include:
Data lakes and analytics
Land raw and curated datasets by prefix and let analytics engines read objects directly over HTTP(S).
AI and machine learning pipelines
Store training sets, checkpoints, and model artifacts. Access them in parallel using multipart uploads and key sharding.
Content and media
Serve static assets, downloads, images, and video. Pair buckets with a CDN as needed.
Backups and long-term retention
Use versioning and lifecycle policies to meet retention requirements.
Observability and build artifacts
Persist logs, build outputs, and release bundles without managing filesystems.
What’s the difference between multi-tenant and dedicated storage for S3 compatibility?
When you choose S3-compatible storage, you also need to choose how it is delivered. The two main options are multi-tenant and dedicated. Both can support the S3 API, but they work very differently.
Multi-tenant storage: Shares infrastructure between multiple customers. Your data stays isolated, but capacity and hardware are pooled. This makes it cost-efficient and quick to deploy. It scales easily and works well for workloads like data lakes, AI datasets, media libraries, and backups.
Dedicated storage: Gives you your own isolated infrastructure. You do not share resources with other customers. This costs more but gives you exclusive performance, security, and enterprise features like advanced data reduction, array-level encryption, and custom protection policies. It is best for compliance-heavy workloads or strict performance requirements.
Here’s a quick comparison:
| Feature | Multi-Tenant | Dedicated |
| Resource model | Shared across multiple customers | Fully isolated per customer |
| Cost | Lower | Higher |
| Performance consistency | Good | Very high |
| S3 compatibility | Yes | Yes (when enabled on the array) |
| Best for | Scale, cost efficiency, flexible workloads | Compliance, predictable performance, enterprise data services |
A simple way to decide:
If you want fast deployment and lower cost, multi-tenant storage is usually the right fit. If you need strict control, exclusive performance, or advanced enterprise features, dedicated storage is the safer choice.
What is HorizonIQ’s dedicated storage (for S3-compatible needs)?
Some workloads need enterprise-grade data services. HorizonIQ offers dedicated storage arrays from vendors like Pure and Nimble.
When these arrays support S3, HorizonIQ can present S3-compatible object storage on top. Your applications still speak S3 while gaining features such as:
- Advanced data reduction
- Array-native encryption
- Snapshot and replication policies
- Integrated protection and compliance controls
Choose dedicated arrays if you need array-native encryption, aggressive data reduction, or tightly integrated protection policies. This path gives you S3 compatibility with full enterprise features.
What is HorizonIQ’s multi-tenant storage (for S3-compatible buckets)?
If cost, performance, and scale are your top priorities, HorizonIQ offers a multi-tenant platform built on Ceph.
Ceph is an open-source storage system that supports massive scalability and resiliency. HorizonIQ uses it to deliver S3-compatible buckets for object storage with:
- Familiar S3 operations, including multipart uploads, versioning, lifecycle rules, and presigned URLs
- Built-in resiliency using X4 data replication across distributed nodes
- High availability that tolerates at least two full-node failures without disruption
- A cost-efficient model that balances performance and scale for modern workloads
Ceph does not include some of the advanced security and data-reduction features of high-end arrays. If you need those, HorizonIQ will guide you to the dedicated option. If not, the multi-tenant platform offers the best balance of cost, performance, and scale for S3-style workloads.
How do HorizonIQ’s S3-compatible options compare?
| Dimension | Multi-Tenant (Ceph-based) | Dedicated Arrays |
| Primary role | Cost-efficient S3-compatible buckets | S3-compatible object with enterprise features |
| API and tooling | S3 operations for buckets/objects | S3 operations with array-native services |
| Security and data services | Core capabilities | Advanced reduction, encryption, replication, policy suites |
| Best fit | Data lakes, AI, media, backups, archives | Compliance-heavy or feature-rich workloads |
| Operations model | Multi-tenant | Dedicated arrays managed for you |
How do you choose what’s right for your business?
Use these three simple questions:
Do your apps already speak S3, and is cost-performance your priority?
Choose HorizonIQ’s multi-tenant (Ceph-based) S3-compatible object storage. It delivers scalable buckets, resilient design with X4 replication, and the familiar S3 experience your teams expect.
Do you need enterprise data services as a must-have?
Choose HorizonIQ dedicated arrays with S3 support. You get S3 compatibility plus advanced features like data reduction, encryption, snapshots, and protection controls.
Do you want one platform for both block and object?
Use HorizonIQ’s Ceph-based platform. It lets you run block volumes for databases and VMs alongside S3-compatible buckets for analytics, AI, media, logs, backups, and archives.
| If you need… | Choose… | Why it fits |
| Cost-efficient S3 buckets with strong resiliency | Multi-tenant Ceph-based | S3-style model at lower cost with X4 replication |
| S3 compatibility plus enterprise data services | Dedicated arrays | Adds encryption, reduction, replication, and policy controls |
| One platform for object and block | Ceph-based | Operates both buckets and volumes together |
S3-compatible storage lets you keep the familiar S3 interface while choosing infrastructure that fits your needs.
HorizonIQ offers two clear S3-compatible paths. Use our multi-tenant Ceph-based platform for cost-efficient scale. Use dedicated arrays when you need deep enterprise data services.
Either way, your applications keep working the way they do today—just pointed at a smarter target.
