Alibaba Cloud Scores Big with Record Data Migration for ‘China’s Instagram

Welcome to the DataMigration.AI Newsletter: Transforming Data Migration with Generative AI Data migration can be complex, but at DataMigration.AI, a brand of Towards AGI, we’re making it smarter, faster, and more reliable than ever. Leveraging the power of Generative AI, our expert team and innovative technology work in tandem to tackle the intricacies of data transfer with precision and care.

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Alibaba Cloud Scores Big with Record Data Migration for ‘China’s Instagram

Alibaba Group's cloud computing division has now taken on 500,000 terabytes of data from Xiaohongshu, China’s leading lifestyle platform, following what both companies describe as the largest data migration on record—a milestone that strengthens Alibaba’s prominent role in China's cloud market.

This massive 500-petabyte "data lake" houses vast amounts of structured and unstructured data, essential to Xiaohongshu’s operations, which have grown over the past 11 years. The migration began last November, requiring a year-long collaboration between 1,500 Xiaohongshu employees and Alibaba Cloud teams, according to Alibaba’s statement. To give perspective, a single petabyte can hold approximately 11,000 4K movies, which would take over two-and-a-half years of continuous viewing to watch, assuming each film is 90 gigabytes and two hours long.

The accomplishment is a significant win for Alibaba, as cloud providers are rapidly upgrading data centers to meet the growing demand for AI services. Alibaba Cloud leads China’s market with a 36% share in the second quarter, per Canalys, and is the top cloud provider in the Asia-Pacific region and the world’s third largest by revenue.

Xiaohongshu, headquartered in Shanghai, is China’s largest lifestyle social media platform, with over 300 million monthly active users and impressive growth. The daily data volume it produces created unprecedented migration challenges, as noted by Alibaba Cloud on WeChat.

Successfully completing a project of this scale is a confidence boost for Alibaba Cloud, especially as recent outages had impacted its reputation. Service interruptions in December 2022 and November 2023 affected websites in Hong Kong and Macau and temporarily disrupted Taobao, Alibaba’s major e-commerce platform.

TCS Secures Cloud Migration Deal with Air France-KLM to Boost Data Infrastructure

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) announced a multi-year agreement with Air France-KLM to overhaul the airline group’s data infrastructure through cloud migration, positioning it as the most data-focused airline group globally. As of 1:35 pm today, TCS shares traded at ₹4,144.55, a rise of ₹4.90 or 0.12 percent on the NSE.

This initiative, building on a 30-year collaboration, will unfold over the next three years. TCS will support Air France-KLM in migrating vital systems and core business data—including flight operations, passenger records, aircraft maintenance, and e-commerce platforms—to the cloud.

A dedicated team of more than 100 professionals across TCS centers in France, the Netherlands, and India will lead the transformation, closely collaborating with Air France-KLM’s data teams in Toulouse. The transition to cloud-based data access is expected to be completed within the first year.

Pierre-Olivier Bandet, EVP & Group CIO of Air France-KLM, highlighted the migration's importance in boosting agility and meeting customer demands. This initiative will enable the airline to exit traditional data centers, improving operational efficiency across its 551-aircraft fleet that serves 320 destinations in 100 countries.

The agreement expands TCS’s footprint in the aviation sector, where it employs 1,600 professionals in France and serves 80 leading companies. Financial details of the agreement were not disclosed.

Pure Storage Launches Fully Managed VMware Migration Service for Azure

Pure Storage has launched a new service to help customers transition their on-premises VMware setups to Microsoft Azure. Set for customer preview soon, Pure Storage Cloud for Azure VMware Solution (AVS) offers block storage as a service to simplify migration and management of block data in the cloud. The service will integrate directly with both the Azure Portal and Pure Storage, allowing customers to utilize their Microsoft Azure Consumption Commitment (MACC) or existing Azure credits for added flexibility.

Pure Storage Cloud for AVS builds on Pure’s Cloud Block Store for AVS, introduced last year, which remains available to users.

According to Henry Baltazar, an analyst with 451 Research (part of S&P Global Market Intelligence), use cases like migration are essential for storage vendors to maintain relevance by delivering hybrid solutions. While moving data to the cloud can optimize storage and usage, Baltazar notes challenges, such as the time needed for migration and the risk of duplicating data.

One difficulty in data migration is the lack of symmetry between on-premises and cloud storage environments. Pure aims to address this by offering the same services across both environments, ensuring a consistent experience without the need for new formats.

Pure’s latest solution offers key storage features, including deduplication and compression, to reduce both migration time and cost. By tailoring Pure Storage Cloud for AVS with VMware Virtual Volumes (vVols) for easy "lift and shift" to the cloud, users experience storage that mirrors on-premise setups.

Steve McDowell, founder and analyst at NAND Research, notes that Pure’s approach, which uses vVols and block storage, gives it an edge as it directly moves workloads to the cloud without comparable competition.

Pure’s expanded service also enhances cost control and security, with data compression further saving time and money. Baltazar explains that having identical storage capabilities in both environments can lead to significant cost savings, as customers avoid extra expenses associated with new services or technology learning curves.

McDowell adds that the ability to apply MACC credits to Pure services also helps with costs, which is beneficial for users with accumulated credits. Adam Armstrong, a TechTarget Editorial news writer, contributed to this report, which covers file and block storage hardware and private clouds.

Thank you for joining us in this edition of the DataMigration.AI Newsletter! We’re excited to continue sharing how Generative AI is transforming data migration, making it smarter, faster, and more resilient. Our commitment to combining expert support, innovative technology, and customized solutions ensures that your data migration journey is smooth and aligned with your business goals.

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