Cloud storage provider Backblaze is adding Event Notifications to its portfolio, sending out an alert whenever data in its Backblaze B2 Cloud Storage changes.

The California-based biz claims the system is more open than rivals, letting users build automated workloads across the cloud platforms of their choosing.

Backblaze, which specializes in cloud storage and backup, said that Event Notifications now mean that whenever data changes are made in its B2 Cloud Storage, it can automatically trigger some action. This could be automatic processing of video files as soon as they are uploaded, firing up data analytics, or just notifying the user if a file has been deleted.

If this sounds familiar, it is because Amazon has offered a similar feature for a long time, providing users with a notification when an object in an S3 storage bucket is created, removed, or restored. This can also be used to invoke an AWS Lambda function to perform some action or process the object in the bucket.

Backblaze claims its notifications service can send alerts to any external designated endpoint, rather than tying users to services on the platform or having to employ a separate messaging service.

This is perhaps inevitable as Backblaze doesn't offer cloud servers or compute facilities so the company might be seen to be making a virtue out of a necessity here.

"Companies increasingly want to leverage best-of-breed providers to grow their business, versus being locked into the traditional closed cloud providers," Backblaze CEO Gleb Budman said in a statement. He added that the Event Notifications service "unlocks the freedom for customers to build their cloud workflows in whatever way they prefer."

However, Event Notifications is currently only offered as a private preview, and anyone interested will have to join a waiting list.

Backblaze says that Event Notifications are sent as HTTP POST requests to the desired service or endpoint within a customer's own infrastructure or any other cloud service. This allows it to integrate with existing workflows, and the endpoint might be AWS Lambda, Azure Functions, or Google Cloud Functions, to name just a few.

According to B2 Cloud Storage Lead Bala Krishna Gangisetty, the service supports customized HTTP headers in event notifications that can be used to provide additional authentication or context information when communicating with the target endpoint.

Outgoing messages can also be signed by the Event Notifications service, which allows the target endpoint to validate signatures and verify that a message was generated by Backblaze B2 and not tampered with in transit.

Backblaze will be known to regular Reg readers for quarterly reports that provide insights on the performance of its fleet of hard drives of varying makes and models that underpin its storage services.

The company added a Computer Backup with Enterprise Control (CBEC) service to add greater administrative control for larger enterprises earlier this year, and reported revenue of $102 million for 2023, 20 percent higher than the year before. ®

https://www.theregister.com//2024/04/15/backblaze_event_notifications/