What Is StoneFly and Why Data Centers Keep Choosing Their Solutions

If you've been shopping around for data storage solutions, you've probably come across StoneFly's name more than once. But who are they exactly, and what makes their products worth considering?

The Company That Made iSCSI a Standard

StoneFly started back in 1996 in Castro Valley with a straightforward mission: make enterprise-grade data center technology accessible without the enterprise price tag. Their first move was pretty bold – they registered the iSCSI.com domain name in March 1996, way before iSCSI became the industry standard it is today. That early bet paid off, and now IT professionals worldwide use iSCSI protocols that StoneFly helped pioneer.

What They Actually Offer

With nearly three decades in the data storage game, StoneFly has built out a comprehensive lineup of solutions. Their specialty is making complex infrastructure simpler, whether you're running a small business or managing data for a large enterprise.

Their product range covers the essentials: NAS systems for file storage, SAN solutions for block-level storage, and S3-compatible object storage. What's interesting is their unified appliances that combine NAS + SAN + S3 in one box, which can save you from managing multiple separate systems.

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Beyond basic storage, they've expanded into backup and disaster recovery systems, storage gateways, RAID configurations, and even IP video surveillance storage – basically covering most data management scenarios you'd encounter.

The Technology Behind It

Everything runs on their proprietary storage virtualization software called StoneFusion, now in its 8th generation. Storage virtualization is one of those technologies that sounds complicated but basically lets you manage different types of storage as one unified pool. This makes scaling easier and gives you more flexibility when your storage needs change.

StoneFly has also partnered with the big players – VMware, Veeam, Microsoft Azure, and AWS. These partnerships mean their solutions integrate smoothly with infrastructure you're probably already using, whether it's on-premises or in the cloud.

Who Uses StoneFly Solutions

Their target market spans small and medium businesses (SMBs and SMEs) all the way up to large enterprises. The common thread is organizations that need enterprise-level features but want budget-friendly options. If you're tired of overpaying for storage solutions loaded with features you'll never use, that's the gap StoneFly tries to fill.

They offer physical appliances you can rack in your data center, virtual solutions that run as software, and cloud-based options. This flexibility means you can start with one deployment model and shift to another as your needs evolve without switching vendors.

What Makes Them Different

The data storage market is crowded, but StoneFly's approach centers on a few key things: performance without the premium pricing, simplified management through virtualization, and broad compatibility across different environments. Their nearly 25 years of continuous operation also suggests they're not a fly-by-night vendor – they've weathered multiple technology cycles and market shifts.

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For data migration scenarios, they also provide specialized software to help move data between systems, which can be a lifesaver when you're upgrading or consolidating storage infrastructure.

Bottom Line

StoneFly positions itself as the practical choice for organizations that need serious data management capabilities but don't have unlimited IT budgets. Their evolution from iSCSI pioneers to full-stack data management solutions provider shows they've kept pace with how storage needs have changed over the years.

Whether their solutions are the right fit depends on your specific requirements – storage capacity, performance needs, budget constraints, and existing infrastructure. But if you're evaluating options in the hyperconverged infrastructure or backup and DR space, they're worth adding to your shortlist for comparison.