ioFABRIC Vicinity drastically reduces storage OPEX and CAPEX with intelligent cost-based optimization to create a true Hybrid Storage Cloud

ioFABRIC provides a data-as-a-service platform that increases business agility by creating better linkages between storage and the rest of the business. ioFABRIC’s vision is to turn storage into a utility that you can simply depend on. It was established in 2013, and it has offices in North America: Toronto, Canada; Europe: Crete, Greece; Asia Pacific: Sydney, Australia.

The executive team has worked together for more than 20 years, and the company is funded by private investors and Real Ventures.

About ioFABRIC Vicinity

ioFABRIC Vicinity’s data-as-a-service platform utilizes a company’s existing storage systems to create an on-premise, private cloud that delivers cloud-like economics and unparalleled agility. Vicinity seamlessly connects on-premise and public cloud storage creating a true Hybrid Storage Cloud.

Cost-based Intelligent Optimization monitors and automatically moves data among storage resources to maintain Quality of Service levels for all application workloads concurrently. And it adapts in real-time as demands and workloads change.

The future-proofed platform analyzes and predicts what storage resources you need to add as you grow. Installing and using new performance flash or commodity capacity is seamless, with no manual provisioning or data migration efforts. No vendor lock-in, no proprietary systems, no specialized knowledge required. Just reliable storage that works how you need it, when you need it.

“Our focus is making storage something you can simply rely on.”

Talking with the Co-Founders: Steven Lamb, CEO, and Rayan Zachariassen, CTO

Why was the company set up?

With a background in data storage from NEVEX Virtual Technologies, we knew there were big, industry-shaking challenges facing – not just the Amazons of the world – but any business that manages, stores, or utilizes data.

Even if you just look at the numbers, data is growing exponentially, and there is a huge need for a simple and sane way of managing it and future-proofing it. Not just because people will be buying more hardware, but because that hardware will bring complexity, and complexity brings confusion, and confusion leaves you open to risks – the pain of troubleshooting performance issues, the waste of over provisioning, and the complexity of backing it all up sufficiently to combat failures or ransom ware.

So we aimed to simplify it. Our focus is to make storage something you can simply rely on. We like to think that storage should be like a utility. When you turn on the tap, water comes out. And sure, there’s plumbing and pipes and a lot of things going on in the background, but you don’t need to know about all that. All you care about is water on demand. If you want to adjust it faster or slower, hotter or colder, it’s there. And you only pay for the water you use. That’s what storage needs to be.

Tell us about the first product you launched?

Our first product was (and still is) ioFABRIC Vicinity. It is software that delivers QoS-based automation across existing and future storage investments.

ioFABRIC Vicinity creates a dynamic platform that delivers service-based storage through an organization’s entire infrastructure to drive efficiency, minimize complexity, and save management cost and time.

What challenges did you face in your initial years? What can your peers learn from it?

Speaking frankly, one of our initial challenges was making headway against our biggest competitor –status quo – companies who chose to not improve their data storage and stay with their current faulty systems. Customers knew they had small, point-problems, but didn’t know they all came from the same old, traditional understanding of storage – making one big investment every 5 years, and making do in between refresh cycles. ioFABRIC flips that tradition on its head.

If you had to list five factors that have been/are the biggest assets to your organization, what would they be and why?

Vision: We know from our own and our customers’ experience that we are paving the way for “how storage should be” in the future

Partners: They are our bedrock for getting our name out in the world and finding great customers to work with

Strong Technical Chops: Our development team works tirelessly on evolving the product

An awesome product! What’s more to say?

People: Not just our team, but our friends, colleagues, and networks that continue to help us grow

What kind of background helped you set up this company?

Our founding and executive team have expertise in data storage, Internet security, networking and systems architecture, e-commerce, and access and authorization. Their collective experience gave us a solid foundation for software-defined storage.

Where do you see you and your company a couple of years from now?

We see ioFABRIC forming solid relationships with large network partners, and continuing our expansion beyond North America.

More about the Co-Founders

Steven Lamb, CEO and Co-Founder: Steven forged himself as a data storage expert with server-side caching at NEVEX Virtual Technologies and now with ioFABRIC, he has a game-changing product in the data storage arena. Steven is a successful serial entrepreneur on his fifth venture, bringing a broad range of strategic positioning, management skills, and leadership experience.

Steven’s first company, Border Network Technologies, became the second largest firewall vendor worldwide. Others included INEX, Nevex Software and the most recent, NEVEX Virtual Technologies, a cache acceleration company.

Rayan Zachariassen, CTO and Co-Founder: Rayan is an expert in network and systems architectures and systems software support for efficient data storage systems. Founder of UUNET Canada, Rayan’s venture became Canada’s first commercial Internet Service Provider, purchased in 1998 by UUNET Technologies, the world’s largest ISP. Rayan also co-founded Border Network Technologies, which grew to the number two firewall vendor worldwide, with Steven Lamb.

“ioFABRIC is an industry leader in data storage management and product development: agile and responsive”