Enterprise storage has long been plagued by complexity, high costs, and fragmentation, forcing IT leaders into difficult tradeoffs between performance, security, and affordability. In this exclusive VMblog Q&A with Gal Naor, CEO and Co-Founder of StorONE, we explore how the company's latest S1 software release is transforming enterprise storage with its innovative TierONE AI-driven auto-tiering technology. This groundbreaking solution promises to reduce storage costs by 75% while providing robust ransomware protection through features like 100,000+ immutable snapshots per volume and instant file-level recovery.

Naor explains how StorONE's hardware-agnostic platform eliminates storage silos by supporting block, file, and object storage across on-premises, cloud, and hybrid environments—all manageable through a single intuitive interface.

For organizations looking to cut costs, improve performance, and future-proof their storage strategy without adding complexity, StorONE's unified approach offers a compelling alternative to traditional fragmented storage architectures.

VMblog:  Tell us about this new version of StorONE's S1 software.

Gal Naor:  For too long, enterprise storage has been too complex, too expensive, and too fragmented. IT leaders are forced to choose between overpaying for all-flash to achieve performance that only a fraction of their data needs, managing multiple storage silos to support block, file, and object storage separately, struggling with costly and time-consuming ransomware recovery when backups fail and dealing with vendor lock-in and rigid licensing models that limit flexibility.

StorONE eliminates these challenges by delivering a single platform that optimizes cost, performance, security, and scalability-without adding complexity.

Our latest version of S1 software reduces storage costs by 75% with the new TierONE - AI-driven auto-tiering, that keeps only active data on flash while moving everything else to cost-effective HDD storage.

We're bringing true ransomware resilience to market that ensures businesses can recover in minutes, not days, with 100,000+ immutable snapshots per volume, anomaly detection, and instant file-level recovery.

Our fully hardware-agnostic platform supports block, file, and object storage across on-prem, cloud, and hybrid environments, eliminating storage silos, all within a single system. Avoid vendor lock-in with the flexibility to use existing hardware and scale storage without forklift upgrades or proprietary restrictions. StorONE enables storage management with an intuitive interface and automation that eliminates the need for specialized expertise.

Enterprise storage should be a business enabler, not a cost burden. StorONE gives IT leaders a way to cut costs, improve performance, and future-proof their storage strategy, all without complexity or compromise.

VMblog:  Auto-tiering has been around for years, and StorONE has long offered tiering capabilities. What makes TierONE different from previous solutions?

Naor:  Traditional auto-tiering solutions are either slow, inefficient, or require external applications to manage data placement. StorONE's TierONE is fundamentally different because it's natively built into the platform and works in real time.

Here's how TierONE sets a new standard - Instead of moving files, TierONE operates at the block level, dynamically managing data placement without disrupting active workloads. And while competitors force enterprises to overprovision flash, TierONE ensures that only active data remains on SSDs, dramatically reducing costs while maintaining performance.

StorONE's TierONE is fully integrated at no additional cost.

TierONE isn't just an improvement-it's a complete rethinking of auto-tiering, making hybrid storage as simple and effective as possible.

VMblog:  Enterprises are often forced to choose between performance and affordability when it comes to storage. How does TierONE enable high-performance storage at lower costs?

Naor:  The traditional all-flash model forces enterprises to overpay for performance while still needing separate solutions for cold data storage. StorONE's TierONE eliminates this trade-off by ensuring high performance where needed and lower-cost storage where possible.

TierONE keeps only active data on flash, automatically moving inactive data to high-capacity, lower-cost HDDs. It reduces flash storage needs by 75% because inactive data is moved in real-time, leading to massive cost savings. Unlike legacy tiering, which often relocates entire files, TierONE moves only the needed data blocks, ensuring performance remains seamless. Additionally, TierONE scales without overprovisioning, allowing enterprises to expand storage as needed without expensive flash upgrades.

With TierONE, enterprises get high-speed performance where it matters and cost efficiency where it counts-without compromising either.

VMblog:  Many storage vendors claim to offer ransomware protection, but attacks are still crippling organizations. What makes StorONE's Ransomware Recovery Shield different from other solutions on the market?"

Naor:  Most ransomware recovery solutions focus on one or two components, like snapshots or backups, but true resilience requires a complete, multi-layered approach. StorONE's Ransomware Recovery Shield is different because it ensures every critical protection mechanism is integrated into ONE platform - without gaps, extra costs, or complex add-ons.

There is no proper ransomware resilience without all of these components working together - Our TierONE- AI-Enabled Auto-Tiering combined with our immutable snapshots means StorONE offers 100,000+ immutable snapshots per volume that act as an electronic air gap, ensuring ransomware cannot encrypt or delete historical data. TierONE automatically moves and protects critical snapshots by storing them in a lower-cost, air-gapped tier that remains instantly accessible for recovery. This means snapshots are safe from attack but do not require expensive flash storage. In addition, SnapONE enables granular file-level recovery, so businesses can restore exactly what they need in seconds.

StorONE's MFA and multi-admin approval prevents unauthorized changes or deletions by requiring multiple approvals for any modification to stored data. This ensures internal and external threats are blocked before damage occurs. Our anomaly detection and audit logs continuously monitor for unusual access patterns, encryption events, or unauthorized modifications, providing an early warning system before an attack spreads.

And finally, our replication (any type, any direction) ensures real-time data replication across multiple locations, eliminating single points of failure and allowing organizations to instantly access clean copies of their data.

Without all these layers working together, no ransomware recovery strategy is truly resilient. StorONE natively integrates every component into our ONE Enterprise Storage Platform, ensuring data remains untouchable by attackers and instantly recoverable when needed. Most vendors require multiple tools, additional licensing, or third-party integrations for the same level of protection. StorONE builds it all into the storage layer, making ransomware resilience seamless, automated, and cost-effective.

VMblog:  StorONE is a storage company, not a cybersecurity firm. Why should enterprises trust your platform as a critical part of their ransomware defense strategy?

Naor:  StorONE doesn't replace cybersecurity solutions like firewalls or endpoint protection, it complements them by ensuring data remains safe and instantly recoverable when prevention fails. Even the best cybersecurity defenses can't guarantee that ransomware won't get through. That's why StorONE ensures that organizations can recover quickly and avoid costly downtime.

Enterprises rely on StorONE as a last line of defense for our immutable snapshots which are 100% tamper-proof - Attackers can't encrypt or delete them. Our instant file-level recovery, SnapONE restores files without rolling back entire systems. Our new AI-enabled auto-tiering TierONE moves snapshots to lower-cost, air-gapped storage, keeping them accessible yet safe. And this is all happening with zero-risk ransomware recovery. StorONE provides an untouched, instantly restorable data copy even if malware corrupts a live environment.

VMblog:  StorONE promotes the ONE Storage Platform as an all-in-one solution that eliminates storage silos. Can you explain how this approach benefits enterprises compared to traditional storage architectures?

Naor:  Traditional enterprise storage forces organizations to manage multiple, fragmented storage silos, each requiring its own hardware, protocols, and management tools. StorONE's ONE Storage Platform eliminates this complexity by consolidating all storage needs into a single, flexible system. Enterprises are making the switch because StorONE is 100% hardware-agnostic. Organizations can mix NVMe, SSD, and HDD seamlessly, instead of being locked into proprietary systems. It also supports all protocols, all locations, and all uses cases, eliminating the need for separate storage solutions for different workloads.

StorONE provides unified data management: instead of juggling 4-8 different storage environments, IT teams can provision and manage everything from a single interface. StorONE also allows multi-cloud, hybrid, and on-prem storage to work together effortlessly, without the usual compatibility headaches. And finally, by consolidating storage, enterprises reduce infrastructure costs while maintaining top-tier performance across workloads.

With ONE Storage Platform, enterprises no longer need to choose between compatibility, performance, and cost savings-they get all three in one system.

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Gal Naor is the CEO and co-founder of StorONE, the only vendor providing all enterprise storage use cases on ONE software platform. With over two decades of experience in the storage industry, Gal has a proven track record of driving growth and innovation. Under his leadership, StorONE has become a disruptive force in the storage market, offering high-capacity and performance, cost-effective, and secure storage solutions to a diverse range of industries. 

Before founding StorONE in 2011, Gal was the CEO and founder of Storwize, the first company to develop real-time, inline data compression, which was later acquired by IBM. 

Gal has brought his experience and talents to the boards of numerous successful technology and pharma companies and is passionate about leveraging technology to solve complex business challenges.