GigaOm Radar for Primary Storagev5.0

1. Executive Summary

Primary storage remains a cornerstone of enterprise IT infrastructure, providing the foundation for mission-critical applications, databases, and a growing range of workloads, including artificial intelligence and machine learning. As organizations navigate digital transformation and evolving technological landscapes, the demands on primary storage systems have expanded beyond traditional performance and capacity metrics to include broader strategic objectives.

This report examines primary storage solutions that deliver high performance, reliability, and advanced data services. These capabilities are critical for organizations of all sizes seeking to maintain competitive advantages through optimized data management and infrastructure efficiency. The primary storage market has reached a new level of maturity, with vendors offering sophisticated features such as AI-driven analytics, ransomware protection, and seamless cloud integration alongside traditional storage functionalities.

This year’s evaluation focuses on solutions that provide enterprise-grade primary storage requirements, including both traditional storage arrays and software-defined storage options. Our assessment offers an analysis of comprehensive primary storage platforms and their associated data services, emphasizing their role as the backbone for mission-critical enterprise workloads.

This is our fifth year evaluating the primary storage space in the context of our Key Criteria and Radar reports. This report builds on our previous analysis of large enterprise and mid-size solutions and considers how the market has evolved over the last year.

This GigaOm Radar report examines 21 of the top primary storage solutions and compares offerings against the capabilities (table stakes, key features, and emerging features) and nonfunctional requirements (business criteria) outlined in the companion Key Criteria report. Together, these reports provide an overview of the market, identify leading primary storage offerings, and help decision-makers evaluate these solutions so they can make a more informed investment decision.

2. Market Categories and Deployment Types

To help prospective customers find the best fit for their use case and business requirements, we assess how well primary storage solutions are designed to serve specific target markets and deployment models (Table 1).

For this report, we recognize the following market segments:

• Small and medium business (SMB): Organizations requiring cost-effective, easy-to-manage primary storage solutions with straightforward deployment and maintenance. These buyers prioritize simplicity, integrated data protection, and predictable costs, often preferring solutions that don’t require specialized storage expertise.
• Large enterprise: Organizations needing highly scalable, feature-rich storage platforms that can support diverse workloads and complex environments. These buyers focus on performance, reliability, advanced data services, and deep integration capabilities, with sophisticated requirements for data protection and compliance.
• Specialized: Organizations with unique requirements such as high-performance computing, AI/ML workloads, or industry-specific needs. These buyers prioritize specific capabilities like ultra-low latency, massive parallelism, or specialized compliance features over general-purpose functionality.

In addition, we recognize the following deployment models:

• Hardware appliance: Pre-integrated systems combining storage software and hardware in a unified package. This model offers simplicity and predictable performance but may limit hardware flexibility. It’s ideal for organizations seeking turnkey solutions with single-vendor support and minimal integration complexity.
• Software-defined storage (SDS): Software solutions deployable on commodity hardware or in cloud environments. This model provides greater flexibility in hardware choice and deployment options, enabling custom configurations and potentially lower costs, though requiring more expertise to implement and maintain.

Table 1. Vendor Positioning: Target Market and Deployment Model

Table 1 components are evaluated in a binary yes/no manner and do not factor into a vendor’s designation as a Leader, Challenger, or Entrant on the Radar chart (Figure 1).

“Target market” reflects which use cases each solution is recommended for, not simply whether that group can use it. For example, if an SMB could use a solution but doing so would be cost-prohibitive, that solution would be rated “no” for SMBs.

3. Decision Criteria Comparison

All solutions included in this Radar report meet the following table stakes—capabilities widely adopted and well implemented in the sector:

• Scale-up or scale-out
• Traditional versus SDS
• Integration with upper layers
• Data protection
• Basic data services
• Resiliency and availability
• System analytics
• NVMe

Tables 2, 3, and 4 summarize how each vendor in this research performs in the areas we consider differentiating and critical in this sector. The objective is to give the reader a snapshot of the technical capabilities of available solutions, define the perimeter of the relevant market space, and gauge the potential impact on the business.

• Key features differentiate solutions, highlighting the primary criteria to be considered when evaluating a primary storage solution.
• Emerging features show how well each vendor implements capabilities not yet mainstream but expected to become more widespread and compelling within the next 12 to 18 months.
• Business criteria provide insight into the nonfunctional requirements that factor into a purchase decision and determine a solution’s impact on an organization.

These decision criteria are summarized below. More detailed descriptions can be found in the corresponding report, “GigaOm Key Criteria for Evaluating Primary Storage Solutions.”

Key Features

• AI-based analytics: AI-based analytics harness machine learning to deliver predictive insights and automated optimization for storage systems. This technology facilitates proactive issue resolution, efficient capacity planning, and enhanced performance optimization, all while reducing administrative overhead.
• New media Types: Modern storage solutions support a variety of media types including QLC flash, storage-class memory, and specialized AI-optimized storage. These technologies enable tiered performance and capacity options allowing cost-efficiency and solutions tailored to specific workload requirements.
• NVMe-oF: NVMe over Fabrics extends the high-speed benefits of NVMe across the network, delivering near-local storage performance for distributed systems. The protocol supports multiple transport options, including RDMA and TCP, offering flexibility in network architecture.
• Cloud Integration: Cloud integration enables seamless data movement and management across on-premises and cloud environments. This feature supports hybrid cloud strategies, disaster recovery, and dynamic resource allocation.
• API and automation tools: Modern storage platforms provide comprehensive APIs and automation tools for infrastructure-as-code and DevOps integration. These capabilities streamline automated provisioning, configuration management, and operational workflows.
• Kubernetes integration: Native Kubernetes integration enables containerized applications to leverage enterprise storage capabilities through the container storage interface (CSI). This integration supports stateful applications with enterprise data services and automated lifecycle management.
• Storage-as-a-service (STaaS): STaaS delivers enterprise storage capabilities through consumption-based models with cloud-like flexibility. This approach eliminates capital expenses while providing automated scaling and management.

Table 2. Key Features Comparison

Emerging Features

• Ransomware protection: Built-in ransomware protection capabilities provide proactive detection, immutable snapshots, and rapid recovery options for primary storage systems. These features complement enterprise security strategies by adding storage-level defenses against increasingly sophisticated attacks.
• AIOps for storage: AIOps extend beyond analytics to enable autonomous storage operations with minimal human intervention. This technology combines machine learning, automation, and operational intelligence to optimize storage environments continuously.
• Edge solutions: Edge-optimized storage solutions provide enterprise-class capabilities in compact, remotely manageable deployments. These solutions support the growing need for local data processing while maintaining centralized control and security.

Table 3. Emerging Features Comparison

Business Criteria

• Upgradeability: Upgradeability determines how effectively a storage system can evolve with business needs through software updates, hardware refreshes, and capacity expansions. Modern solutions must support non-disruptive upgrades while maintaining performance and reliability.
• Efficiency: Storage efficiency encompasses data reduction, power consumption, and resource utilization across the solution stack. Modern platforms must balance performance optimization with environmental sustainability and operational costs.
• Flexibility: Flexibility reflects a storage system’s ability to support diverse workloads and deployment scenarios while maintaining consistent management. This adaptability allows organizations to consolidate storage infrastructure while meeting varied application requirements.
• Ease of use: Ease of use reflects the operational efficiency of day-to-day storage management and problem resolution. Modern solutions must support both traditional admin workflows and DevOps automation.
• Cost per transaction ($/IOPS): $/IOPS measures the cost efficiency of storage performance, which is particularly important for high-performance applications and databases. This metric helps organizations optimize infrastructure investments based on workload requirements.
• Cost of storage ($/GB): $/GB evaluates the total cost of usable capacity including data reduction, protection overhead, and management expenses. This metric helps organizations compare different storage solutions and consumption models.

Table 4. Business Criteria Comparison

4. GigaOm Radar

The GigaOm Radar plots vendor solutions across a series of concentric rings with those set closer to the center judged to be of higher overall value. The chart characterizes each vendor on two axes—balancing Maturity versus Innovation and Feature Play versus Platform Play—while providing an arrowhead that projects each solution’s evolution over the coming 12 to 18 months.

Figure 1. GigaOm Radar for Primary Storage

As you can see in Figure 1, this year’s consolidated GigaOm Radar combines our previous GigaOm Radar Reports for Primary Storage for Midsize Businesses and Large Enterprises, providing a comprehensive view of a market experiencing intense transformation. Three key disruptive forces are driving this change: the exponential growth of data (particularly from AI and machine learning), the rising threat of ransomware attacks, and the widespread adoption of edge computing. These factors are compelling organizations to fundamentally rethink their storage infrastructure and security strategies while pushing vendors to accelerate innovation.

The unified Radar reflects this market evolution more effectively than our previous segmented approach. Almost all vendors have gravitated toward becoming comprehensive Platform Play solutions, expanding beyond specialized Feature Play offerings to support diverse workloads, including AI-driven applications.

Several vendors are positioned in the Leaders circle, with many classified as Outperformers. This progression reflects their exceptional performance across all evaluation criteria, including table stakes, key features, emerging criteria, and business criteria. These vendors distinguish themselves not only through rapid innovation but also through their ability to optimize storage costs while maintaining enterprise-grade capabilities. Their approach to balancing technical advancement with practical business considerations signals a maturing market where innovation must deliver tangible value and drive down the cost of storage.

Three distinct vendor clusters populate the Radar, each representing different strategies in platform development and market positioning.

The first cluster includes established vendors who have crossed into the Innovation/Platform Play quadrant while maintaining proximity to the Maturity border. These vendors are enhancing their platforms with new capabilities while preserving the stability their enterprise customers require. Their position reflects a calculated approach to advancement without disrupting existing customer environments.

The Maturity/Platform Play quadrant holds a second cluster of vendors that innovate within established parameters, ensuring platform consistency throughout contract periods. These vendors focus on dependable improvements and structured roadmaps.

In contrast, the third cluster, deeper in the Innovation/Platform Play quadrant, comprises vendors driving substantial platform changes. These companies frequently introduce new architectures and capabilities, setting market direction through technical advancement.

The addition of five new entrants—Cohesity, Nutanix, VAST, WekaIO, and Zadara—demonstrates continued market growth. This trend suggests a market increasingly focused on balancing innovation with practical business outcomes.

Quadrant Characteristics:

• Maturity/Platform Play: Solutions offering broad functionality with proven stability, emphasizing incremental improvements and consistent user experience across multiple use cases.
• Maturity/Feature Play: Specialized solutions with deep capabilities in specific areas, maintaining reliable performance and compatibility within their focused domains.
• Innovation/Platform Play: Comprehensive platforms pursuing aggressive development, frequently updating to address emerging needs across various use cases.
• Innovation/Feature Play: Targeted solutions with rapid advancement in specific functionalities, often pioneering new approaches for particular industries or requirements. No vendors in this report are positioned in this quadrant.

In reviewing solutions, it’s important to keep in mind that there are no universal “best” or “worst” offerings; every solution has aspects that might make it a better or worse fit for specific customer requirements. Prospective customers should consider their current and future needs when comparing solutions and vendor roadmaps.

5. Solution Insights

Cohesity: DataPlatform*

Solution Overview
Cohesity is a leading provider of data management solutions, offering a comprehensive platform for data protection, security, and governance. The company has made significant strides in recent years, including the 2023 acquisition of Veritas, which has solidified its position as a major player in the data protection market. The acquisition has enhanced Cohesity’s ability to provide comprehensive data management solutions tailored to organizations of all sizes.

The Cohesity DataPlatform is a unified solution that integrates various data management functions, including backup and recovery, file and object services, disaster recovery, ransomware protection, and data analytics. Designed for hybrid and multicloud environments, the platform simplifies data management while providing flexibility across on-premises appliances, cloud deployments, and hybrid models.

The solution is poised for rapid evolution over the contract lifecycle, supported by an aggressive roadmap with frequent feature updates and releases. Cohesity’s focus on M&A, highlighted by the Veritas acquisition, underscores its commitment to addressing emerging needs and expanding its capabilities.

Cohesity is positioned as a Challenger and Fast Mover in the Innovation/Platform Play quadrant of the Primary Storage Radar chart.

Strengths
Cohesity scored well on a number of decision criteria, including:

• AI-based analytics: Cohesity offers strong AI-driven capabilities for anomaly detection, predictive analytics, and proactive intervention in data management. These features enable organizations to gain deeper insights into their data, optimize performance, and enhance security.
• Cloud integration: Cohesity excelled here due to its seamless integration with major cloud providers, enabling efficient data protection, disaster recovery, and cloud tiering. This strong cloud integration allows organizations to leverage the scalability and flexibility of the cloud for their data management needs.
• Ransomware protection: Cohesity provides robust ransomware protection features, including immutable snapshots, anomaly detection, and rapid recovery capabilities. These features provide a strong defense against ransomware attacks and ensure business continuity in the event of a security incident.

Challenges
Cohesity has room for improvement in the following decision criteria:

• NVMe-oF: Cohesity has a relatively nascent focus on NVMe-oF for primary storage workloads compared to dedicated primary storage vendors. While Cohesity supports NVMe drives, its emphasis on NVMe-oF for demanding primary storage applications is still maturing.
• NVMe/TCP: NVMe/TCP support is not a key differentiator for the platform. This indicates a potential area for improvement to enhance performance and cater to the evolving needs of high-performance workloads.
• New media types: Cohesity focuses primarily on traditional file and object data, with potentially limited support for newer media types. As the data landscape evolves, expanding support for emerging media types will be crucial for Cohesity if it is to maintain its competitive edge.

Purchase Considerations
Cohesity’s licensing model is generally transparent, offering clear pricing and flexible subscription options. However, the platform’s extensive range of features and modules can make it challenging to determine the precise configuration and cost for specific needs. For SMBs and large enterprises alike, Cohesity presents a compelling value proposition by consolidating data management functions and delivering cost savings through enhanced efficiency.

The platform is designed with ease of use in mind, featuring a user-friendly interface and simplified management tools. However, given its comprehensive capabilities, some level of training and professional services may be required to fully unlock its potential.

Deployment complexity varies based on the chosen deployment model and organizational requirements. Cohesity provides comprehensive documentation and support to facilitate the deployment process.

Migrating from legacy solutions is typically straightforward, particularly for data protection scenarios. Cohesity offers tools and services to assist with data migration and ensure a smooth transition.

Use Cases
As a Platform Play, Cohesity serves a wide range of industry verticals and use cases. Its data management capabilities are particularly valuable for organizations with large volumes of unstructured data, such as healthcare, financial services, and media and entertainment. Cohesity’s platform also caters to diverse applications, including data protection, disaster recovery, ransomware protection, file and object services, and data analytics. Its ability to address multiple use cases with a single platform makes it a versatile choice for organizations seeking to simplify their data management operations.

DataCore: SANsymphony

Solution Overview
DataCore is a software-defined storage vendor that provides a platform for block-based storage virtualization. DataCore SANsymphony is a software-defined storage platform designed to help organizations manage and optimize their storage infrastructure. It is a single, standalone solution that can be deployed on-premises or in the cloud. SANsymphony is available in four editions: Business (BZ), Standard (ST), Enterprise (EN), and Backup Repository (BR). Each edition is licensed per managed capacity in TB.

DataCore adopts a general approach to the market, supporting a wide range of use cases across various industries. SANsymphony is positioned in the Maturity half of the Radar, as it prioritizes stability and incremental improvements over rapid innovation. DataCore focuses on enhancing existing features, particularly in areas such as interoperability, compliance, and availability.

DataCore is positioned as a Leader and Fast Mover in the Maturity/Platform Play quadrant of the Primary Storage Radar chart.

Strengths
DataCore scored well on a number of decision criteria, including:

• API and automation tools: DataCore excelled here due to its comprehensive API and automation tools. The platform ensures feature parity between the GUI and CLI, while offering RESTful API and PowerShell cmdlets for seamless integration with third-party tools.
• New media types: DataCore provides outstanding support for various media types, including QLC flash and NVMe-based storage. Additionally, the platform demonstrates future readiness by preparing to integrate emerging technologies like CXL, ensuring long-term adaptability.
• Edge solutions: DataCore has exceptional suitability for edge deployments, with a small footprint, comprehensive feature set, and support for centralized management.

Challenges
DataCore has room for improvement in the following decision criteria:

• NVMe-oF: DataCore came in below expectation due to its ongoing development of NVMe-oF implementation for front-end access, with plans to support NVMe-oF via FC and TCP/IP in 2025.
• NVMe on TCP/IP protocol: DataCore was limited in its planned delivery of NVMe-oF via TCP/IP in 2025, indicating a current lack of support for this protocol.
• AI-based analytics: DataCore showed capability with its incorporation of AI/ML technologies in historical analysis, future projections, and recommendations on best practices, but it could further enhance its AI-based analytics capabilities.

Purchase Considerations
DataCore SANsymphony offers transparent licensing, with pricing readily available on the vendor’s website. The solution is well-structured, with four distinct editions clearly outlining the included features, making it easy for both SMBs and large enterprises to find a suitable option. As a Platform Play, SANsymphony is licensed as a complete solution.

While DataCore does not offer professional services directly, it leverages a robust partner network for training and support. Deployment complexity is on par with other software-defined storage solutions, and DataCore provides comprehensive documentation and support resources to assist users. Migration from existing storage solutions is straightforward, thanks to DataCore’s support for non-disruptive upgrades and seamless data migration, ensuring minimal disruption to operations.

Use Cases
DataCore SANsymphony supports most industry verticals and use cases, including business continuity and disaster recovery, hyperconverged infrastructures, storage for VMware, infrastructure modernization, cloud service providers, AI-enabled storage, and cybersecurity. Its flexibility and comprehensive feature set make it suitable for a wide range of applications and workloads.

DDN: A³I

Solution Overview
DDN provides high-performance data intelligence platforms, specializing in artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, and high-performance computing (HPC) workloads. Its A³I (Accelerated, Any-Scale AI) solutions are designed to optimize the entire AI data pipeline, from data ingestion to model training and inference. This platform includes a range of hardware and software components, including the AI400X2 appliance, EXAScaler parallel file system, and data management tools such as DDN Insight. DDN delivers a comprehensive platform that addresses the unique demands of AI workloads, including high bandwidth, low latency, and massive scalability.

DDN’s strategy centers on a holistic, platform-based approach to AI storage, achieved through methodical integration with leading AI frameworks, GPUs, and NVIDIA platforms. Its mature development approach philosophy prioritizes stability and reliability, with a focus on incremental improvements to its core storage architecture, management interfaces, and framework support. DDN systematically optimizes its platform for GPU/CPU architectures and adopts proven technologies like NVMe-oF and Kubernetes, taking a thoughtful, measured approach. The consistency is reflected in DDN’s commitment to delivering a reliable user experience and maintaining consistent functionality throughout the contract lifecycle, prioritizing compatibility and dependability over rapid feature expansion. This structured approach is particularly evident in DDN’s incremental improvements to enterprise features like interoperability, high availability, and platform certification.

DDN is positioned as a Challenger and Fast Mover in the Maturity/Platform Play quadrant of the Primary Storage Radar chart.

Strengths
DDN scored well on a number of decision criteria, including:

• NVMe-oF: DDN offers above average support for NVMe-oF, which maximizes performance in networked environments and enables efficient data sharing and access.
• AI-based analytics: DDN has decent AI-based analytics capabilities, including telemetry and full-stack monitoring, but it may not be as comprehensive as some vendors’ solutions specializing in AI storage.
• New media types: DDN offers good support for high-bandwidth media like video and scientific data, but may have limitations with some emerging formats.

Challenges
DDN has room for improvement in the following decision criteria:

• Cloud integration: While DDN offers some cloud integration capabilities, this may not be its primary focus compared to vendors specializing in hybrid cloud environments.
• STaaS: DDN’s STaaS offerings are limited as its primary focus has been on on-premises deployments.
• Edge solutions: DDN has insufficient focus in this area compared to its core strength in data center and HPC environments.

Purchase Considerations
DDN’s licensing model is transparent, with clear pricing and well-defined SKUs for its appliances and software components. The company’s solutions are targeted primarily at large enterprises and specialized environments with demanding performance needs. Given the complexity of DDN’s high-performance systems, professional services and support play a crucial role in ensuring optimal deployment and management. Migration from existing storage solutions to DDN’s platform may involve some challenges due to its integration with high-performance networking and AI frameworks.

Use Cases
As a Platform Play vendor, DDN supports an extensive range of use cases within the AI and HPC domains. Its solutions are tailored to industries and research fields with demanding storage requirements, such as autonomous driving, drug discovery, and climate modeling. DDN’s ability to handle diverse AI workloads, from training to inference, makes it suitable for organizations seeking a comprehensive storage platform to accelerate their AI initiatives and drive innovation in high-performance environments.

Dell Technologies: Power Systems*

Solution Overview
Dell Technologies is a leading provider of enterprise technology solutions, offering a comprehensive portfolio of primary storage products designed for high performance, scalability, and reliability across diverse workloads and deployment models. In the past year, Dell has enhanced its storage portfolio with advanced features and capabilities, particularly in areas like AI-driven management, cloud integration, and ransomware protection.

Its primary storage solutions include PowerMax for high-end enterprise workloads, PowerStore for midrange and unified storage, PowerScale for scale-out NAS, PowerFlex for software-defined storage, and ObjectScale for object storage. These solutions cater to a wide range of customer needs, from traditional on-premises deployments to modern hybrid and multicloud environments. Dell is also increasing its investment in AIOps through APEX, integrating AI-driven autonomous operations and predictive analytics across its primary storage portfolio to enhance operational efficiency and simplify management.

Dell Technologies takes a general approach to primary storage, offering solutions that address various use cases and deployment scenarios. This aligns with its Platform Play designation, as it provides a comprehensive platform for data management across different workloads and environments. Dell is positioned in the Maturity half of the Radar, prioritizing stability and continuity while delivering incremental improvements to its solutions.

Dell is positioned as a Challenger and Fast Mover in the Maturity/Platform Play quadrant of the Primary Storage Radar chart.

Strengths
Dell scored well on a number of decision criteria, including:

• NVMe-oF: Dell offers comprehensive support for NVMe-oF across its primary storage platforms, enabling high-performance access to storage over fabrics. This reflects its commitment to delivering cutting-edge technology for demanding workloads.
• Cloud integration: Dell has robust integration with major cloud providers like AWS, Azure, and GCP. These integrations enable seamless data mobility, efficient tiering, and reliable disaster recovery, making them crucial for organizations adopting hybrid and multicloud strategies.
• Kubernetes integration: Dell offers above-average support for Kubernetes, featuring CSI drivers and integration for containerized workloads. This enables persistent storage provisioning and management, a critical capacity for organizations leveraging containerization for modern application deployments.

Challenges
Dell has room for improvement in the following decision criteria:

• NVMe/TCP: Dell has limited adoption of NVMe/TCP in certain products, with a stronger focus on other NVMe-oF protocols like FC-NVMe and RoCE. While Dell supports NVMe-oF, broader implementation of NVMe/TCP across its portfolio would enhance its ability to leverage existing Ethernet infrastructure for high-performance storage access.
• STaaS: Dell’s STaaS offering (APEX) has sufficient breadth and maturity. While it offers flexible consumption models, further development of its STaaS services could enhance its competitiveness in this growing market segment.

Purchase Considerations
Dell Technologies offers generally transparent pricing, but the sheer breadth of its storage portfolio and numerous configuration options can make navigating the SKUs and determining the most cost-effective solution challenging. While this extensive range of options offers flexibility, it may require careful consideration and expert guidance to ensure the best fit for specific requirements. Dell’s solutions are well-suited for both SMBs and large enterprises, with a focus on delivering comprehensive platforms for data management. Professional services and training resources are readily available to help with this complexity. Deployment complexity varies based on the chosen solution, and while migration from legacy systems is generally well-supported, the ease of migration depends on the specific environment.

Use Cases
As a Platform Play vendor, Dell Technologies supports most industry verticals and use cases with its diverse portfolio of primary storage solutions. Its solutions address traditional workloads such as database and virtualization workloads while also catering to modern applications and cloud-native environments. Dell’s offerings are widely adopted across industries, including finance, healthcare, government, and education, demonstrating their broad applicability and versatility.

Fujitsu: ETERNUS*

Solution Overview
Fujitsu is a well-established global IT vendor providing a wide range of technology products and services, including a comprehensive portfolio of storage solutions. Its primary storage offerings are designed to meet diverse needs, from small businesses to large enterprises, with a focus on reliability, data protection, and performance. In the past year, Fujitsu has focused on incremental enhancements to its storage portfolio, improving performance optimization, cloud integration, and security features.

Fujitsu’s primary storage solutions are anchored by two main product families: the Eternus DX series and the Eternus AB series. Eternus DX features scale-up architectures, delivering high performance and robust data services for demanding workloads. Eternus AB/HB, on the other hand, offers scale-out capabilities, enabling flexible scalability and high availability for growing data needs. Both product families encompass a range of models with varying capacities, performance levels, and features to address specific requirements.

Fujitsu takes a general approach to primary storage, supporting a broad range of use cases and deployment scenarios. This aligns with its position as a Platform Play vendor, delivering a comprehensive foundation for data management. Fujitsu prioritizes stability and continuity, ensuring its solutions remain consistent throughout the contract lifecycle. This methodical approach prioritizes incremental improvements in interoperability, compliance, and availability, providing a seamless user experience and ensuring compatibility with existing infrastructure.

Fujitsu is positioned as a Challenger and Fast Mover in the Maturity/Platform Play quadrant of the Primary Storage Radar chart.

Strengths
Fujitsu scored well on a number of decision criteria, including:

• NVMe-oF: Fujitsu provides capable support for NVMe-oF, a key technology for enabling high-performance storage access over fabrics. This demonstrates its commitment to adopting modern protocols and delivering low-latency storage solutions for demanding workloads.
• Cloud integration: Fujitsu offers decent cloud integration capabilities. While offering features like cloud tiering and backup, it shows a commitment to hybrid cloud environments. This allows organizations to leverage the flexibility and scalability of cloud storage while maintaining control over their data.
• API and automation tools: Fujitsu provides adequate API and automation tools that enable programmatic control over storage resources. This facilitates integration with existing management platforms and supports the automation of routine tasks, improving operational efficiency.

Challenges
Fujitsu has room for improvement in the following decision criteria:

• AI-based analytics: Fujitsu offers limited AI-driven analytics capabilities. While some AI is used in its storage management, it lacks the advanced predictive analytics and optimization features offered by some competitors.
• STaaS: Fujitsu offers limited Storage-as-a-Service capabilities although it provides uScale for its complete storage portfolio and integration with ETERNUS.
• Kubernetes integration: While basic support is available, it could be significantly improved with enhanced functionality and deeper integration into containerized environments, enabling better support of cloud-native applications and microservices architectures.

Purchase Considerations
Fujitsu’s licensing model is generally transparent, with clear pricing and predictable costs associated with its hardware and software offerings. Its product portfolio is well-defined, making it relatively easy for users to identify the specific SKUs that meet their requirements. Both SMBs and large enterprises can find suitable solutions within Fujitsu’s primary storage portfolio. As a Platform Play, Fujitsu’s solutions are typically licensed as complete packages, making them ideal for greenfield deployments or as replacements for existing systems.

Fujitsu offers professional services and training to support deployment and ongoing management. Deployment complexity depends on the chosen solution and environment, but Fujitsu provides tools and documentation to streamline the process. Migration from legacy systems is supported, though the complexity can vary depending on the source environment.

Use Cases
Fujitsu’s primary storage solutions address a wide range of use cases and industry verticals. They are well-suited to common workloads such as databases, virtualized environments, and file sharing. Fujitsu also offers specialized solutions tailored to high-performance computing and SAP environments. With a focus on reliability and data protection, Fujitsu’s storage solutions are advantageous for organizations prioritizing business continuity and data security across various sectors.

Hitachi Vantara: Virtual Storage Platform One (VSP One)

Solution Overview
Hitachi Vantara is a prominent provider of data storage and management solutions, offering a comprehensive portfolio tailored to diverse enterprise needs. In the past year, the company has focused on enhancing its Virtual Storage Platform One (VSP One) offering, a unified storage solution designed to simplify data management across diverse environments. VSP One comprises several key components: VSP One Block, a high-performance all-NVMe storage appliance; VSP One File, a scalable and secure file storage solution; VSP One Object, a centralized solution for managing unstructured data; and VSP One SDS, a software-defined storage option for both traditional and modern workloads.

Hitachi Vantara’s innovation strategy with VSP One emphasizes rapid development and advancement of enterprise features through frequent releases and updates. While this aggressive roadmap demonstrates the company’s responsiveness to market demands and commitment to addressing functionality gaps, customers should be prepared for significant platform evolution over their contract lifecycle. While this fast-paced innovation ensures the platform remains competitive and feature-rich, it may require customers to manage more frequent updates.

Hitachi Vantara is positioned as a Leader and Outperformer in the Innovation/Platform Play quadrant of the Primary Storage Radar chart.

Strengths
Hitachi Vantara scored well on a number of decision criteria, including:

• NVMe-oF: Hitachi Vantara excelled in its support for NVMe-oF with both FC and TCP, catering to high-performance applications and demonstrating a strong focus on performance optimization.
• Cloud integration: Hitachi Vantara has outstanding cloud integration features, including replication, automated tiering, virtual appliances, and support for hybrid cloud deployments.
• Ransomware protection: Hitachi Vantara excels with its robust ransomware protection capabilities including proactive detection, storage immutability, air-gap features, and collaboration with major backup vendors.

Hitachi Vantara was classified as an Outperformer given its relatively fast rate of development over the last 12 months, a high release cadence, a strong roadmap for the coming year, and a focus on innovation that could result in the vendor leaping forward in the market in the next year.

Challenges
Hitachi Vantara has room for improvement in the following decision criteria:

• AI-based analytics: While Hitachi Vantara utilizes AI for predictive analytics and system health monitoring, its current AI capabilities may not be as advanced as some competitors. The company could further enhance its AI-driven features for storage optimization and intelligent data management.
• New media types: Hitachi Vantara has good support for QLC flash and plans to incorporate CXL architectures, but it needs to accelerate its adoption of next-generation storage media to maintain its competitive edge.
• AIOps for storage: Hitachi Vantara provides AIOps capabilities for storage management, but needs to expand its offerings to include more advanced features such as automated remediation and workload optimization. This improvement would enhance the manageability and efficiency of its storage solutions.

Purchase Considerations
VSP One solutions are available through various licensing models, including perpetual licenses, subscriptions, and consumption-based pricing. The vendor offers different product SKUs tailored to different deployment sizes, simplifying the selection process for users. These solutions are well-suited for both SMBs and large enterprises, effectively addressing diverse storage requirements.

Hitachi Vantara provides professional services, including training and support, to help customers effectively deploy and manage their storage solutions. The company emphasizes non-disruptive upgrades and simplified management to ease deployment complexity. Migration from legacy systems is supported through various tools and services.

Use Cases
Hitachi Vantara’s VSP One platform supports a broad spectrum of use cases, spanning traditional and modern workloads, hybrid cloud environments, and containerized applications. Its versatility extends to various industry verticals, including healthcare, finance, and government, delivering high performance, scalability, and data protection.

HPE: HPE Alletra Storage MP

Solution Overview
Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) is a global leader in enterprise technology solutions, recognized for its innovative storage and data management offerings. In recent years, HPE has made significant strides in its storage portfolio through both internal development and strategic acquisitions. A standout offering is the HPE Alletra Storage MP, a software-defined, disaggregated scale-out storage solution designed to meet the performance, availability, and scalability demands of modern workloads. It is part of the broader HPE Alletra storage portfolio, which includes various solutions tailored to specific needs and deployment models.

HPE Alletra Storage MP features a disaggregated architecture, separating compute and storage resources to enable independent scaling and flexible resource allocation. This approach allows organizations to optimize their infrastructure for diverse workloads, including mission-critical applications, virtualized environments, and containerized applications. HPE Alletra Storage MP supports block, file, and object storage protocols, providing a versatile platform for consolidating diverse data types and applications.

HPE is positioned in the Innovation half of the Radar due to its aggressive roadmap. HPE Alletra Storage MP will evolve significantly over the course of a customer’s contract lifecycle, with frequent platform updates and feature releases. This evolution stems from HPE’s focus on enterprise feature development, including AI/ML integration for predictive analytics and AIOps. Each update cycle brings new functionalities, user interface improvements, and operational changes, enhancing the platform’s capabilities and user experience.

HPE is positioned as a Leader and Outperformer in the Innovation/Platform Play quadrant of the Primary Storage Radar chart.

Strengths
HPE scored well on a number of decision criteria, including:

• NVMe-oF: HPE Alletra Storage MP offers first-class and comprehensive NVMe-oF support, including Fibre Channel and TCP, enabling high-performance connectivity and maximizing the benefits of NVMe drives. This capability is crucial for modern workloads that demand low latency and high throughput.
• Kubernetes integration: HPE Alletra Storage MP provides outstanding integration with Kubernetes through a CSI driver, facilitating containerized application deployments and simplifying storage provisioning and management in containerized environments. This is essential for organizations adopting cloud-native strategies and leveraging containerization for application modernization.
• AIOps for storage: HPE Alletra Storage MP leverages AI-driven operations to provide proactive monitoring, predictive analytics, and automated troubleshooting capabilities. This helps organizations maintain optimal storage performance, prevent potential issues, and simplify storage management tasks.

HPE is classified as an Outperformer given its relatively fast rate of development over the last 12 months, a high release cadence, a strong roadmap for the coming year, and a focus on innovation that could result in the vendor leaping forward in the market in the next year.

Challenges
HPE has room for improvement in the following decision criteria:

• AI-based analytics: Although HPE Alletra Storage MP leverages AI/ML for predictive analytics, it is primarily focused on performance and troubleshooting aspects. Organizations seeking more comprehensive AI-driven insights, such as workload characterization, anomaly detection, security intelligence, and cost optimization, might need to explore additional solutions or integrations.
• New media types: HPE Alletra Storage MP supports QLC SSDs to provide higher density and optimized price performance for capacity-intensive workloads. However, the documentation lacks a detailed roadmap for incorporating next-generation storage technologies, such as CXL-based architectures. Organizations aiming to leverage cutting-edge storage storage advancements should monitor the evolving landscape and evaluate HPE’s future offerings in this area.
• Edge solutions: While HPE Alletra Storage MP offers configurations suitable for edge deployments, the documentation lacks comprehensive information on specific features and optimizations for edge environments. For organizations with significant edge requirements, such as handling limited bandwidth, intermittent connectivity, or complex remote management, a deeper assessment of whether HPE’s solution fully meets these needs may be necessary.

Purchase Considerations
HPE Alletra Storage MP offers flexible licensing options, including traditional upfront purchase, subscription-based models, and pay-as-you-go consumption through HPE GreenLake. This variety ensures customers can select an option that aligns with their budgetary preferences and consumption patterns. The solution is well-productized, with clear SKUs and configurations, making it easier for decision-makers to assess fit and requirements.

HPE provides comprehensive professional services, including training, deployment support, and migration assistance, to facilitate successful implementation and ongoing management. The solution’s ease of use and intuitive management interfaces contribute to a streamlined deployment experience.

Use Cases
HPE Alletra Storage MP is versatile, addressing a wide range of use cases across multiple industry verticals. Its capabilities make it suitable for various workloads, including mission-critical applications like databases, ERP systems, and other critical applications that require high availability, performance, and data protection. It’s also a fit for virtualized environments and for containerized applications that support cloud-native applications and containerized deployments through Kubernetes integration. HPE Alletra Storage MP is also compelling for data analytics and AI applications, and for edge deployments addressing remote office, branch office, and edge computing environments.

IBM: FlashSystem, Spectrum Virtualize, Spectrum Scale*

Solution Overview
IBM is a global technology leader offering a broad portfolio of IT infrastructure solutions, including an extensive selection of primary storage products. In the past year, IBM has concentrated on enhancing its existing storage platforms with advanced software features and expanded cloud integration capabilities rather than pursuing major acquisitions. Its primary storage solutions include the FlashSystem family of all-flash arrays, Spectrum Virtualize for software-defined storage, and Spectrum Scale for scale-out file and object storage. These solutions cater to diverse needs, from high-performance workloads to cloud-native applications. Relevant product SKUs include FlashSystem 5000, 7300, 9500, and Spectrum Virtualize software for various deployment scenarios.

IBM FlashSystem offers a consistent and familiar experience over the course of the customer’s contract lifecycle, reflecting the company’s focus on stability and predictable evolution. IBM’s development approach is methodical, emphasizing incremental improvements to existing capabilities rather than rapid feature expansion. This measured pace prioritizes consistent user experience and compatibility over accelerated advancement.

IBM is positioned as a Leader and Fast Mover in the Maturity/Platform Play quadrant of the Primary Storage Radar chart.

Strengths
IBM scored well on a number of decision criteria, including:

• NVMe-oF: IBM offers excellent NVMe-oF support across its FlashSystem portfolio for high-performance access over fabrics. This allows customers to leverage the full potential of NVMe drives and achieve ultra-low latency for demanding applications.
• Cloud integration: IBM integrates seamlessly with major cloud providers like AWS, Azure, and IBM Cloud. This facilitates hybrid cloud deployments, data mobility, and disaster recovery strategies.
• Ransomware protection: IBM offers robust data protection features that help safeguard against ransomware attacks. This includes immutable snapshots, air-gapped copies, and integration with IBM Storage Defender. These capabilities provide a strong defense against data corruption and ensure business continuity in the event of an attack.

Challenges
IBM has room for improvement in the following decision criteria:

• AI-based analytics: IBM’s emerging AI-driven features in Storage Insights and Spectrum Control show promise, but are not as comprehensive as some competitors’ offerings in areas like predictive analytics and automated optimization.
• Kubernetes integration: IBM offers only basic integration with Kubernetes through CSI drivers. While functional, it lacks the depth and advanced features seen in other solutions specifically designed for containerized environments.
• AIOps for storage: IBM provides adequate AIOps capabilities in Storage Insights and Spectrum Control, but they are still maturing. Further development in areas like predictive maintenance and automated remediation would enhance its overall storage management capabilities.

Purchase Considerations
IBM’s licensing model for its primary storage solutions is generally transparent, with clear pricing for its FlashSystem hardware and Spectrum Virtualize software. However, licensing for the Spectrum Scale licensing can be more complex, varying based on the configuration and deployment model. IBM offers a range of SKUs for its FlashSystem family, catering to different performance and capacity needs. For software-defined deployments, Spectrum Virtualize offers flexible licensing options.

IBM and its partners provide comprehensive professional services and training resources, although the level of support may vary depending on the specific solution and customer agreement. Deployment complexity may also vary depending on the chosen solution and environment. FlashSystem arrays are generally straightforward to deploy, while Spectrum Virtualize and Spectrum Scale may require more specialized expertise for optimal configuration. IBM supports migration from legacy systems with dedicated tools and services, though the complexity can vary depending on the source environment.

Use Cases
IBM’s primary storage solutions cater to a wide array of use cases and industry verticals. Its FlashSystem family addresses the needs of high-performance workloads, databases, and virtualized environments. Spectrum Virtualize provides a software-defined foundation for modern data centers and hybrid cloud deployments. Spectrum Scale caters to high-capacity workloads, big data analytics, and AI applications. IBM’s solutions are used across various sectors, including finance, healthcare, government, and manufacturing.

Infinidat: InfiniBox G4

Solution Overview
Infinidat is a leading provider of enterprise-grade primary storage solutions focused on delivering high performance, capacity, and availability for mission-critical workloads. In the past year, the company has introduced significant enhancements to its InfiniBox platform, including the InfiniBox G4 family, InfiniVerse Mobius program, SSA Express feature, and InfiniSafe Automated Cyber Protection. The InfiniBox is a unified storage platform that supports both block and file protocols, offering a comprehensive solution for diverse enterprise storage needs. It comprises multiple product SKUs, including the InfiniBox SSA for all-flash performance and the InfiniBox hybrid system for a balance of performance and capacity.

Infinidat adopts a versatile approach to primary storage, offering a comprehensive platform that addresses a wide range of use cases and workloads.

Infinidat is positioned in the Innovation half of the GigaOm Radar for Primary Storage. The company demonstrates a commitment to rapid advancement and continuous improvement through frequent releases, a focus on emerging technologies like NVMe and AIOps, and a roadmap driven by customer feedback and market demands. Customers can expect the platform to evolve significantly over the contract lifecycle, reflecting Infinidat’s focus on innovation and adaptability.

Infinidat is positioned as a Leader and Fast Mover in the Innovation/Platform Play quadrant of the Primary Storage Radar chart.

Strengths
Infinidat scored well on a number of decision criteria, including:

• STaaS: Infinidat offers flexible consumption models like FLX and capacity on demand (COD), allowing customers to align storage costs with their business needs and scale capacity on demand. This provides outstanding agility and cost efficiency for organizations.
• API and automation tools: Infinidat excels in providing feature parity between GUI functionality and CLI/API, along with strong automation capabilities through InfiniOps. This enables seamless integration and automation of storage management tasks within broader IT workflows.
• Ransomware protection: Infinidat offers top-notch InfiniSafe Cyber Resilience Services, which include proactive ransomware detection, storage immutability, rapid recovery mechanisms, and air-gap features. This robust approach to data protection is crucial in today’s threat landscape.

Challenges
Infinidat has room for improvement in the following decision criteria:

• New media types: Infinidat’s current focus on TLC-based SSDs is a weakness. While the solution is media agnostic and supports various media types, a more proactive approach to supporting newer media like QLC could further enhance cost efficiency and capacity for specific workloads.
• Edge solutions: Infinidat has a decent edge solution with the introduction of its new F14xxT in May 2024. However, as edge computing becomes more prevalent, developing solutions tailored to the unique requirements of edge environments could expand Infinidat’s addressable market.

Purchase Considerations
Infinidat’s licensing model is generally transparent, with various consumption options available, including CapEx and OpEx models. The company offers clear product SKUs aligned with different performance and capacity needs, making it easier for users to choose the right solution. Infinidat primarily targets large enterprises with its InfiniBox platform, offering a comprehensive solution that may require greenfield deployments or displacement of incumbent solutions.

Infinidat offers professional services and training resources to assist with deployment and ongoing management of its solutions. The InfiniBox platform is designed for ease of use, with features like Neural Cache and InfiniOps simplifying storage management tasks. Migration from legacy solutions is supported, but the complexity may vary depending on the specific environment.

Use Cases
Infinidat’s InfiniBox platform supports most industry verticals and use cases, making it a versatile solution for enterprise storage needs. It is particularly effective for workloads such as mission-critical applications, databases, virtualization, and AI/ML. The platform’s ability to consolidate diverse workloads into a single solution enables organizations to simplify their storage infrastructure, improve resource utilization, and enhance operational efficiency.

iXsystems: TrueNAS*

Solution Overview
iXsystems is a prominent provider of open-source-based storage and server solutions, best known for its TrueNAS family of enterprise-grade storage appliances and software. While it offers a range of server hardware, its primary focus is on delivering unified storage solutions that cater to diverse workloads and business needs. Over the past year, iXsystems has concentrated on enhancing its TrueNAS platform, with a particular emphasis on improving its high-availability capabilities, expanding cloud integration options, and strengthening its Kubernetes integration.

TrueNAS is available in various deployment models, including purpose-built hardware appliances (TrueNAS Enterprise) and software-defined deployments (TrueNAS SCALE). This allows for flexibility in deployment and scalability. Key product SKUs include TrueNAS Mini (for SMBs and edge deployments), TrueNAS R-Series (rack-mounted appliances for larger enterprises), TrueNAS F-Series (all-NVMe HA appliances), TrueNAS M-Series (Hybrid and scalable HA appliances), TrueNAS H-Series (compact hybrid and all-NVMe HA appliances) and TrueNAS SCALE (software for deployment on commodity hardware).

TrueNAS emphasizes stability and continuity, with a focus on providing a consistent user experience over the contract lifecycle. iXsystems adopts a methodical, structured approach to development, prioritizing incremental improvements over rapid innovation. This strategy ensures reliability, compatibility, and steady feature enhancements, particularly in high availability, platform interoperability, and security compliance.

iXsystems is positioned as a Challenger and Fast Mover in the Maturity/Platform Play quadrant of the Primary Storage Radar chart.

Strengths
iXsystems scored well on a number of decision criteria, including:

• NVMe-oF: iXsystems offers impressive support for NVMe-oF, enabling high-performance access to storage over fabric. This is crucial for modern workloads demanding low latency and high throughput.
• API and automation tools: iXsystems provides comprehensive and above-average API and automation tools. They allow for seamless integration with existing infrastructure and facilitate efficient management for administrators.
• NVMe/TCP: iXsystems offers support for NVMe/TCP, which provides efficient use of NVMe drives over a standard TCP/IP network. This gives performance a boost compared to traditional protocols like iSCSI, while leveraging existing network infrastructure.

Challenges
iXsystems has room for improvement in the following decision criteria:

• AI-based analytics: iXsystems recently made UI and documentation improvements using AI to reduce administration time. These are being enhanced for more direct advice. However, as the industry moves toward more intelligent storage solutions, enhancing these capabilities will be crucial for iXsystems to remain competitive.
• Cloud integration: iXsystems has room for improvement in its cloud integration capabilities. While it offers cloud integration for backup and disaster recovery, deeper integration with hybrid cloud environments and cloud-native workflows will be increasingly important.
• STaaS: iXsystems has an immature storage-as-a-service offering. Its new TrueFLEX offering allows customers to switch from a CapEx to an OpEx model, but as STaaS adoption grows, developing more compelling STaaS solutions will be vital for iXsystems to address evolving customer needs.

Purchase Considerations
TrueNAS offers transparent licensing with clear pricing and flexible options for both hardware and software deployments. The product line is well-defined, making it easy for users to identify the right solution for their needs. TrueNAS is suitable for both SMBs and large enterprises, offering solutions that scale accordingly. As a Platform Play, TrueNAS is typically licensed as a complete solution.

iXsystems provides extensive documentation and support resources, but professional services for advanced configurations or specialized integrations may be required. Deployment complexity varies depending on the chosen deployment model and specific configuration. Migrating from legacy systems to TrueNAS is generally straightforward, with tools and support available to facilitate the process.

Use Cases
iXsystems TrueNAS supports a wide range of use cases across various industry verticals. Its flexibility and scalability make it suitable for general-purpose file sharing, virtualization, backup and archive, media editing, and high-performance computing. While not explicitly tailored to specific verticals, its robust feature set and performance capabilities address the needs of diverse sectors, including healthcare, finance, education, and media production.

Lightbits: Lightbits Cloud Data Platform*

Solution Overview
Lightbits Labs is a software-defined storage company focused on delivering high-performance NVMe-based storage solutions. In the past year, it has enhanced its platform with a focus on cloud integration and open-source Kubernetes-native, OpenStack, and OpenShift deployments. The Lightbits Cloud Data Platform is a software solution designed to run on standard servers, leveraging NVMe/TCP to provide low-latency, high-throughput storage access. It is a single, integrated platform with various deployment options and functionalities. Product SKUs are tailored to specific needs, such as capacity, performance, and support levels.

Lightbits adopts a targeted approach, emphasizing high-performance NVMe-based storage for demanding applications like databases, AI/ML, and virtualized environments. This aligns with its position as a Platform Play, providing a comprehensive solution with broad capabilities. Lightbits is positioned in the Innovation half of the GigaOm Radar. The company demonstrates a commitment to rapid advancement and frequent releases, consistently introducing new features and integrations to address evolving market needs and technological advancements. This rapid pace of innovation means that the Lightbits solution will evolve significantly over the contract lifecycle, as the company aggressively pursues new capabilities and enhancements.

Lightbits is positioned as a Leader and Fast Mover in the Innovation/Platform Play quadrant of the Primary Storage Radar chart.

Strengths
Lightbits scored well on a number of decision criteria, including:

• NVMe-oF: Lightbits excels here due to its leadership in NVMe over Fabrics technology. It is a pioneer in using NVMe-oF, particularly NVMe/TCP, to provide highly efficient and performant storage access over standard network infrastructure.
• NVMe/TCP: Lightbits offers a very strong contribution to the development and adoption of NVMe/TCP, enabling the performance benefits of NVMe over readily available TCP networks.
• Kubernetes integration: Lightbits offers robust integration with Kubernetes, providing seamless provisioning of persistent storage for containerized applications with support for CSI drivers and dynamic provisioning.

Challenges
Lightbits has room for improvement in the following decision criteria:

• AI-based analytics: Lightbits lacks advanced AI-driven analytics for predictive analysis and proactive optimization. While it offers basic system analytics, it could benefit from incorporating more sophisticated AI capabilities to provide deeper insights and automation.
• Ransomware protection: Lightbits offers snapshots, replication, and immutable snapshots for data protection, but lacks specific ransomware protection features like air-gapping, which are becoming increasingly important to combat evolving security threats.
• AIOps for storage: Lightbits lags in its AIOps capabilities for proactive issue identification and automated resolution. Enhancing its AIOps features would improve operational efficiency and reduce the need for manual intervention by IT administrators.

Purchase Considerations
Lightbits’ licensing model is transparent, with clear pricing and flexible options. The platform is effectively productized, making it easy for users to understand the offerings and choose the right solution for their needs. Both SMBs and large enterprises can find suitable options within the Lightbits portfolio. As a Platform Play, Lightbits is licensed as a complete solution.

Professional services and training resources are readily available, and the platform is designed for relatively straightforward deployment. Migration from legacy systems is supported, though the complexity can vary depending on the specific environment.

Use Cases
Lightbits supports most industry verticals and a wide range of use cases with its high-performance, software-defined storage solution. It caters to organizations across various sectors, including finance, healthcare, technology, research, eCommerce, and Tier 2 cloud service providers, that require scalable and efficient storage for demanding workloads.

Lightbits supports a comprehensive range of high-performance storage use cases across multiple domains. For database applications, it delivers the low latency and high throughput needed for demanding transactional and analytical workloads, ensuring optimal performance and responsiveness. The platform excels in both virtualized and cloud-native environments, providing persistent storage for virtual machines and containers. It supports traditional virtualization platforms like VMware and KVM alongside modern Kubernetes-based deployments.

In the AI and machine learning space, Lightbits’ high-performance capabilities are particularly valuable, facilitating rapid data processing for both model training and inference workloads. The solution also serves the high-performance computing (HPC) sector effectively, enabling researchers and engineers to accelerate their workloads with storage optimized for the intensive data demands of scientific simulations and modeling.

NetApp: ONTAP

Solution Overview
NetApp is a leading provider of hybrid cloud data services and data management solutions. In the past year, NetApp has focused on enhancing its portfolio with a refreshed AFF A-Series and C-Series line, introducing a new block-optimized ASA family, and updating both its StorageGRID and BlueXP platform. These developments demonstrate its commitment to innovation.

ONTAP, NetApp’s flagship solution, is a unified storage operating system that forms the foundation of its data management offerings. It is not a standalone solution but a core component of a broader portfolio, including AFF and ASA all-flash arrays, FAS hybrid-flash arrays, and ONTAP Select software-defined storage.

This comprehensive suite allows NetApp to address a wide range of requirements and workloads, from high-performance applications to cloud integration and edge deployments. NetApp takes a general approach, providing a platform with broad functionality and use case support. This is reflected in its diverse offerings and its focus on unified management across on-premises and cloud environments.

ONTAP will look and feel different over a customer’s contract lifecycle due to NetApp’s rapid development approach and frequent updates. These changes stem from NetApp’s focus on enterprise feature development, particularly in AI-driven AIOps integration, advanced ransomware protection, and edge deployment support. The frequent release cycle introduces regular platform evolution through new features, interface changes, and operational workflows, addressing functionality gaps while requiring customer attention to change management.

NetApp is positioned as a Leader and Outperformer in the Innovation/Platform Play quadrant of the Primary Storage Radar chart.

Strengths
NetApp scored well on a number of decision criteria, including:

• AI-based analytics: NetApp offers sophisticated integration of AI/ML-based analytics into its solutions, primarily through Active IQ and BlueXP. This proactive approach to system monitoring and optimization enhances operational efficiency and performance.
• NVMe-oF: NetApp excels here due to its early adoption and comprehensive support for NVMe-oF, delivering exceptional performance for demanding applications that require high throughput and low latency.
• Ransomware protection: NetApp offers robust ransomware protection capabilities in ONTAP. These include proactive detection mechanisms, storage immutability features, and comprehensive recovery options, ensuring data resilience and security in the face of evolving cyber threats.

NetApp was classified as an Outperformer given its relatively fast rate of development over 12 months, a high release cadence, a strong roadmap for the coming year, and a focus on innovation that could result in the vendor leaping forward in the market in the next year.

Challenges
NetApp has room for improvement in the following decision criteria:

• New media types: NetApp supports QLC flash, but could further enhance its solutions by more aggressively adopting next-generation storage-class memory or CXL integration to address the evolving needs of high-performance and data-intensive workloads.
• STaaS: While NetApp is strong due to its comprehensive Keystone offering, there is potential for improvement by offering more flexible or granular consumption models and expanding the STaaS ecosystem to provide a broader range of services and deployment options.
• Edge solutions: NetApp offers ONTAP Select and FlexCache that support edge deployments. However, it could enhance its edge solutions by providing tighter integration with cloud-native technologies, broader support for edge hardware platforms, and optimization for specific edge use cases to address the evolving demands of edge computing.

Purchase Considerations
NetApp offers transparent licensing options with various SKUs catering to different needs and deployment models. Its comprehensive portfolio allows flexible configuration and avoids “sticker shock.” Both SMBs and large enterprises can find suitable solutions within NetApp’s offerings. As a Platform Play, NetApp’s solutions are licensed comprehensively, encouraging the adoption of its entire ecosystem for optimal functionality. NetApp provides extensive professional services, including training and support, to facilitate deployment and migration. Its solutions are designed for ease of use, simplifying deployment and integration into existing IT environments.

Use Cases
As a platform vendor, NetApp supports most, if not all, industry verticals and use cases. Its solutions cater to various needs, including enterprise applications, virtualized environments, cloud integration, data protection, and AI/GenAI. This broad applicability is facilitated by its comprehensive portfolio, flexible deployment options, and focus on unified management across hybrid and multicloud environments.

Nutanix: Unified Storage (NUS)*

Solution Overview
Nutanix is a leading provider of hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI) and software-defined storage (SDS) solutions. In the past year, it has focused on expanding its public cloud integration and enhancing support for AI/ML workloads. Nutanix Unified Storage (NUS) consolidates block, file, and object storage into a single platform, offering a comprehensive suite of data services. It is a core component of the Nutanix Cloud Platform, available in various configurations, including all-NVMe appliances and hybrid systems. Nutanix takes a general approach, providing a platform that caters to a wide range of use cases and workloads.

NUS is positioned in the Innovation half of the Radar due to its aggressive roadmap and focus on rapid development of new features to address emerging market needs. The solution is expected to look and feel different over the contract lifecycle as Nutanix continues to innovate and enhance its capabilities.

Nutanix is positioned as a Challenger and Fast Mover in the Innovation//Platform Play quadrant of the Primary Storage Radar chart.

Strengths
Nutanix scored well on a number of decision criteria, including:

• AI-based analytics: Nutanix offers a highly innovative application of AI and machine learning algorithms that analyze storage telemetry data, predict trends, and identify anomalies. Nutanix leverages AI to provide actionable recommendations for optimizing storage operations, enhancing capacity planning, dynamic monitoring, and overall performance.
• Cloud integration: Nutanix provides seamless integration with public cloud platforms, enabling excellent data mobility, hybrid cloud workflows, and cloud-based management.
• Ransomware protection: Nutanix provides robust security measures, including data immutability, malware detection, behavioral analysis, and recovery orchestration.

Challenges
Nutanix has room for improvement in the following decision criteria:

• NVMe-oF: Nutanix currently does not offer NVMe-oF, but has plans to add this capability to its roadmap.
• NVMe/TCP: Nutanix does not yet offer NVMe/TCP, but has roadmap items to deliver this functionality.
• New media types: Nutanix supports newer media types, but can further expand its support and optimization for emerging storage technologies.

Purchase Considerations
Nutanix’s licensing model is transparent, with a single unified license for on-premises and public cloud deployments. The solution is effectively productized, offering clear SKUs for different needs and configurations. NUS is suitable for both SMBs and large enterprises, offering scalability and flexibility to meet diverse requirements. As a Platform Play, NUS offers most features natively but may require greenfield deployment or displacement of incumbent solutions for full implementation. Nutanix provides comprehensive professional services and support, including training and deployment assistance, ensuring a smooth onboarding process. The solution is designed for ease of use and simplified management, reducing administrative overhead. Migration from existing solutions is supported, with tools and services available to streamline the process.

Use Cases
NUS offers comprehensive support across a broad spectrum of industry verticals, serving the unique needs of financial services, healthcare, education, government, manufacturing, and retail sectors. The platform’s inherent flexibility and scalability enable it to handle diverse workloads effectively. Organizations can leverage the solution for everything from database management and virtual desktop infrastructure to demanding high-performance computing tasks, sophisticated big data analytics, and modern cloud-native applications. This versatility makes it a valuable solution for enterprises seeking to consolidate various workloads on a single, robust platform.

PureStorage: FlashArray//X, //C, FlashBlade*

Solution Overview
Pure Storage is a leading provider of all-flash storage solutions designed to support modern workloads and hybrid cloud environments. Over the past year, Pure Storage has enhanced its portfolio through internal development, focusing on its core strengths such as unified management with Pure1 and expanding its Evergreen subscription model. The Evergreen model now includes three distinct products: Evergreen Forever, Evergreen One, and Evergreen Flex. Its primary offering, FlashArray, comprises multiple product lines (//X, //C, //XL, //E) catering to different performance and capacity needs. FlashBlade addresses unstructured data workloads, while Pure Fusion provides a software-defined storage platform.

Pure Storage takes a focused approach to delivering high-performance, reliable, and efficient storage solutions with a strong emphasis on simplicity and ease of use. This aligns with its position in the Maturity half of the GigaOm Radar. The company prioritizes stability and continuity, delivering incremental improvements to features like interoperability with cloud providers and enhanced data protection capabilities. This methodical approach ensures a consistent user experience and compatibility while steadily advancing its technology.

PureStorage is positioned as a Leader and Outperformer in the Maturity/Platform Play quadrant of the Primary Storage Radar chart.

Strengths
Pure Storage scored well on a number of decision criteria, including:

• AI-based analytics: Pure Storage excelled in this feature due to its Pure1 platform, which leverages AI for predictive analytics, anomaly detection, and workload optimization. This capability enables proactive management, reduces operational overhead, and ensures consistent performance.
• NVMe-oF: Pure Storage offers comprehensive support for NVMe-oF with multiple protocols, enabling excellent connectivity and maximizing the benefits of NVMe technology.
• STaaS: Pure Storage stands out in this feature due to its Pure as-a-Service offering, which delivers storage on a subscription basis with flexible consumption models. This aligns with the growing demand for OpEx-based IT and cloud-like agility.

Pure Storage is classified as an Outperformer given its fast rate of development over the last 12 months, a high release cadence, a strong roadmap for the coming year, and intentional innovation that could result in the vendor leaping forward in the market in the next year.

Challenges
Pure Storage has room for improvement in the following decision criteria:

• New media types: Pure Storage has a strong focus on NVMe and SSD media; although it supports SCM, it has limited support for emerging media types like QLC, which could become increasingly important for cost-sensitive deployments.
• Edge solutions: Pure Storage offers capable edge solutions, but they are not as comprehensive as the company’s core data center offerings. Expanding the edge portfolio with more tailored solutions would strengthen Pure Storage’s position in this growing market segment.
• Cost of storage ($/GB): Pure Storage produces a cost per GB that can be higher than some competitors. While its efficiency features and overall TCO can be competitive, addressing the raw storage cost would make its solutions more attractive to a wider range of customers.

Purchase Considerations
Pure Storage’s licensing model is generally transparent, with clear pricing and flexible subscription options available through its Evergreen program. Its product portfolio is well-defined, making it easy for customers to identify the right solution for their needs. However, potential buyers should carefully evaluate the cost per GB, especially for cost-sensitive deployments.

Professional services and support are readily available, and the platform is known for its ease of deployment and management. Migration from legacy systems is generally straightforward, aided by Pure Storage’s tools and services.

Use Cases
Pure Storage supports most industry verticals and a broad range of use cases, beyond high-performance workloads like databases, virtualization, and cloud-native applications. Its solutions are well-suited for large enterprises and organizations with demanding performance and availability requirements.

Seagate: Exos*

Solution Overview
Seagate is a leading provider of data storage solutions, with a strong focus on hard disk drives (HDDs) and related technologies. While it is well-known for its secondary storage and nearline solutions, it also offers a range of primary storage systems, including the Exos Application Platform. This platform combines high-capacity HDDs with NVMe SSDs to deliver a balanced solution for performance and capacity-intensive workloads. Over the past year, Seagate has continued to enhance Exos with increased capacity options, improved performance, and deeper integration with cloud services. The platform is a key component of Seagate’s broader portfolio of storage solutions, which includes a variety of HDDs, SSDs, and storage systems designed to meet the diverse needs of modern data centers.

Seagate falls into the Maturity half of the Radar, reflecting its focus on stability and continuity. The solution is expected to look and feel largely the same over the contract lifecycle as the vendor emphasizes a methodical and structured approach to development. Seagate values incremental improvement, ensuring consistent user experience and seamless compatibility over breakneck advancement. The company focuses on refining existing features, particularly in areas like drive performance, data protection, and system efficiency.

Seagate is positioned as an Entrant and Forward Mover alone in the Maturity/Feature Play quadrant of the Primary Storage Radar chart.

Strengths
Seagate scored well on a number of decision criteria, including:

• Cloud integration: Seagate has improved its integration with cloud services for data tiering, backup, and disaster recovery purposes. This allows customers to leverage the cloud for data management and protection, strongly enhancing the overall value proposition of its on-premises storage solutions.
• API and automation tools: Seagate provides essential APIs and automation tools that enable basic integration and management of its storage systems within broader IT environments. While there is room for improvement in terms of comprehensive automation and orchestration, these tools provide a strong foundation for streamlining storage operations.
• Edge solutions: Seagate offers ruggedized and compact storage solutions designed for edge deployments. These are engineered to withstand harsh environments and provide reliable data storage at the network edge, supporting the growing need for distributed data processing and analysis.

Challenges
Seagate has room for improvement in the following decision criteria:

• AI-based analytics: Seagate has limited AI-driven analytics in its primary storage offerings. While basic system monitoring and reporting are available, Seagate needs to invest further in advanced analytics capabilities to help customers proactively manage their storage infrastructure and extract valuable insights from their data.
• AIOps for storage: Seagate’s AIOps functionality is not yet a prominent feature in its primary storage solutions. Incorporating AIOps capabilities, such as automated anomaly detection and predictive maintenance, would enhance the manageability and efficiency of its offerings, allowing customers to optimize their storage operations proactively.

Seagate is classified as a Forward Mover given its relatively slow rate of development in the last 6-12 months in key areas like AI-driven analytics and storage software. While the company has made progress in enhancing its core strengths—notably by increasing drive capacities and improving data protection features—its roadmap for emerging technologies is less aggressive compared to some competitors. This slower pace of innovation could place Seagate at a disadvantage in the market over the next year, particularly as customer demands shift towards more intelligent, automated, and cloud-integrated storage solutions.

Purchase Considerations
Seagate’s licensing model is generally transparent, with clear pricing and a good range of product SKUs. The Exos Application Platform is a hardware-based solution typically licensed as a complete system. This solution is a strong consideration for decision-makers in both SMB and large enterprise environments, thanks to its performance, capacity, and efficiency. Professional services and training requirements align with industry standards, providing the necessary support for implementation. Deployment complexity is moderate, and migration from existing storage systems is generally straightforward.

Use Cases
Seagate targets specific use cases, including high-capacity storage, media and entertainment, and surveillance. Its solutions are well-suited for applications that require large amounts of storage, high performance, and strong data protection.

StorOne: S1 Platform

Solution Overview
StorOne is a software-defined storage provider focused on delivering a versatile and efficient platform for various workloads and deployment scenarios. The company aims to simplify storage management while addressing data protection and security demands. In the past year, StorOne has enhanced its platform with an improved user interface, more security features, and numerous performance and replication improvements. The S1 Platform v3.8 is a single, unified solution comprising various features and capabilities, including block, file, and object storage support. StorOne offers a hardware-agnostic, software-only option or a bundled solution with enterprise-grade hardware.

StorOne’s platform will look and feel largely the same over a customer’s contract lifecycle, reflecting its emphasis on stability and predictable evolution. The development approach focuses on incremental improvements to existing capabilities rather than rapid feature expansion. StorOne methodically enhances established features in specific areas: user interface refinements, security updates, performance optimization, and replication functionality.

StorOne is positioned as a Challenger and Fast Mover in the Maturity/Platform Play quadrant of the Primary Storage Radar chart.

Strengths
StorOne scored well on a number of decision criteria, including:

• Cloud integration: StorOne comes in above average due to its ability to deploy in the public cloud as a virtual machine (VM), leveraging cloud resources and supporting features like cloud snapshots and automated tiering.
• API and automation tools: StorOne stands out due to its API-first approach, where all features and capabilities are supported in the API. This facilitates impressive integration with existing infrastructure and automation tools.
• Kubernetes integration: StorPool does a decent job with its deep integration with Kubernetes, including a CSI plugin and support for persistent volumes, making it well-suited for cloud-native environments.

Challenges
StorOne has room for improvement in the following decision criteria:

• AI-based analytics: StorOne needs more advanced AI/ML-driven analytics capabilities for predictive analysis and proactive management.
• AIOps for storage: StorOne offers insufficient development of AIOps features to automate routine tasks and improve operational efficiency.
• Edge solutions: StorOne has limited focus on edge-specific features and capabilities, such as lightweight deployments and edge-optimized data management.

Purchase Considerations
StorOne’s licensing model is based on the number of drives or media count rather than capacity, providing flexibility for scaling and upgrading. This transparent approach allows users to understand the costs upfront. The solution is effectively productized, with a single, unified platform offering various features and capabilities. StorOne is suitable for both SMBs and large enterprises seeking a versatile and efficient storage solution. As a Platform Play, StorOne is licensed as a complete solution and can be deployed in various ways, including as a hardware appliance, virtual appliance, or software-only.

StorOne provides professional services and support to help customers with deployment, configuration, and ongoing management. The solution is designed for ease of use, with an HTML-based GUI, command line interface, and a complete set of Rest API capabilities. Migration from existing storage solutions is supported, and StorOne’s hardware-agnostic approach allows for flexibility in hardware choices.

Use Cases
StorOne delivers comprehensive support across most industry verticals while addressing a diverse spectrum of enterprise storage needs. In virtualized environments, the S1 Platform excels by providing high-performance storage with robust VMware and VSS integrations. For database applications, StorOne enables efficient and reliable storage operations through its support of block, file, and object storage protocols. The platform demonstrates particular strength in handling the demanding workloads associated with AI and data lakes, offering both the scalability and performance required for large data repositories. Additionally, StorOne serves as a cost-effective solution for backup and archival use cases, leveraging its versatility and broad support for different media types to provide efficient data protection and long-term retention capabilities.

StorPool: StorPool Storage

Solution Overview
StorPool Storage is a software-defined solution that transforms standard servers into high-performance, scalable storage systems. Designed to address the needs of modern workloads, it prioritizes performance, efficiency, and ease of management.

StorPool takes a unique approach by combining its core storage software with additional products like StorPool Analytics, StorPool Monitoring, and StorPool VolumeCare. These components work together to provide a comprehensive storage platform with enhanced monitoring, management, and data protection capabilities.

StorPool’s platform will look and feel different over a customer’s contract lifecycle due to its rapid development cycle and frequent feature releases. Its focus on addressing functionality gaps drives regular platform updates, which modify both capabilities and user experience. While this approach delivers new features quickly, customers should plan for ongoing changes that require testing and implementation resources.

StorPool is positioned as a Challenger and Fast Mover in the Innovation/Platform Play quadrant of the Primary Storage Radar chart.

Strengths
StorPool scored well on a number of decision criteria, including:

• NVMe/TCP: StorPool offers excellent performance in its software-based implementation of NVMe/TCP. This allows for fast and efficient data access without the need for specialized hardware, making it a cost-effective and high-performing solution.
• Storage-as-a-service (STaaS): StorPool excels here due to its comprehensive and flexible STaaS solution. Customers pay only for the storage they use with no minimum commitments, and they can scale usage up or down as needed. This aligns well with the growing demand for cloud-like consumption models in the enterprise storage market.
• API and automation tools: StorPool offers feature-rich RESTful JSON API and CLI. These tools allow for extensive automation and integration with existing management and monitoring systems, strongly enhancing operational efficiency and streamlining workflows.

Challenges
StorPool has room for improvement in the following decision criteria:

• New media types: StorPool lacks support for QLC flash. Still, its software-defined nature allows for future adaptability to emerging media types as they mature and become more prevalent in the market.
• AI-based analytics: StorPool employs statistical algorithms for proactive issue identification and self-healing capabilities. While it doesn’t currently use AI/ML for advanced analytics, its existing approach contributes to its robust monitoring and maintenance capabilities.
• Ransomware protection: StorPool offers features like delayed deletion of volumes for manual recovery from accidental deletions—however, it lacks any proactive ransomware detection capabilities, limiting its ability to protect against attacks.

Purchase Considerations
StorPool Storage offers a transparent and straightforward licensing model based on actual data stored, with options for monthly or prepaid subscriptions. This approach provides clarity and flexibility, allowing customers to scale their storage usage as needed. The solution is effectively productized, with a clear set of components and capabilities, making it easy for users to determine the appropriate fit for their requirements.

Given its comprehensive capabilities and flexible licensing, StorPool Storage is a viable solution for both SMBs and large enterprises. Its Platform Play positioning, broad feature set, and ability to handle diverse workloads make it suitable for organizations seeking a complete storage solution.

StorPool provides a fully managed service, including design, deployment, tuning, monitoring, and maintenance, minimizing the need for extensive professional services or internal expertise. This approach simplifies deployment and management, making it attractive for organizations looking to reduce operational overhead.

Migrating to StorPool Storage from an existing solution requires careful planning and execution, as with any storage migration project. However, StorPool’s comprehensive tools and managed service offerings can help streamline the process and minimize disruptions.

Use Cases
As a Platform Play vendor, StorPool Storage caters to a wide range of industry verticals and use cases. Its flexibility and comprehensive capabilities make it suitable for sectors like finance, healthcare, and telecommunications. StorPool Storage supports diverse use cases, including database hosting, virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI), high-performance computing (HPC), and general IT infrastructure. Its ability to handle various workloads and integrate with different platforms makes it a versatile solution for organizations across industries.

Synology: DiskStation Manager (DSM) with FS/SA Series Hardware*

Solution Overview
Synology is a well-established vendor specializing in network attached storage (NAS) solutions for both home and business users. Its primary focus is on providing reliable, feature-rich, and user-friendly storage solutions that cater to a wide range of needs, from file sharing and backup to multimedia streaming and surveillance. In recent years, Synology has expanded its portfolio with higher-end rackmount servers (FS and SA series) designed to handle the demands of primary storage in business environments. These systems leverage Synology’s DiskStation Manager (DSM) operating system, which provides a unified platform for managing storage, networking, and various applications.

Synology’s strategy is centered around delivering a mature and stable platform with incremental improvements. It prioritizes a consistent user experience, ease of use, and robust data protection features. While it does introduce new features and hardware models, its approach is generally evolutionary rather than revolutionary. The solution will look and feel largely the same over the contract lifecycle.

Synology is positioned as a Challenger and Fast Mover in the Maturity/Platform Play quadrant of the Primary Storage Radar chart.

Strengths
Synology scored well on a number of decision criteria, including:

• Cloud integration: Synology offers robust integration with major cloud providers. This facilitates seamless hybrid cloud deployments, enabling businesses to leverage cloud services for data protection, disaster recovery, and file synchronization, enhancing agility and cost-efficiency.
• API and automation tools: Synology offers an adequate suite of APIs and automation tools. This empowers IT administrators to streamline storage management tasks, improve operational efficiency, and programmatically control storage resources, aligning with the growing need for infrastructure automation.
• Kubernetes integration: Synology offers sufficient support for Kubernetes through CSI drivers and Docker integration. This allows organizations to leverage Synology storage within containerized environments, enabling persistent storage for stateful applications and facilitating modern application deployment workflows.

Challenges
Synology has room for improvement in the following decision criteria:

• AI-based analytics: Synology customers have access to Active Insight, which is a cloud-based service that provides monitoring and lightweight management capabilities, but there remains an opportunity to enhance its AI-driven analytical features.
• NVMe-oF: NVMe-oF is not a prominent feature in Synology’s current offerings, and while it supports NVMe drives, it hasn’t fully embraced the feature as a primary storage access protocol.
• STaaS: Synology lacks a pure STaaS offering but offers hybrid cloud storage and cloud tiering options that blend their on-premises systems with their cloud storage services.

Purchase Considerations
Synology’s licensing model is generally transparent, offering clear pricing for its hardware appliances and software licenses. Its product portfolio is well-defined, making it relatively easy for users to identify the right solution for their needs. However, for larger enterprises with complex requirements, navigating the various options and configurations may require some effort.

Synology’s DSM software is known for its ease of use, minimizing the need for extensive training and professional services. Deployment is typically straightforward, and migration from existing storage solutions is facilitated by various tools and resources provided by Synology.

Use Cases
Synology’s primary storage solutions serve a diverse range of deployment scenarios, with particular strength in the SMB sector. Its NAS solutions offer a cost-effective and easily manageable storage platform that delivers essential capabilities including file sharing, data protection, and application hosting. The platform also excels in handling specialized workloads, providing dedicated features, and optimized applications for specific use cases such as video surveillance, multimedia streaming, and backup and archiving.

While not explicitly designed for edge computing, Synology’s compact NAS devices can effectively serve edge deployment scenarios, providing local storage and data processing capabilities where needed. This versatility makes Synology’s solutions particularly valuable for organizations seeking flexible storage options across various operational contexts.

VAST Data: VAST Data Platform*

Solution Overview
VAST Data is a rapidly emerging storage vendor focused on delivering high-performance, scalable solutions for demanding workloads. Its core innovation lies in its disaggregated shared-everything architecture (DASE), which combines the performance of NVMe flash with the scalability and efficiency of QLC NAND flash. This approach allows VAST to provide a unified storage platform capable of handling a wide range of data-intensive applications, from artificial intelligence and machine learning to high-performance computing and traditional enterprise file storage.

VAST Data’s only offering is its Universal Storage platform, a comprehensive software-defined storage solution that can be deployed on various certified hardware, providing customers with flexibility and choice.

VAST Data’s DASE architecture allows for independent scaling of compute and storage resources. This approach, combined with its support for NVMe-oF and development of AI-driven analytics, positions it as an innovator in the primary storage market. VAST is actively developing new features and capabilities, indicating that its solution will likely look and feel different over time.

VAST Data is positioned as a Challenger and Fast Mover in the Innovation/Platform Play quadrant of the Primary Storage Radar chart.

Strengths
VAST Data scored well on a number of decision criteria, including:

• NVMe-oF: VAST excels here due to its full embrace of NVMe-oF. By supporting multiple NVMe-oF transport protocols, including RDMA over converged Ethernet (RoCE) and TCP, VAST enables organizations to leverage the performance benefits of NVMe over their existing network infrastructure. This commitment to NVMe-oF ensures that VAST can deliver the lowest latency and highest throughput for demanding applications.
• NVMe/TCP: VAST offers strong support for NVMe/TCP, a key enabler of NVMe-oF over standard Ethernet networks. This allows organizations to adopt NVMe-oF without requiring specialized hardware, making it a more accessible and cost-effective option for many. VAST’s support for NVMe/TCP demonstrates its impressive commitment to providing flexible and practical solutions for its customers.
• API and automation tools: VAST provides a comprehensive API and a robust set of automation tools. This empowers administrators to efficiently manage their storage infrastructure, automate routine tasks, and seamlessly integrate VAST Data Platform platform into their existing workflows. This focus on automation simplifies management and reduces operational overhead, contributing to a more agile and responsive data center environment.

Challenges
VAST has room for improvement in the following decision criteria:

• AI-based analytics: VAST is beginning to integrate AI for predictive analytics, but this functionality is still maturing.
• AIOps for storage: VAST is incorporating AI for storage operations, but full AIOps functionality is still under development.
• Cloud integration: VAST enables data tiering and replication to the cloud, but it lacks deeper cloud integration capabilities.

Purchase Considerations
VAST Data’s licensing model is transparent, with clear pricing and flexible subscription options. Its solution is effectively productized, making it relatively easy for users to understand the offerings and choose the right configuration for their needs. Given its scalability and performance, the VAST Data Platform is primarily targeted towards large enterprises and specialized organizations with demanding workloads.

VAST Data’s solution is designed as a complete platform, potentially requiring greenfield deployments or the displacement of incumbent solutions. However, its comprehensive feature set and platform approach provide a strong justification for that. Professional services and training resources are available to support successful deployment and ongoing management.

Use Cases
The VAST Data Platform addresses a comprehensive range of use cases, with particular emphasis on scenarios demanding exceptional performance and scalability. In the artificial intelligence and machine learning space, VAST’s architecture excels by delivering the high throughput and low latency essential for training and running AI/ML models effectively. The platform also serves the high-performance computing sector, providing the robust performance and scalability required for demanding HPC workloads.

For media and entertainment applications, VAST enables efficient storage and management of large media files, while effectively handling the growing volumes of unstructured data generated by modern businesses. Though VAST Data primarily targets these performance-intensive applications, its flexible platform approach and comprehensive protocol support make it equally capable of handling a variety of other enterprise workloads. This versatility ensures that organizations can leverage VAST’s technology across their entire storage infrastructure, even as their needs evolve and expand.

WekaIO: WekaFS*

Solution Overview
WekaIO is a software-defined storage provider focused on high-performance workloads, particularly those involving artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and high-performance computing (HPC). Its flagship product, WekaFS, is a parallel file system designed to deliver extreme throughput and low latency. WekaIO has not made any significant acquisitions in the past year, choosing instead to focus on enhancing its core offering. WekaFS is a standalone solution that operates as a distributed file system layer, capable of running on-premises, in the cloud, or in hybrid environments. It is available in various SKUs tailored to different deployment scales and performance requirements.

WekaIO’s platform will look and feel largely the same over a customer’s contract lifecycle, reflecting its emphasis on stability for performance-intensive workloads. Its development approach focuses on incremental improvements to existing capabilities rather than rapid feature expansion. WekaIO methodically enhances established features in three areas: NVMe-oF fabric and cloud platform interoperability, industry compliance and security standards, and data protection with disaster recovery capabilities.

WekaIO is positioned as a Challenger and Fast Mover in the Maturity/Platform Play quadrant of the Primary Storage Radar chart.

Strengths
WekaIO scored well on a number of decision criteria, including:

• NVMe-oF: WekaIO excels here due to its native support for NVMe-oF, enabling extremely high throughput and low latency for applications accessing data over the network. This capability is crucial for maximizing the performance of modern flash storage and accelerating demanding workloads like AI/ML and HPC.
• NVMe/TCP: WekaIO stands out in its support of NVMe/TCP, which allows efficient data transfer over standard Ethernet networks. This provides a cost-effective and easily deployable solution for organizations seeking to leverage NVMe storage without specialized hardware.
• Kubernetes integration: WekaIO offers outstanding integration with Kubernetes, a critical platform for containerized applications. The solution provides persistent storage for stateful applications with high performance and scalability, simplifying deployment and management in containerized environments.

Challenges
WekaIO has room for improvement in the following decision criteria:

• STaaS: WekaIO has limited STaaS offerings. While it supports hybrid cloud deployments, its primary focus remains on-premises and self-managed solutions.
• AI-based analytics: WekaIO incorporates AI for predictive analysis, but its capabilities are still maturing compared to competitors.
• Ransomware protection: Although WekaIO offers features like snapshots and immutability, it could further enhance its ransomware protection capabilities with more advanced features like behavioral analysis and automated recovery.

Purchase Considerations
WekaIO’s licensing is generally transparent, with clear pricing and flexible subscription options. However, potential buyers should carefully evaluate the various SKUs to ensure they align with their specific performance and capacity requirements. WekaIO is primarily targeted towards large enterprises with demanding workloads, making it less suitable for SMBs. While positioned in the Radar as a Platform Play vendor, WekaIO offers impressive support for high-performance computing and other specific scenarios. As such, it is often deployed alongside other best-of-breed solutions to address specific needs. Professional services and support are readily available, though deployment complexity may require specialized expertise. Migration from legacy systems can be facilitated with WekaIO’s professional services.

Use Cases
WekaIO specializes in serving industry verticals with demanding high-performance storage requirements. In the financial services sector, the platform excels at supporting critical operations such as high-frequency trading, risk analysis, and fraud detection. Life sciences organizations leverage WekaIO’s capabilities for intensive workloads, including genomics research, drug discovery, and medical imaging applications.

The solution also serves the media and entertainment industry effectively, providing the performance needed for video editing, animation, and visual effects production. In the artificial intelligence and machine learning space, WekaIO delivers the high-performance storage essential for model training, inferencing, and sophisticated data analytics. This focused approach to serving performance-intensive verticals allows WekaIO to deliver optimized solutions for organizations with the most demanding storage requirements.

Zadara: VPSA

Solution Overview
Zadara offers fully managed, enterprise-grade storage solutions with a focus on flexibility, scalability, and customization. Its Virtual Private Storage Array (VPSA) provides dedicated resources to customers, ensuring consistent performance and isolation. Zadara’s portfolio comprises zStorage, a private and fully managed elastic storage cloud service, and zCompute, an AWS-compatible compute platform leveraging zStorage as its backend.

Zadara’s VPSA is a software-defined storage solution available in various configurations, including Flash Array and Storage Array. The company has not been involved in any major acquisitions in the past year.

Zadara takes a unique approach by providing fully managed storage services with an emphasis on data sovereignty and multitenancy. This strategy caters to organizations seeking a cloud-like experience with enhanced control and security. Zadara’s focus on innovation is evident in its aggressive roadmap, which includes plans for NVMe-oF, NVMe/TCP, and enhanced AI-based analytics. Zadara is actively developing its Federated Edge program to enhance data sovereignty and enable seamless multicloud and hybrid cloud deployments. It is also investing in AI/ML models to improve operational visibility and anomaly detection, contributing to its AIOps capabilities.

Zadara’s platform will look and feel different over a customer’s contract lifecycle due to its rapid development cycle and frequent feature releases. Its focus on addressing market demands drives regular platform updates, which modify both capabilities and user experience. While this approach delivers new features quickly, customers should plan for ongoing changes that require testing and implementation resources.

Zadara is positioned as a Challenger and Fast Mover in the Innovation/Platform Play quadrant of the Primary Storage Radar chart.

Strengths
Zadara scored well on a number of the key feature decision criteria, including:

• New media types: Zadara provides strong support for a variety of media types, including HDD, SSD, and SCM, and plans to add support for QLC in future releases. This demonstrates a superior commitment to providing performant and cost-effective storage options for diverse workloads.
• Cloud integration: Zadara offers robust cloud integration features, including cloud snapshots, tiering, and mirroring. This facilitates hybrid and multicloud strategies, enabling organizations to leverage the benefits of both on-premises and cloud environments.
• API and automation tools: Zadara offers comprehensive API and automation tools, which enable seamless integration with existing workflows and management systems. This simplifies storage management and allows for highly efficient orchestration of storage resources.

Challenges
Zadara has room for improvement in the following decision criteria:

• NVMe-oF: Zadara lacks NVMe-oF support. While it plans to introduce this in mid-2025, the absence of the high-performance protocol may be a concern for organizations seeking to leverage the full potential of NVMe storage drives.
• NVMe/TCP: Zadara also lacks NVMe/TCP support, though it is planned for future release. While the commitment to adopting modern storage protocols is positive, the delay in offering NVMe/TCP may limit Zadara’s appeal to organizations seeking to leverage its simplicity and cost-effectiveness.
• Ransomware protection: Zadara relies on third-party solutions for comprehensive ransomware protection. While Zadara offers security features like RBAC, 2FA, and multi-administrator approval, the lack of native ransomware detection and mitigation capabilities may be a concern for organizations seeking a more integrated and robust security posture.

Purchase Considerations
Zadara’s licensing model is transparent and straightforward, with costs based on consumption and a clear breakdown of engine and drive expenses. The solution is effectively productized, allowing users to easily understand the components and services they are purchasing. Zadara’s STaaS model makes it a viable option for both SMBs and large enterprises seeking flexible and scalable storage solutions.

As a Platform Play solution, Zadara’s VPSA offers a comprehensive suite of features, enabling organizations to adopt it as a complete storage solution. Its fully managed service approach minimizes the need for extensive training and professional services. Deployment complexity is low due to the pre-configured and remotely managed nature of the solution. Migration from existing solutions is facilitated by Zadara’s professional services, which include data migration and onboarding support.

Use Cases
As a Platform Play vendor, Zadara aims to support a wide range of use cases across various industry verticals. Its flexible and scalable architecture enables organizations to leverage Zadara’s VPSA for diverse workloads, including enterprise storage, edge deployments, and hybrid and multicloud environments. Zadara’s ability to cater to specific data residency requirements and support mixed workloads further enhances its versatility across different industries and use cases.

6. Analyst’s Outlook

Primary storage continues to evolve beyond traditional performance and capacity metrics to address emerging enterprise priorities. The following three key trends are shaping the market’s future.

First, sustainability has become a strategic imperative, tightly tied to operational efficiency and cost reduction. Organizations increasingly evaluate storage solutions based on power efficiency, environmental impact, and overall carbon footprint–and not just to meet ESG compliance mandates, but to drive direct bottom-line benefits. Every watt saved in storage operations translates to reduced power and cooling costs, while efficient resource utilization leads to better capacity economics and lower $/GB costs. Vendors are responding with enhanced monitoring capabilities, more efficient architectures, and advanced power management features that optimize both environmental impact and operational expenses. This alignment of sustainability with cost efficiency is driving innovation in areas like intelligent data placement, automated power management, and workload-aware optimization.

Second, AI/ML workloads are fundamentally changing storage requirements through their unique data access patterns and performance demands. Unlike traditional enterprise applications, AI training workloads often require massive parallel access to large datasets with high throughput, while inference workloads need consistent low-latency access to smaller, frequently accessed datasets. This dual nature of AI/ML operations challenges traditional storage architectures designed for sequential or random I/O patterns.

Storage vendors are adapting by implementing specialized data paths, enhanced cache management, and intelligent data placement algorithms. Additionally, these workloads often require seamless integration with GPU clusters and AI frameworks, driving new requirements for storage APIs and data services. The need to support both AI/ML and traditional enterprise workloads on the same infrastructure is pushing vendors to develop more flexible and adaptable storage architectures with workload-aware quality of service controls.

Third, the growing volume of data generated at the edge and the need for real-time processing are accelerating the convergence of edge and core infrastructure. Organizations increasingly require data services and processing capabilities closer to the locations where data originates, whether in remote offices, manufacturing floors, or IoT deployments. This shift demands storage solutions that can provide consistent data services and management across distributed environments while maintaining data sovereignty and reducing latency.

Storage vendors are responding with solutions that offer automated data placement, local processing capabilities, and intelligent tiering between edge locations, core data centers, and cloud environments. This distributed architecture requires sophisticated orchestration to manage data lifecycle, ensure protection, and optimize placement based on access patterns and processing requirements.

Organizations preparing for these changes should begin implementing comprehensive power usage monitoring and reporting systems. This foundation enables informed decisions about infrastructure efficiency and supports sustainability initiatives. Storage architectures should be evaluated not only for their AI/ML optimization capabilities but also for their ability to support both traditional and emerging workloads effectively. As edge computing becomes more prevalent, developing a cohesive edge-to-core storage strategy becomes crucial. This strategy should incorporate sustainability metrics in procurement decisions while ensuring robust support for hybrid infrastructure deployments.

To learn about related topics in this space, check out the following GigaOm Radar reports:

• GigaOm Radar for Kubernetes Data Storagev 5.0
• GigaOm Radar for Enterprise Object Storagev 5.0

7. Methodology

*Vendors marked with an asterisk did not participate in our research process for the Radar report, and their capsules and scoring were compiled via desk research.

For more information about our research process for Key Criteria and Radar reports, please visit our Methodology.

8. About GigaOm

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GigaOm works directly with enterprises both inside and outside of the IT organization to apply proven research and methodologies designed to avoid pitfalls and roadblocks while balancing risk and innovation. Research methodologies include but are not limited to adoption and benchmarking surveys, use cases, interviews, ROI/TCO, market landscapes, strategic trends, and technical benchmarks. Our analysts possess 20+ years of experience advising a spectrum of clients from early adopters to mainstream enterprises.

GigaOm’s perspective is that of the unbiased enterprise practitioner. Through this perspective, GigaOm connects with engaged and loyal subscribers on a deep and meaningful level.

9. Copyright

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