Frequently Asked Questions

European data storage refers to storage solutions that are fully developed and manufactured within Europe. This means that hardware development, assembly, and service all take place within European borders, without dependence on American or Asian supply chains.

*While certain hardware components, such as drives or chips, are sourced globally, control, management, and data ownership remain entirely within Europe.

Organizations are increasingly choosing European storage solutions to achieve digital sovereignty and maintain control over their data. By opting for European technology, they avoid legal risks such as the CLOUD Act and reduce dependency on non-European cloud providers.

In addition, stricter laws and regulations, such as GDPR and NIS2, play an important role. European storage solutions help organizations remain compliant and store data in a demonstrably secure manner. Factors such as local production, transparency, and fast, accessible support also contribute to this choice.

Storing data on systems subject to foreign legislation can lead to unwanted access by governments, export restrictions, or supply issues during geopolitical tensions. This carries risks for compliance, continuity, and recoverability.

Curious about the disadvantages and risks? Then take a look at our knowledge center.

Yes. FAST LTA is a German manufacturer that has been providing storage solutions fully developed and produced in Europe since 2006. The systems are designed, assembled, and supported from Germany and via Comex in the Benelux.

Examples of European data storage systems are solutions fully developed and managed within Europe that give organizations complete control over their data. These include systems for backup and recovery, compliant archiving, and local AI applications.

Within this domain, FAST LTA offers, among others:

• Silent Cubes: compliant archiving system based on hardware WORM

• Silent Bricks: backup and recovery solution with physical air gap

• Silent AI: off-cloud AI appliance with full control over data and access

All these systems are fully developed and delivered in Europe, contributing to digital sovereignty and compliance with European laws and regulations.

Certainly. Organizations in the public sector, healthcare, education, and industry particularly benefit from European storage thanks to compliance advantages, data control, and long lifespan without vendor lock-in.

As a specialist in secondary storage, we currently offer three innovative systems, ideal for backup, archiving, and AI. The Silent Brick system is the flexible storage solution for fast, full data protection (backup & recovery) and cold storage (large VTL archives). The
Silent Cube
system is our highly specialized storage system for certified and GDPR-compliant archiving. In addition, the Silent AI system offers the perfect solution for a 100% local and 100% secure GenAI application. With these systems, your organization guarantees data assurance and compliance.

The Silent Brick system covers all aspects of modern data protection, regardless of which backup software you choose. Backup to NVMe for the highest performance or backup to disk for enormously scalable capacity with the highest security and backup to (virtual) tape – including a true Air Gap.

Thanks to this Air Gap, an offline backup is kept at all times. This backup is in no way accessible to hackers and can be cleaned up and activated in no time during a ransomware attack. This ensures that no data is lost. The unique Disk mix combined with 4-fold redundancy provide an additional layer of security that offers enhanced data assurance.

Our hardware WORM sealing protects against intentional and unintentional modification and deletion of data. This is essential for archiving data for compliance reasons, but also when it comes to valuable data that should not be lost. With their hardware WORM sealing, Silent Cubes are ideal for large-scale long-term archives, all in compliance with GDPR.

For Silent AI, all data remains within your own infrastructure and is not shared with external AI platforms. This allows organizations to maintain full control over their data and minimizes the risk of data leaks or unauthorized access. The solution supports organizations in safely applying AI within existing compliance frameworks and regulations.

Whereas the lifespan of storage solutions and IT hardware normally averages about 5 years, FAST LTA’s systems last a minimum of 10 years. This means you can save one complete investment over 10 years. This makes investing in a Silent Brick or Silent Cube system extremely cost-effective in the long run.

In addition, the scalability of the Bricks and Cubes allows for incremental expansions, making the purchase of separate storage systems unnecessary, thus saving costs.

For Silent AI, there are no variable costs based on usage, such as credits. Because the solution runs locally, costs remain predictable and independent of how intensively AI is deployed. This makes it possible to apply AI more broadly within the organization without escalating usage costs.

Our Silent Brick system offers exceptional scalability options to meet your organization’s changing storage needs. One of the core aspects of this system is the flexibility to scale simply by adding more Bricks. This enables incremental expansions, which is more cost-effective than purchasing separate storage systems for different needs.

In addition, the Silent Brick system offers the ability to scale with different types of Bricks. This means you can adapt and expand your storage system with specific Bricks – Pro or Max – tailored to unique needs, such as backup or archiving.

In addition, the Silent Cube system is also highly scalable. Up to 20 cubes can be added per single Head Unit. Thus, the system easily scales with you as the size of your archive expands.

With both Silent Bricks and Silent Cubes, adding additional storage capacity is extremely easy: just place the new Brick or Cube in the rack, connect cables and you’re done. A new Brick still has to be assigned to the desired volume in the web interface of the storage system but that is all.

For Silent AI, various configurations are available, tailored to the number of active users. The solution is available in variants ranging from 25 to 100 users. When more users are needed, multiple systems can be combined so that the environment easily grows with the organization.

When migrating data to Silent Bricks or Silent Cubes, the process depends on the existing storage infrastructure. Data migration from old to new Silent Bricks or Silent Cubes is very easy. With the so-called Silent Transfer, this process takes place in the background and you won’t even notice it.

Data migration to or from a storage system other than Silent Bricks or Silent Cubes goes like any other standard copy process. In this we can offer guidance if necessary.

No traditional data migration is required for Silent AI. Thanks to available connectors, the solution can link directly to existing data sources and systems without the need to move data. This keeps all information within the existing infrastructure and allows AI functionality to be applied directly to current and relevant data.

Silent Bricks and Silent Cubes significantly improve the operational efficiency of companies by enhancing data accessibility, availability, and security. These systems provide fast and immediate access to stored data, which is essential for daily business operations. Flexible integration with existing IT infrastructures enables employees to easily and efficiently access important information from different departments and locations. In addition, their robust design and built-in redundancy ensure high reliability, which is critical for mission-critical applications.

In terms of data security, Silent Bricks and Silent Cubes offer advanced technologies to protect against unauthorized access and cyber threats, as well as physical security measures for sensitive or regulated data. These aspects are essential to maintaining the integrity and confidentiality of corporate data. Furthermore, these storage systems contribute to business continuity by being part of a comprehensive disaster recovery plan. They provide fast and reliable recovery capabilities after an incident.

Scalability means businesses can adjust their storage capacity to accommodate growing data volumes without operational disruptions. All this makes Silent Bricks and Silent Cubes a reliable, secure and scalable storage solution indispensable for business continuity in an era where data is the backbone of many organizations.

In the field of AI, Silent AI offers organizations the opportunity to use AI applications locally, entirely within their own infrastructure. This ensures sensitive data always remains under their own control and prevents the risk of data leaks or unwanted access via external platforms. The solution is designed to integrate seamlessly with existing systems and makes it possible to safely and efficiently utilize internal knowledge and data for analysis and decision-making, among other things.

Silent Cubes offer several advantages over tapes for data storage, particularly in terms of speed, reliability, accessibility, and ease of use. One of the most notable benefits is the faster access to data that Silent Cubes provide. Unlike tapes, where data must first be loaded and flushed, data on a Silent Cube can be retrieved almost instantly. This is especially advantageous for applications that require fast data retries. In addition, Silent Cubes are more reliable than tapes; they are not susceptible to physical damage and degradation over time thanks to digital auditing, preventing data corruption or even data loss.

Managing data on Silent Cubes is easier than managing tape libraries. Users can more easily organize, search and manage data, and the system provides a user-friendly interface for day-to-day operations. Silent Cubes are also remarkably scalable, making adding additional storage capacity much easier than tape solutions. This scalability is especially important when the amount of data increases rapidly.

Although the initial investment for Silent Cubes may be higher than for tapes, the long-term cost can be lower due to lower maintenance costs, less need for physical replacements and more efficient energy consumption. Silent Cubes are also less dependent on environmental conditions such as temperature and humidity. All this makes Silent Cubes a modern, efficient and reliable data storage solution that fits well with today’s business needs, where speed, accessibility and reliability of data are critical.

Installation of Silent Bricks or Silent Cubes can be done by your IT partner, our reseller, or by us. This choice lies with you and your IT partner. We train our resellers so that they are capable of completing the installation of our products. Is your IT partner not yet a reseller of our products? No problem. Then we do the installation together and the reseller is trained.

For Silent AI, Comex and FAST LTA will currently provide direct support for the installation and implementation of the system. In the future, just like with the other systems, this will also be handled by our IT partners.

All our technical support is included in our service contract. This support includes accessible services such as email, phone and remote support, giving our customers easy access to professional help with technical questions or problems. We also provide proactive monitoring by COMEX and FAST LTA, allowing us to identify and address potential problems before they inconvenience our customers.

We also provide on-site service, where our technical specialists go to the customer’s location for direct support. This is crucial for solving complex problems or in situations where remote support is not sufficient. Our service contract also guarantees a next business day response, so our customers can count on a fast and effective response to their support requests. For customers who need an even faster response, we offer as an option a 24/7 service with a response time of just four hours.

The training we offer consists of technical training for resellers. These trainings are not intended for end users. End users will receive brief user training during installation of the systems. Given the user-friendliness of our systems, intensive training is not a necessity.

The hardware WORM-sealed Silent Cubes guarantee 0-bit data loss, a promise that has proven itself for over 15 years. This guarantee highlights our commitment to providing storage solutions of the highest quality, putting the security and integrity of our customers’ data first.

In addition, we guarantee the reliability of our systems. The Zero Loss principle is central to our entire portfolio. We understand the importance of consistent and reliable performance for mission-critical applications and are committed to ensuring that our systems meet the highest standards of durability and reliable operation.

Furthermore, we guarantee fast and high-quality service and support, as stipulated in our service contract. This includes comprehensive technical support and customer service ranging from email, phone and remote support to on-site service and a guaranteed next business day response. For customers with specific needs, we even offer a 24/7 service with a response time of just four hours.

Our products are distinguished by an exceptionally long service life. We offer a guaranteed minimum lifespan of 10 years, which is double the average lifespan of 5 years for standard storage solutions. This longer life not only ensures a reliable and durable storage solution, but also reduces the need for frequent replacements or upgrades, resulting in lower investment costs for our customers.

Our service contracts and service agreements are designed with flexibility in mind to meet the diverse needs of our customers. We offer a wide range of support services, including email, phone and remote
support
, providing convenient and accessible help when you need it. In addition, our service includes monitoring by COMEX and FAST LTA, allowing us to proactively identify and address any issues before they affect your operations.

As standard, we offer a five-year service contract, with the option to extend up to ten years. This ensures your environment remains supported and up-to-date for the long term. . Within our service contract, all firmware updates are included, as well as all hardware components, including hard drives and SSDs. This means you won’t have to deal with unexpected costs for replacements or upgrades.

All labor costs are also included in the contract. We offer on-site service and guarantee a next business day response, so you can be assured of quick and effective support in the event of any problems. For customers who need even faster response, we offer as an option a 24/7 service with a response time of just four hours.

Our website features a wide range of case studies. Take a look at our
knowledge center
for some interesting case studies. Didn’t find what you were looking for? Feel free to contact us and ask about cases that match your organization’s industry.

FAST LTA is the Munich-based (Germany) manufacturer of the Silent Brick, Silent Cube, and Silent AI systems. Comex is the distributor for FAST LTA within the Benelux. Thanks to close cooperation, we work together to provide the best service and support for our customers.