Storage has become increasingly complex, with multiple flavors of disk drives and storage networks available to meet multiple performance, availability, and price point requirements. But data performance and availability requirements change as data ages. Optimizing the storage environment by moving data to an appropriately priced storage tier as it ages is a great way to reduce cost and storage footprint, but lack of automated tools makes it a cumbersome and laborious process that few firms actually implement. Avere’s new FXT Series addresses the automation issue and should help users finally realize the promise of a seamless, perpetually optimized file storage environment.