Nexenta Systems: Software and Storage Redefined

The enormous influx of data associated with social media, mobile applications, cloud computing, and the Internet of Things (IoT) have ushered-in a new era of IT that’s up-ended the status quo. Never before has so much data and so many applications traversed such an overwhelming number of platforms. Yet while hardware and software solutions have proliferated, storage choice has been constrained. Even with the move to the cloud, the proliferation of open platforms, multiple protocols, and software-defined everything, enterprises are being sold on ‘Software-Defined Storage’ that doesn’t support diverse IT ecosystems. It’s the antithesis of where companies want to be today. Enterprise IT lives in a world where applications, protocols, hardware, public, private and hybrid networks, proprietary solutions and open source must peacefully co-exist. Unfortunately as IT struggles to create a storage infrastructure that supports a multi-platform, petabyte-driven environment, the proprietary hardware element in most Software- Defined Storage solutions limits their choices. Nexenta, the originator of Software-Defined Storage solutions (SDS)—chooses to be different.

Six years ago, when seeing that companies were deploying best of breed applications and platform solutions across multiple systems, Nexenta’s founders made an informed decision to support the technology needs of their customers. Headquartered in California, the company originated the concept and term ‘SDS’—realizing that by taking a zero-hardware approach and freeing soft¬ware from the constraints of hardware, storage could be set free to support almost any environment. With their first product NexentaStor, the company developed an open framework and Software-Defined Storage solution that functioned on any protocol—block, file, x86 platform and any hard disk or flash or even hybrid environment. In fact, Nexenta remains the only software-only SDS company to support solution-rich and diverse corporate ecosystems.

“Today, NexentaStor and NexentaConnect are the only storage options that remain completely application and hardware-agnostic,” says Tarkan Maner, Chairman and CEO of Nexenta Systems. “By not selling appliances, we deliver storage software untethered by the limitations of any single hardware platform, including VMware, Citrix, OpenStack, Cisco, HP, Dell, SuperMicro and Microsoft products. This literally transforms the storage ecosystem.”

Hardware vendor lock-in is one of the primary hurdles many companies go thorough after investing in a storage system. As the storage needs of users or companies increase, they are forced to upgrade and buy the most fitting hardware that work in conjunction with their storage software needs at that time. Nexenta clearly understands that no environment is static, so they use a ‘people, process and product- oriented’ strategy to assess both current and future storage requirements. The company relentlessly strives to free customers from the muddle of legacy storage systems that prove to be confining and more expensive in the long run.