A huge portion of computing in the past years has focused on the “cloud”, but there have been new movements recently to bring computing back down to Earth, so to speak. Just as microcomputers marked the decentralization of computing away from mainframes, hybrid and edge computing are now bringing some of the responsibility back to on-premise devices, such as IoT appliances and NAS. To keep up with the trends, Synology is pushing a big version 7.0 update to its DiskStation Manager OS, introducing features that not only adapt to the complex needs of users and businesses but also set up Synology NAS devices to become makeshift Google Photos replacements.

The lines the separate cloud and edge are admittedly blurry so, naturally, some like Synology prefer to call their latest solutions “hybrids.” Synology has mastered the art of on-premise, that is, on-site, data storage solutions with its dozens of Network-Attached Storage or NAS devices, but one can only keep so much on a few local NAS devices when organizations span multiple branches or even offices in different locations. Together with its C2 cloud platform, Synology’s new Hybrid Share brings the convenience of on-demand cloud access together with the speed and security of on-premise storage to allow organizations and businesses to scale their data storage and access setups as needed.

That’s just one part of the major changes that Synology DSM 7.0 is bringing to its customers. Because they sit at the edges, the responsibility of security also lies at the edges. With DSM 7.0, Synology adds both Secure SignIn as well as FIDO authentication for more secure access to NAS devices, whether remotely or locally. The update also gives the NAS operating system’s Storage Manager a facelift, visualizing the layout of disks inside NAS devices for easier management.

Synology customers are probably already used to using their NAS for backing up and storing their photos but the company is taking it one step further with this release. Combining the Photo Station and Moments apps, the new Synology Photos offers not just a way to conveniently browse your memories but also ways to share and organize them, including facial recognition. With Google Photos irrevocably changing its policies and features, Synology Photos offers another option for photographers, creators, and everyone in between to take back control of their data. And yes, it has a mobile app for automatically backing up your photos to your local “cloud”.

With thousands of NAS solutions deployed around the world, both in businesses and for personal use, Synology DSM is arguably the world’s most-used NAS OS. As its biggest update yet, DSM version 7.0 is riding on the new wave of computing where lines between cloud and edge fluctuate and blur, trying to offer the best of both worlds for securing and storing your data and, of course, your photos.