Panzura Powers Future of Exabyte-Scale Data as Member of Single Namespace Working Group (SNS)

Panzura Symphony Heterogeneous Orchestration Aligns with the Principles of the SNS Initiative for Seamless Data Mobility 

Key Takeaways: 

• Panzura is a member of the recently launched Single Namespace Working Group (SNS), a 34-member consortium led by Guardant Health and including NetApp, Seagate, IBM, DDN, and Genentech, working to establish OASIS-backed standards for exabyte-scale data access and interoperability.

• Panzura Symphony has been architected to support intelligent data services that optimize data location optimized for access and utilization. Its architectural foundation aligns with the objectives of the SNS initiative. 

• Symphony demonstrates SNS principles in action, providing heterogeneous orchestration with metadata-aware intelligence, automated governance, and location-transparent access across distributed environments—enabling collaboration, AI-readiness, and vendor-neutral interoperability. 

Data volumes are exploding, and teams demand access to distributed datasets. The technology industry has reached an inflection point. That’s why we’re pleased that Panzura joined the Single Namespace Working Group (SNS), a recently announced 34-member consortium led by Guardant Health that's driving a standard for exabyte-scale datasets and cross-platform interoperability. 

This initiative, which includes technology leaders like NetApp, Seagate, IBM, and DDN, alongside innovators like Genentech and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, represents a framework for how organizations will manage, access, and derive value from massive, distributed datasets. 

SNS is actively transitioning its open standard specifications to the international standards body OASIS (Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards) to ensure vendor neutrality and widespread adoption. 

Table: Select SNS Working Group Members 

Our participation in this initiative centers on Panzura Symphony, our advanced data services platform, which enables seamless data accessibility and vendor neutrality, preservation of customer choice, and AI readiness.

The Exabyte Challenge: Why Single Namespace Matters 

To understand the significance of the SNS initiative, it’s important to first grasp the magnitude of the data challenge facing modern enterprises. An exabyte—that’s one billion gigabytes—was once an unimaginable amount of data. 

Now, research institutions and global enterprises routinely manage datasets approaching or exceeding this volume. Genomic data, for example, can represent a single whole genome sequence consisting of hundreds of gigabytes or more. Multiply this by millions of patients, add longitudinal studies, and incorporate multi-modal data types, and you quickly reach exabyte scale. 

According to Towards Healthcare‘s 2025 analysis, the global genomics market is projected to grow from $44.72 billion in 2025 to $171.41 billion by 2034, driven by a CAGR of 16.1%. Grand View Research reports that 48% of businesses store their most important data in the cloud, with the number of genomes studied predicted to reach more than 50 million this year alone. This directly correlates with the storage challenges organizations face, as each genome sequence contributes to the data deluge. 

The traditional approach to managing such massive datasets via siloed storage systems, manual data movement, and platform-specific access methods has slowed innovation. Researchers lose time navigating between systems, technologists struggle with data migration projects that can take months. The disruption, time consumption, and prohibitive cost of managing massive data sets across different storage platforms are precisely the challenges the SNS initiative aims to resolve. 

SNS is creating an open standard that treats distributed data as if it exists in one seamless, unified location. According to a report cited by Growin, over 92% of large enterprises now operate in a multi-cloud environment, with 89% of enterprises embracing multi-cloud strategies according to Flexera. This widespread multi-cloud adoption without unified data access creates inefficiencies that can multiply costs and complexity. 

When Symphony was first developed, we anticipated this evolution in data management requirements. Symphony has been architected to provide dynamic data placement, data insights, and total cost of ownership (TCO) reduction. This enables Symphony to meet the scalability expectations of the SNS initiative. 

How Does Symphony Align with SNS Principles? 

Let’s take a deeper look into how Symphony aligns with SNS principles. While a single namespace seeks to make data location transparent to users, precise data placement remains critical for performance and cost optimization. Symphony’s data placement engine analyzes access patterns, compliance requirements, and cost factors to optimize data storage. Hot data can be placed on high-performance tiers, cold data moved to cost-effective archives, and compliance-sensitive data can remain in appropriate jurisdictions. 

The SNS consortium’s transition to OASIS represents a milestone with the objective of making single namespace capabilities an industry standard. As a member, Panzura is participating in the development of the draft specifications expected next year. 

Our experience with real-world deployments across diverse industries provides a valuable perspective. The lessons learned from managing petabytes of data, supporting global operations, and enabling AI readiness all demonstrate the practical applications envisaged by SNS goals. 

In fact, we see the SNS initiative as a key moment in how the industry thinks about data management. Traditional boundary lines between storage systems, cloud providers, and data silos are blurring. What matters is fast, secure access to relevant data. 

For organizations evaluating their data strategy, SNS will provide a clear direction: 

• Invest in Interoperability: Single-vendor solutions will become increasingly untenable should the standard gain adoption. Platforms like Symphony that embrace open interoperability will be essential to this ecosystem. 

• Prepare for AI at Scale: The future belongs to organizations that can leverage AI across all their data, not just carefully curated subsets. Single namespace capabilities are prerequisite for AI at scale. 

• Think Beyond Storage: Data management is evolving. The question isn’t just where to store data, but how to make it accessible, understandable, and actionable all while preserving customer choice and driving down costs. 

Panzura’s participation as a member of the Single Namespace Working Group reflects our commitment to solving the world’s most challenging data problems. With Symphony, we're uniquely suited to support the initiative’s transformative potential across healthcare, life sciences, research, and beyond. The draft specifications expected in early 2026 will mark the beginning of a new chapter. 

SNS is defining that new chapter, and Panzura is ready to deliver it. 

 Learn more about how Panzura Symphony can transform your organization’s unstructured data management capabilities and prepare you for the single namespace future. Reach out to our team for a consultation now. 

All product and company names are trademarks or registered® trademarks of their respective holders. Use of those names does not imply any affiliation with or endorsement by their owners. The opinions expressed above are solely those of Panzura LLC as of November 13, 2025, and Panzura LLC makes no commitment to update these opinions after such date.  

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) 

• What is the Single Namespace Working Group and why does it matter for enterprise data management?

  The Single Namespace Working Group (SNS) is a 34-member consortium led by Guardant Health driving a standard for exabyte-scale datasets and cross-platform interoperability. Members include NetApp, Seagate, IBM, DDN, Panzura, Genentech, and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. The initiative matters because 92% of large enterprises operate in multi-cloud environments, yet traditional siloed storage systems, manual data movement, and platform-specific access methods slow innovation. SNS is transitioning to OASIS to ensure vendor neutrality and widespread adoption, with draft specifications expected in 2026. 

• How does a single namespace solve exabyte-scale data challenges?

  A single namespace treats distributed data as if it exists in one seamless, unified location, eliminating the disruption and prohibitive cost of managing massive datasets across different storage platforms. This solves challenges where researchers lose time navigating between systems and technologists struggle with data migration projects that can take months. The approach enables organizations to leverage AI across all their data, not just carefully curated subsets, while reducing the inefficiencies and multiplied costs created by widespread multi-cloud adoption without unified data access. 

• What makes Panzura Symphony aligned with Single Namespace Working Group objectives?

  Panzura Symphony aligns with SNS objectives through its architecture that provides dynamic data placement, data insights, and total cost of ownership reduction. Symphony’s data placement engine analyzes access patterns, compliance requirements, and cost factors to optimize data storage—placing hot data on high-performance tiers, moving cold data to cost-effective archives, and keeping compliance-sensitive data in appropriate jurisdictions. Symphony enables seamless data accessibility, vendor neutrality, preservation of customer choice, and AI-readiness while meeting the scalability expectations of the SNS initiative. 

• How should organizations prepare their data strategy for single namespace adoption?

  Organizations should prioritize interoperability, as single-vendor solutions will become increasingly untenable should the standard gain adoption. Platforms that embrace open interoperability will be essential to this ecosystem. Organizations need to prepare for AI at scale, since single namespace capabilities are prerequisite for leveraging AI across all data. Finally, enterprises should think beyond storage and focus on making data accessible, understandable, and actionable while preserving customer choice and driving down costs. 

• What industries benefit most from single namespace technology?

  Single namespace technology has transformative potential across healthcare, life sciences, research, and beyond. For example, the genomics market is projected to grow from $44.72 billion in 2025 to $171.41 billion by 2034, with over 50 million genomes being studied this year alone. Each genome sequence consists of  hundreds of gigabytes, and when multiplied by millions of patients with longitudinal studies and multi-modal data types, organizations quickly reach exabyte scale requiring unified data access.