March 25, 2025

Jim Gallagher’s Take on Why We Built JetStor Signature (Spoiler - It’s Not Just About Storage)

JetStor CEO Jim Gallagher gets real on storage's future, why "commodity" doesn’t mean compromise, and the exabyte era ahead. No fluff.

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I wanted to take a moment and talk about why we decided to launch JetStor Signature, share a bit about what we built and how it fits into our portfolio, and give some perspective on the storage market of today and tomorrow.

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First, a Little Context

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For over 30 years, JetStor has delivered data storage solutions at enterprise quality, minus the enterprise price tag. From spinning disks to SSDs, we've stayed obsessively focused on giving our customers what they need - storage that just works, minus the budget-busting baloney.

Initially, we specialized in scale-up storage solutions. And honestly? That's still an amazing fit for most companies and use cases. Right now, a single scale-up system can reliably manage between 15-20 Petabytes of raw storage. That’s enough to archive every cat video your team’s spammed on Slack since 2019, with petabytes to spare.

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Don’t deweet me pweeze

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But here’s the kicker: data volumes keep growing. 23% CAGR. Petabytes? It’s starting to feel quaint. 

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Storage Market - Real Talk

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The storage industry has bifurcated into two camps:

On one side, you’ve got the Big Iron vendors - the legacy folks who built empires stuffing features into their shiny boxes. De-duplication, compression, sync - back in the day, it was their secret sauce. Now? Everyone’s got the same recipe. Their trade show booths might be bigger than my house, but peel back the stickers and we’re all peddling the same drives.

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Big enough for a family of 4!

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Seriously, three companies - three - make every spinning disk on Earth. There is only so much NAND fabrication happening.

On the other side? The cool kids - software upstarts, hyperscalers, and boundary pushers who’ve ditched the tasseled loafers and big iron for the next generation of storage platforms. JetStor’s straddling both worlds, but we’re not here to play favorites, just to deliver what works, minus the fluff.

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So, What's Actually New?

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Here’s the dirty little secret: the box-building game is over. Software-defined storage (SDS) has fundamentally shifted how we think about infrastructure. Companies (and JetStor partners!) like OSNexus, Hammerspace, and VAST Data (not to mention hyperscalers) have shown that innovation today lies in abstracting storage from the underlying hardware. You don’t need fancy big iron if you can leverage “commodity hardware”. Decidedly not fancy.

But there's a nuance here, “commodity hardware” gets tossed around like it’s all interchangeable. It’s like saying coffee’s coffee: sure, coffee beans are technically commodities, but your ultra-hipster $9 pour-over ain’t exactly interchangeable with whatever abomination in a cup you may procure from a Dunkies. Similarly, storage hardware might be standardized - but how you select, configure, and tune those commodities makes all the difference in real-world outcomes. That’s where JetStor shines (for 30+ years!).

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You when you thought all coffee was the same.

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We’re not here to sell you smoke and mirrors, we're proud to be in the commodity business. We're committed to selling the best damn commodities on the planet, and priced like we actually want you to buy it. Artisanal commodities, without the hipster markup.

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OK, But Seriously - What Does JetStor Even Do?

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The second question I get asked at every tech mixer: “Jim, what exactly is JetStor?” And frankly, it's tricky to answer. We’re a bit of an odd duck in the storage industry. Depending on who you ask, JetStor can be a:

  • Distributor, working with QSAN to deliver unbeatable price/performance for appliance-based SAN and NAS workloads.
  • OEM/ODM, stepping in when the market has gaps or customers need something tailored.
  • Value-added reseller or systems integrator, especially in the growing SDS space. JetStor Signature particularly bolsters this side of our business.

It’s the “right tool for the job” thing - I know it’s a cliché, but it fits. JetStor Signature is just another way we prove it.

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When you’re sick of big iron prices, but still need big iron power—JetStor Signature delivers

The Future Looks Big

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Our plan is simple: keep delivering storage that works, minus the price tags that make CFOs faint. JetStor Signature isn’t some flashy gimmick, it’s us doubling down on a market drowning in noise but starving for value. The exabyte era is here, and we’re ready.

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You should be too. But, y’know, I’m the CEO - I might be a tad biased.

Cheers,

Jim Gallagher
CEO, JetStor

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