Enterprise storage architecture vendor Panzura has added support for the Microsoft Azure public cloud and is hoping to turn Azure Storage into a globally distributed network-attached storage (NAS) system.

According to Panzura, the new offering enables collaboration between end-user customers at distributed offices, as well as the ability to use Azure Storage not just for disaster recovery and backup, but also as primary storage. For partners dealing in Azure Storage, Panzura’s new service could provide a new value-added proposition to take to customers.

“Recent price reductions in cloud storage are setting up the cloud as the new generation in storage and file systems,” said Randy Chou, co-founder and CEO of Panzura, in a prepared statement. “Panzura’s global file system with patented file locking is the transformative technology that turns cloud storage into an enterprise class file system. But there has to be a new storage architecture that takes advantage of this new data center concept. Using Microsoft Azure encourages CIOs to rethink their storage strategy and determine whether they need to continue buying on-premise storage arrays or focus on storage as a utility.”

Using Azure Storage, Panzura aims to enable businesses to keep in-office performance while centralizing data with the scalability of the cloud, as well as providing improved cost models and a higher level of security.

The way Panzura works is to provide the storage fabric that solves cross-site collaboration issues with latency- and bandwidth-sensitive applications while providing all tiers of storage.

“The economics of cloud storage alone are compelling. There are also significant business benefits to cross-site collaboration, and Panzura is driving innovation in this area,” said Danielle Allen, senior product marketing manager for Microsoft Azure, in a prepared statement.