Pure Storage Declares War on Storage Complexity

A cacophony of alarms, a symphony of system failures, and the chilling whisper of data breaches are some of the things that keep storage administrators awake at night.

But what if there was a way to silence the chaos, to transform the data center into a haven of tranquility and efficiency? Pure Storage is offering just that — and in doing so, it’s ripping up legacy rulebooks and approaches that have held data hostage for far too long.

“We want to challenge the status quo, really challenge our customers, to challenge the market, to have the same level of simplicity within the environment,” says Mark Jobbins, vice president and chief technology officer for Asia Pacific and Japan at Pure Storage.

Real-time file services

One key area of focus is file services, long a bastion of complexity and inflexibility. Traditional file storage, burdened by outdated, rigid architectures and multiple layers of protocol and management complexity, is tricky to update and change. It is also nearly impossible to meet the evolving needs of modern workloads like AI, analytics and VDI.

“The world's changed. It's so dynamic today that... you potentially end up painting yourself into a corner with [traditional file storage],” says Jobbins.

Pure Storage's answer: Real-time Enterprise File. Delivered via the Pure Storage platform, it is purpose-built to address the limitations of traditional file storage, enabling customers to respond quickly and manage application demands in real time.

Real-time Enterprise File delivers agility to the business through global storage pools, which allow companies to maximize their storage resources without the complexity of planning and creating storage reservations or allocations for each array. Flexible cluster configurations enable companies to adapt and reconfigure in real-time without wiping data. In short, it offers a single architecture that accesses all your enterprise data with a single control plane.

In addition, through Pure Fusion, storage operations are automated, including workload placement and rebalancing of any combination of arrays across the organization’s entire Pure Storage data storage estate.

Busting the tiers

The real game-changer with Real-time Enterprise File is what Pure Storage calls zero move tiering. This innovative technology eliminates the need for complex data tiering by allowing hot and cold data to coexist on the same array. Resources are dynamically allocated based on access frequency, eliminating the need to manually move workloads and applications between tiers.

With its single-layer architecture and global storage pool, Pure's FlashBlade eliminates the concept of data store tiers altogether. All data resides in a unified pool, and compute and networking resources intelligently prioritize mission-critical workloads. This ensures optimal performance without the overhead of traditional tiering policies.

“This is really pushing the boundaries there,” says Jobbins. “And I'm excited about what's going to happen with the customer base and how they adopt these options that are there.”

Pure is also extending its AI copilot, which it previously announced at Accelerate Las Vegas. This allows IT teams to manage Pure storage environments in English or another natural language, effectively democratizing storage management and leveling the learning curve.

FlashBlade has a new entry point

Pure Storage's FlashBlade, the industry's leading fast file and object storage platform, is also getting a significant boost. A new entry-level model, the AI-ready FlashBlade//S100 with GPUDirect support, makes it easier than ever for organizations to get started with fast file and object storage while still offering the same enterprise-grade features and scalability as its larger siblings.

Jobbins thinks the new product is a good entry market for ANZ and some Asian markets. “It is a good entry point for customers that want that fast file and objects platform and then be able to extend out over time," he adds.

VMware users get much-needed clarity

With Broadcom's recent acquisition of VMware, many organizations are left wondering about the future of their virtualization environments. Pure Storage is stepping up to provide much-needed clarity with enhanced VMware assessment functionality in its Pure1 platform.

"It's not that move away from VMware or stay with VMware, per se," explains Jobbins. "It's actually giving customers greater insight so they can make the right decision that's best for their business."

VM Assessment offers performance monitoring, enhanced scenario planning, and rightsizing recommendations through Pure1. Storage admins can now identify opportunities to optimize their VM resources while gaining deep insights into their utilization and potential subscription impacts. VM Assessment is available to all customers free of charge with their Pure1 subscription.

Evergreen//One gets more flexible

Pure Storage's Evergreen//One storage-as-a-service offering is also getting a makeover with the introduction of Universal Credits. These credits, which are available now, provide even greater flexibility, allowing customers to allocate their storage spending across different services and platforms as their needs evolve.

"I think, if anything, this is just going to encourage more customers to go down this model," says Jobbins.

Universal Credits allow businesses to purchase a pool of credits and use them across various services without being locked into specific subscriptions while providing predictable billing. Customers can now leverage volume discounts by purchasing Universal Credits and applying them across various Evergreen//One, Pure Cloud Block Store and Portworx services.

Rethinking storage management

These announcements represent a fundamental shift in how storage is managed and consumed. Pure Storage, it seems, is on a mission to make storage management more intelligent and accessible.

“We're trying to address what people are looking for in the market,” says Jobbins. “And I believe we're a strong market leader in this area,” he adds, highlighting that Gartner named the company a “Leader” again in the 2024 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Primary Storage Platforms while positioning highest in “Execution” and furthest in “Vision.”

Matthew Kimball, vice president and principal analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy, agrees: “Pure Storage’s highly differentiated platform has changed customers’ perception of what a modern storage infrastructure can deliver. The introduction of Real-time Enterprise File and the extension of its STaaS capabilities further solidifies Pure’s leadership in the market.”

Image credit: iStockphoto/Ghulam Hussain