{ "edition": "2026-10-16", "years": [ 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026 ], "ai_labels": [ [ "infra", "AI workload support" ], [ "stack", "AI platform stack" ], [ "ops", "AI-assisted operations" ], [ "agents", "Agent openness" ] ], "index_weights": { "cap": 35, "cred": 20, "safety": 20, "ai": 10, "integ": 10, "mom": 5 }, "domains": [ { "key": "api", "label": "S3 API fidelity", "weight": 15 }, { "key": "immutability", "label": "Immutability and compliance", "weight": 12 }, { "key": "durability", "label": "Durability and resilience", "weight": 12 }, { "key": "perf", "label": "Performance and scale", "weight": 12 }, { "key": "deploy", "label": "Deployment freedom", "weight": 10 }, { "key": "security", "label": "Security and multi-tenancy", "weight": 10 }, { "key": "ops", "label": "Operations", "weight": 10 }, { "key": "protocols", "label": "Protocols beyond S3", "weight": 7 }, { "key": "lifecycle", "label": "Lifecycle and tiering", "weight": 7 }, { "key": "ecosystem", "label": "Ecosystem and openness", "weight": 5 } ], "groups": { "opensource": "Open-source software", "commercial": "Commercial software", "appliance": "Appliance or hardware-bound", "filefirst": "File-first platform with S3", "platform": "Inside a storage platform", "engine": "Open-source engine" }, "platforms": [ { "key": "ceph-rgw", "name": "Ceph RADOS Gateway (RGW, upstream)", "short": "Ceph RGW", "kind": "engine", "group": "engine", "since": 2015, "archetype": "Dependable builder", "grade": "B", "driver": "C", "mix": { "V": 14, "C": 71, "M": 0, "U": 14, "P": 0 }, "idx": 0.17, "domains": { "api": { "2015": 2.5, "2016": 2.5, "2017": 2.5, "2018": 2.5, "2019": 3.5, "2020": 4, "2021": 4, "2022": 4, "2023": 4, "2024": 4.5, "2025": 4.5, "2026": 4.5 }, "immutability": { "2015": 0, "2016": 0, "2017": 0, "2018": 0, "2019": 2.5, "2020": 2.5, "2021": 2.5, "2022": 2.5, "2023": 3.5, "2024": 3.5, "2025": 3.5, "2026": 3.5 }, "durability": { "2015": 3.5, "2016": 4.5, "2017": 4.5, "2018": 4.5, "2019": 4.5, "2020": 4.5, "2021": 5, "2022": 5, "2023": 5, "2024": 5, "2025": 5, "2026": 5 }, "perf": { "2015": 3, "2016": 3, "2017": 4, "2018": 4, "2019": 4, "2020": 4, "2021": 4, "2022": 4, "2023": 4, "2024": 4, "2025": 4, "2026": 4 }, "deploy": { "2015": 2.5, "2016": 2.5, "2017": 2.5, "2018": 2.5, "2019": 3.5, "2020": 4, "2021": 4, "2022": 4, "2023": 4, "2024": 4, "2025": 4, "2026": 4 }, "security": { "2015": 2, "2016": 2.5, "2017": 2.5, "2018": 2.5, "2019": 3, "2020": 3, "2021": 3, "2022": 3, "2023": 3, "2024": 3.5, "2025": 4, "2026": 4 }, "ops": { "2015": 2, "2016": 2, "2017": 2, "2018": 2.5, "2019": 3, "2020": 3.5, "2021": 3.5, "2022": 3.5, "2023": 3.5, "2024": 3.5, "2025": 3.5, "2026": 3.5 }, "protocols": { "2015": 3, "2016": 3, "2017": 3.5, "2018": 3.5, "2019": 3.5, "2020": 3.5, "2021": 3.5, "2022": 3.5, "2023": 3.5, "2024": 3.5, "2025": 4, "2026": 4 }, "lifecycle": { "2015": 0.5, "2016": 1.5, "2017": 1.5, "2018": 1.5, "2019": 3, "2020": 3, "2021": 3.5, "2022": 3.5, "2023": 3.5, "2024": 3.5, "2025": 3.5, "2026": 3.5 }, "ecosystem": { "2015": 4, "2016": 4, "2017": 4, "2018": 4.5, "2019": 4.5, "2020": 4.5, "2021": 4.5, "2022": 4.5, "2023": 4.5, "2024": 4.5, "2025": 4.5, "2026": 4.5 } }, "cred": [ [ "Cadence", 3.5, "One named release a year with dated point releases and published end-of-life dates; the named release has landed between August and November (Reef 2023-08-07, Squid 2024-09-26, Tentacle 2025-11-18)" ], [ "Roadmap transparency", 4, "Open tracker, public release notes and documentation; no dated roadmap and no date for the next series" ], [ "Say-do", 4, "Few promises; deprecations are announced a release ahead with a removal floor (STS Lite no sooner than V)" ], [ "Velocity", 3.5, "Steady RGW additions: IAM accounts in Squid, GetObjectAttributes and lock on existing buckets in Tentacle" ], [ "Lifecycle stability", 3.5, "About two years per series with two series supported; tenant IAM and STS Lite are being removed and Pacific cannot jump straight to Reef" ] ], "comm": null, "risk": "commercial", "lock": [ [ "Formats", 2.5, "Objects are striped into RADOS objects on BlueStore and cannot be read as plain files without Ceph" ], [ "Export path", 1, "S3 and Swift reads, multisite sync to another Ceph cluster, cloud sync module, rclone" ], [ "Stack coupling", 3, "Needs a whole Ceph cluster with monitors and OSDs" ], [ "Hardware / cloud coupling", 0, "Any x86 or Arm server, fully offline" ], [ "Skills and tooling coupling", 2.5, "Ceph administration is a specialised and scarce skill; the tooling is open" ] ], "integ": [ [ "Partner programme openness", 4, "Anyone may package, support and resell it; Ceph Foundation membership is open in tiers; no vendor programme with margins" ], [ "Multi-tenancy and self-service", 4, "Tenants, User Accounts with IAM, user and bucket quotas, usage logs; no portal" ], [ "API and infrastructure-as-code", 3.5, "Admin Ops API, Rook CRDs and cephadm; Terraform and Ansible content is community-maintained" ], [ "Skills and certification", 2, "No vendor-neutral certification found; training comes from the packaging vendors" ] ], "alt": null, "ranked": true, "reading": "Ceph RGW has the highest capability score of the open-source engines because nearly every object feature a packaging vendor sells already exists upstream: active-active multisite, per-bucket placement, stretch mode, IAM accounts, Swift and cloud tiering. Immutability stays at 3.5 because no backup vendor has validated upstream RGW; the Cohasset assessment from 2023 is the strongest compliance evidence. Security stops at 4: there is no FIPS validation, and the 2026-08-19 releases fixed a CephX bypass and an STS token flaw that require every key to be renewed. A buyer running it without a vendor should check which stable series they run, because Squid reaches end of life around 2026-10-31, and who will patch the cluster and renew keys when the next advisory lands.", "report": "/reports/object-storage-ledger-2026/ceph-rgw", "ai": { "infra": { "2015": 1, "2016": 1, "2017": 1, "2018": 1, "2019": 1, "2020": 1, "2021": 1, "2022": 1, "2023": 1, "2024": 1, "2025": 1, "2026": 1.5 }, "stack": { "2015": 0, "2016": 0, "2017": 0, "2018": 0, "2019": 0, "2020": 0, "2021": 0, "2022": 0, "2023": 0, "2024": 0, "2025": 0, "2026": 0 }, "ops": { "2015": 0, "2016": 0, "2017": 0, "2018": 0, "2019": 0, "2020": 0, "2021": 0, "2022": 0, "2023": 0, "2024": 0, "2025": 0, "2026": 0 }, "agents": { "2015": 2, "2016": 2, "2017": 2, "2018": 2, "2019": 2, "2020": 2, "2021": 2, "2022": 2, "2023": 2, "2024": 2, "2025": 2, "2026": 2 } }, "ai_basis": { "infra": "S3 Vectors listed in the RGW documentation; release and maturity not verified, counted as half a step", "stack": "None", "ops": "None", "agents": "S3 and Admin Ops APIs that agents can drive; no MCP server found" }, "ai_ledger": { "announced": 1, "ga": 0, "preview": 0, "pending": 1, "dropped": 0, "note": "S3 Vectors appears in the RGW documentation without a release or maturity statement; the project announced no other AI feature from 2023 to 2026." }, "ai_reading": "Ceph RGW has no AI in its own operation; its AI role is as the object store under other platforms. S3 Vectors in the documentation is the only AI-specific item, and its release status is still open.", "mom": 6.6, "credT": 18.5, "commT": null, "lockT": 9, "integT": 13.5 }, { "key": "minio-aistor", "name": "MinIO AIStor", "short": "MinIO AIStor", "kind": "product", "group": "commercial", "since": 2015, "archetype": "Real innovator, portfolio-gated", "grade": "B", "driver": "V", "mix": { "V": 40, "C": 20, "M": 10, "U": 0, "P": 30 }, "idx": 0.57, "domains": { "api": { "2015": 1.5, "2016": 1.5, "2017": 1.5, "2018": 1.5, "2019": 3, "2020": 3, "2021": 3, "2022": 4, "2023": 4, "2024": 4, "2025": 4.5, "2026": 4.5 }, "immutability": { "2015": 0, "2016": 0, "2017": 0, "2018": 0, "2019": 0, "2020": 3.5, "2021": 3.5, "2022": 3.5, "2023": 3.5, "2024": 4, "2025": 4, "2026": 4 }, "durability": { "2015": 1, "2016": 1, "2017": 1, "2018": 1, "2019": 3, "2020": 3, "2021": 3, "2022": 4, "2023": 4, "2024": 4, "2025": 4, "2026": 4 }, "perf": { "2015": 2, "2016": 2, "2017": 2, "2018": 2, "2019": 3.5, "2020": 3.5, "2021": 3.5, "2022": 4, "2023": 4, "2024": 4, "2025": 4, "2026": 4.5 }, "deploy": { "2015": 3, "2016": 3, "2017": 3, "2018": 3, "2019": 3.5, "2020": 3.5, "2021": 3.5, "2022": 4, "2023": 4, "2024": 4, "2025": 4, "2026": 4 }, "security": { "2015": 1, "2016": 1, "2017": 1, "2018": 1, "2019": 2.5, "2020": 2.5, "2021": 2.5, "2022": 3.5, "2023": 3.5, "2024": 3.5, "2025": 3.5, "2026": 3.5 }, "ops": { "2015": 1.5, "2016": 1.5, "2017": 1.5, "2018": 1.5, "2019": 2.5, "2020": 2.5, "2021": 2.5, "2022": 3.5, "2023": 3.5, "2024": 3.5, "2025": 4, "2026": 4 }, "protocols": { "2015": 0, "2016": 0, "2017": 0, "2018": 0, "2019": 0, "2020": 0, "2021": 0, "2022": 0, "2023": 0, "2024": 0, "2025": 0.5, "2026": 3 }, "lifecycle": { "2015": 0, "2016": 0, "2017": 0, "2018": 0, "2019": 1, "2020": 1, "2021": 1, "2022": 3.5, "2023": 3.5, "2024": 3.5, "2025": 3.5, "2026": 3.5 }, "ecosystem": { "2015": 3.5, "2016": 3.5, "2017": 3.5, "2018": 3.5, "2019": 5, "2020": 5, "2021": 5, "2022": 5, "2023": 5, "2024": 3.5, "2025": 3, "2026": 3 } }, "cred": [ [ "Cadence", 4, "Dated stable and edge releases every few weeks; no published rhythm" ], [ "Roadmap transparency", 3, "Public release notes and docs; direction only in press releases and blogs; no roadmap" ], [ "Say-do", 3, "Tables went from preview (2025-09-30) to GA (2026-02-03) in four months; MemKV, AIStor Memory, the NVIDIA designs and RDMA for S3 have no stated GA" ], [ "Velocity", 4, "Tables, S3 Express, SPIFFE and Free tier within a year; the 2026 stable releases were led by security fixes" ], [ "Lifecycle stability", 2, "Free path moved from AGPL to a restricted closed licence in 2025; Lite releases expire after 12 months without backports" ] ], "comm": [ [ "Price and licence volatility", 4, "Community features moved to paid on 2025-05-24; AIStor Free with single-node and no-redistribution limits replaced the AGPL free path on 2025-12-23; Lite capped below 400 TiB; no list price" ], [ "Purchase constraints", 3, "Multi-node is subscription only, quote only, priced per usable capacity; a free single-node option exists" ], [ "Channel and access", 2.5, "Free is an open download; Enterprise is by sales with a 60 day trial; hotfix backports only on Enterprise" ], [ "Owner stability", 3, "Venture-backed private company; strategy reversal on the community edition in 2025" ], [ "Cost of staying supported", 3.5, "A release is void when its term ends: 12 months on Lite with no backports, 24 months on Enterprise" ] ], "risk": "commercial", "lock": [ [ "Formats", 1.5, "Erasure-coded parts with xl.meta per object; Tables in open Iceberg format" ], [ "Export path", 0.5, "S3 API, mc mirror, Iceberg REST catalog and Delta Sharing" ], [ "Stack coupling", 1, "Own erasure sets on XFS; any network" ], [ "Hardware / cloud coupling", 0, "Any server; ExaPOD and Pods are reference designs, no certified hardware required" ], [ "Skills and tooling coupling", 1, "S3 and mc skills; wide pool" ] ], "integ": [ [ "Partner programme openness", 3, "Programme expanded 2025-06-11; terms not published" ], [ "Multi-tenancy and self-service", 3, "IAM, STS, OIDC and LDAP; per-tenant clusters through the Operator; no per-tenant QoS found" ], [ "API and infrastructure-as-code", 3.5, "Admin API, Kubernetes Operator, Terraform provider; Ansible not re-verified" ], [ "Skills and certification", 3, "Vendor certification since 2024-05-21; large S3 skills pool" ] ], "alt": null, "ranked": true, "reading": "AIStor scores high on capability because the MinIO code base already covered the S3 surface, erasure coding and Object Lock by 2022, and Tables added an Iceberg catalog in 2026. Credibility is held back by the gap between what is announced and what is dated: MemKV, AIStor Memory, the NVIDIA designs and RDMA for S3 have no stated GA, while five stable releases in 2026 were led by security fixes, two of them authentication or policy bypasses. Commercial risk is high: a closed licence, quote-only pricing per usable capacity, a 400 TiB cap on Lite and a 12 month release term without backports. A buyer should read the MinIO Software License and the software lifecycle page, and ask for the current Cohasset and Veeam Ready documents for AIStor itself rather than for the old community edition.", "report": "/reports/object-storage-ledger-2026/minio-aistor", "ai": { "infra": { "2015": 1, "2016": 1, "2017": 1, "2018": 1, "2019": 1, "2020": 1, "2021": 1, "2022": 1, "2023": 1, "2024": 2.5, "2025": 2.5, "2026": 3 }, "stack": { "2015": 0, "2016": 0, "2017": 0, "2018": 0, "2019": 0, "2020": 0, "2021": 0, "2022": 0, "2023": 0, "2024": 0, "2025": 0.5, "2026": 2 }, "ops": { "2015": 0, "2016": 0, "2017": 0, "2018": 0, "2019": 0, "2020": 0, "2021": 0, "2022": 0, "2023": 0, "2024": 0, "2025": 0, "2026": 0 }, "agents": { "2015": 2, "2016": 2, "2017": 2, "2018": 2, "2019": 2, "2020": 2, "2021": 2, "2022": 2, "2023": 2, "2024": 2, "2025": 2, "2026": 2.5 } }, "ai_basis": { "infra": "GPUDirect RDMA for S3 in technical preview (half step); NVIDIA STX and BlueField-4 designs announced without GA dates", "stack": "AIStor Tables GA 2026-02-03 (Iceberg catalog); MemKV and AIStor Memory announced, availability not stated", "ops": "None", "agents": "AIStor MCP server described in a vendor blog; GA status, identity and audit controls not verified" }, "ai_ledger": { "announced": 9, "ga": 2, "preview": 1, "pending": 6, "dropped": 0, "note": "ExaPOD, STX and BlueField-4 are reference designs and partnership announcements with no GA date to check; MemKV and AIStor Memory have no stated availability." }, "ai_reading": "AIStor's AI story is mostly announcements: Tables is the one AI-adjacent item that reached GA with a date, RDMA for S3 is a preview, and MemKV and AIStor Memory have no availability date. There is no AI in its own operations, and the MCP server exists in a blog post without a verified release status.", "mom": 7.1, "credT": 16, "commT": 16, "lockT": 4, "integT": 12.5 }, { "key": "ibm-storage-ceph", "name": "IBM Storage Ceph (formerly Red Hat Ceph Storage)", "short": "IBM Storage Ceph", "kind": "product", "group": "commercial", "since": 2015, "archetype": "Dependable builder", "grade": "B", "driver": "C", "mix": { "V": 7, "C": 57, "M": 0, "U": 0, "P": 36 }, "idx": 0.11, "domains": { "api": { "2015": 2.5, "2016": 2.5, "2017": 2.5, "2018": 2.5, "2019": 2.5, "2020": 3.5, "2021": 4, "2022": 4, "2023": 4, "2024": 4.5, "2025": 4.5, "2026": 4.5 }, "immutability": { "2015": 0, "2016": 0, "2017": 0, "2018": 0, "2019": 0, "2020": 2.5, "2021": 2.5, "2022": 2.5, "2023": 3.5, "2024": 3.5, "2025": 3.5, "2026": 3.5 }, "durability": { "2015": 3.5, "2016": 4.5, "2017": 4.5, "2018": 4.5, "2019": 4.5, "2020": 4.5, "2021": 5, "2022": 5, "2023": 5, "2024": 5, "2025": 5, "2026": 5 }, "perf": { "2015": 3, "2016": 3, "2017": 3, "2018": 4, "2019": 4, "2020": 4, "2021": 4, "2022": 4, "2023": 4, "2024": 4, "2025": 4, "2026": 4 }, "deploy": { "2015": 2.5, "2016": 2.5, "2017": 2.5, "2018": 2.5, "2019": 2.5, "2020": 2.5, "2021": 3, "2022": 3, "2023": 3, "2024": 3, "2025": 3.5, "2026": 3.5 }, "security": { "2015": 2, "2016": 2.5, "2017": 2.5, "2018": 2.5, "2019": 2.5, "2020": 3, "2021": 3, "2022": 3, "2023": 3, "2024": 3.5, "2025": 3.5, "2026": 4 }, "ops": { "2015": 2.5, "2016": 2.5, "2017": 2.5, "2018": 2.5, "2019": 2.5, "2020": 3.5, "2021": 4, "2022": 4, "2023": 4, "2024": 4, "2025": 4, "2026": 4 }, "protocols": { "2015": 3, "2016": 3, "2017": 3, "2018": 3.5, "2019": 3.5, "2020": 3.5, "2021": 3.5, "2022": 3.5, "2023": 3.5, "2024": 3.5, "2025": 3.5, "2026": 4 }, "lifecycle": { "2015": 0.5, "2016": 1.5, "2017": 1.5, "2018": 1.5, "2019": 1.5, "2020": 3, "2021": 3.5, "2022": 3.5, "2023": 3.5, "2024": 3.5, "2025": 3.5, "2026": 4 }, "ecosystem": { "2015": 3.5, "2016": 3.5, "2017": 3.5, "2018": 3.5, "2019": 3.5, "2020": 3.5, "2021": 3.5, "2022": 3.5, "2023": 3.5, "2024": 3.5, "2025": 3.5, "2026": 3.5 } }, "cred": [ [ "Cadence", 4, "Two releases a year kept since 2024: 7.1 (2024-06), 8.0 (2024-11), 8.1 (2025-06), 9.0 (2026-01), 9.9.1 (2026-06), each with fix updates" ], [ "Roadmap transparency", 2.5, "Release posts and documentation are public; no public roadmap or tracker for the IBM product; the upstream tracker is open" ], [ "Say-do", 3.5, "Technology previews are labelled and some reach GA within a release or two; NFS over TLS (since 9.0) and SMB GA timing remain unconfirmed" ], [ "Velocity", 3.5, "One or two object items per release: IAM accounts in 8.0, resharding without write pauses and Glacier retrieval in 9.0, Public Access Block in 9.9.1" ], [ "Lifecycle stability", 3, "The two plus one plus three year policy is long, but the owner transfer, two brand names for one lineage, the V.R.M.F renumbering and consecutive-major-only upgrades add churn" ] ], "comm": [ [ "Price and licence volatility", 2.5, "No list price published; metric is TiB; no change in terms found since 2023, which cannot be confirmed without the price list" ], [ "Purchase constraints", 2.5, "Subscription only in four editions; Pro needs a separate RHEL licence; a 60 day trial and an as-a-service option exist" ], [ "Channel and access", 2, "IBM direct, Business Partners and resellers; downloads need an IBM entitlement" ], [ "Owner stability", 2, "Large public owner; the storage business moved from Red Hat to IBM in 2023 and the Ceph and ODF portfolio was merged into one IBM group" ], [ "Cost of staying supported", 2.5, "Two years standard plus one year of critical fixes per release; Extended and Sustained tiers cost extra; upgrades only between consecutive majors" ] ], "risk": "commercial", "lock": [ [ "Formats", 2.5, "Objects striped into RADOS on BlueStore, the same layout as upstream; not readable as plain files" ], [ "Export path", 1.5, "S3 and Swift reads and multisite sync; a crossgrade between Red Hat and IBM builds is documented; moving to community Ceph is the same engine but outside supported paths" ], [ "Stack coupling", 3, "Whole Ceph cluster on Red Hat Enterprise Linux hosts" ], [ "Hardware / cloud coupling", 1, "Any x86 or Arm server on the RHEL compatibility list; Ready Nodes, the CS1 appliance and Call Home are optional" ], [ "Skills and tooling coupling", 2.5, "Ceph skills plus IBM tooling such as Call Home and cephadm-ansible" ] ], "integ": [ [ "Partner programme openness", 3, "IBM Business Partner route and resellers; programme terms not read" ], [ "Multi-tenancy and self-service", 3.5, "RGW IAM accounts since 8.0, tenants, quotas and per-user usage dashboards; no self-service portal or metering product" ], [ "API and infrastructure-as-code", 3.5, "Admin Ops and REST APIs, cephadm-ansible modules; no Terraform provider found" ], [ "Skills and certification", 3, "IBM training, Redbooks and technical webcasts; no exam-based certification found" ] ], "alt": null, "ranked": true, "reading": "IBM Storage Ceph matches the upstream engine on the S3 surface, durability and multisite, and adds what an enterprise buyer pays for: 24x7 support, a published two plus one year support policy, FIPS through RHEL, Glacier tiering in 9.0 and a WORM certification since 7.0. That puts its capability level with upstream RGW and its immutability at the same 3.5, because no backup vendor validation was found for either. The costs are commercial: subscription per TiB with no public price, RHEL hosts only, and one lineage sold under two brands after the 2023 transfer from Red Hat. Before buying it as a backup target, ask IBM for the WORM certification document, the supported Object Lock modes and any Veeam or Commvault listing, and check whether the 2026-08-19 CephX fixes are in the fix update you will install.", "report": "/reports/object-storage-ledger-2026/ibm-storage-ceph", "ai": { "infra": { "2015": 1, "2016": 1, "2017": 1, "2018": 1, "2019": 1, "2020": 1, "2021": 1, "2022": 1, "2023": 1, "2024": 1, "2025": 1, "2026": 1 }, "stack": { "2015": 0, "2016": 0, "2017": 0, "2018": 0, "2019": 0, "2020": 0, "2021": 0, "2022": 0, "2023": 0, "2024": 0, "2025": 0, "2026": 0 }, "ops": { "2015": 0, "2016": 0, "2017": 0, "2018": 0, "2019": 0, "2020": 0, "2021": 0, "2022": 0, "2023": 0, "2024": 0, "2025": 0, "2026": 0 }, "agents": { "2015": 2, "2016": 2, "2017": 2, "2018": 2, "2019": 2, "2020": 2, "2021": 2, "2022": 2, "2023": 2, "2024": 2, "2025": 2, "2026": 2 } }, "ai_basis": { "infra": "S3 store for AI and analytics data, S3A as a replacement for HDFS; positioned for watsonx.data lakehouse workloads; no GPU data path or S3 over RDMA", "stack": "None; a Redbook on IBM Storage Ceph as a data lakehouse is guidance, not a product feature", "ops": "None; Call Home to IBM Storage Insights is telemetry", "agents": "S3, Admin Ops and REST APIs that agents can drive; no MCP server found" }, "ai_ledger": { "announced": 0, "ga": 0, "preview": 0, "pending": 0, "dropped": 0, "note": "IBM's AI statements for Storage Ceph are positioning (storage for watsonx.data, analytics and lakehouses); no dated AI feature was announced from 2023 to 2026." }, "ai_reading": "IBM sells Storage Ceph as the data layer under its AI and analytics products and has put no AI inside it. Operators get APIs and Call Home telemetry, and there is no agent interface.", "mom": 8.3, "credT": 16.5, "commT": 11.5, "lockT": 10.5, "integT": 13 }, { "key": "seaweedfs", "name": "SeaweedFS (open source and Enterprise Edition)", "short": "SeaweedFS", "kind": "product", "group": "opensource", "since": 2015, "archetype": "Dependable builder, open core", "grade": "B", "driver": "C", "mix": { "V": 9, "C": 64, "M": 18, "U": 0, "P": 9 }, "idx": 0.1, "domains": { "api": { "2015": 0, "2016": 0, "2017": 0, "2018": 0, "2019": 2, "2020": 2, "2021": 2, "2022": 3, "2023": 3, "2024": 3, "2025": 3, "2026": 4 }, "immutability": { "2015": 0, "2016": 0, "2017": 0, "2018": 0, "2019": 0, "2020": 0, "2021": 0, "2022": 0, "2023": 0, "2024": 0, "2025": 0, "2026": 2.5 }, "durability": { "2015": 1.5, "2016": 1.5, "2017": 1.5, "2018": 1.5, "2019": 2.5, "2020": 2.5, "2021": 2.5, "2022": 2.5, "2023": 2.5, "2024": 2.5, "2025": 2.5, "2026": 3 }, "perf": { "2015": 3, "2016": 3, "2017": 3, "2018": 3, "2019": 3.5, "2020": 3.5, "2021": 3.5, "2022": 4, "2023": 4, "2024": 4, "2025": 4, "2026": 4 }, "deploy": { "2015": 3, "2016": 3, "2017": 3, "2018": 3, "2019": 3.5, "2020": 3.5, "2021": 3.5, "2022": 4, "2023": 4, "2024": 4, "2025": 4, "2026": 4 }, "security": { "2015": 0.5, "2016": 0.5, "2017": 0.5, "2018": 0.5, "2019": 1.5, "2020": 1.5, "2021": 1.5, "2022": 2.5, "2023": 2.5, "2024": 2.5, "2025": 2.5, "2026": 3 }, "ops": { "2015": 1, "2016": 1, "2017": 1, "2018": 1, "2019": 2, "2020": 2, "2021": 2, "2022": 2, "2023": 2, "2024": 2, "2025": 2, "2026": 3 }, "protocols": { "2015": 1, "2016": 1, "2017": 1, "2018": 1, "2019": 3, "2020": 3, "2021": 3, "2022": 3, "2023": 3, "2024": 3, "2025": 3, "2026": 4 }, "lifecycle": { "2015": 0, "2016": 0, "2017": 0, "2018": 0, "2019": 2, "2020": 2, "2021": 2, "2022": 3, "2023": 3, "2024": 3, "2025": 3, "2026": 3.5 }, "ecosystem": { "2015": 3.5, "2016": 3.5, "2017": 3.5, "2018": 3.5, "2019": 4, "2020": 4, "2021": 4, "2022": 4, "2023": 4, "2024": 4, "2025": 4, "2026": 4 } }, "cred": [ [ "Cadence", 4, "Tagged releases about once a week in August and September 2026; no published rhythm" ], [ "Roadmap transparency", 3, "Public release notes and an open issue tracker; no roadmap page" ], [ "Say-do", 3, "No dated promises to test; features appear in release notes when they ship" ], [ "Velocity", 4, "Several items per release in 4.41 to 4.48, many of them fixes" ], [ "Lifecycle stability", 2, "Rolling versions with no support window; each fix means moving to the newest build" ] ], "comm": [ [ "Price and licence volatility", 1, "Apache 2.0 with no relicensing found; Enterprise price of $2 per TB per month read in 2026, launch date and earlier prices not found" ], [ "Purchase constraints", 1.5, "Open source build needs no purchase; Enterprise free below 25 TB for development and test, terms for production above that not stated" ], [ "Channel and access", 1, "Open download through GitHub, Docker and Helm; Enterprise by licence key and EULA" ], [ "Owner stability", 2.5, "Funded through Patreon and four gold sponsors (README); the legal entity and country behind SeaweedFS Enterprise were not found" ], [ "Cost of staying supported", 2, "No support window; EC repair, bitrot scrub and self-healing are Enterprise-only; weekly releases mean frequent upgrades" ] ], "risk": "commercial", "lock": [ [ "Formats", 2, "Append-only volume files that need SeaweedFS to read; filer metadata in a standard database" ], [ "Export path", 1, "S3, FUSE mount, WebDAV, SFTP and HDFS; data copies out with standard tools" ], [ "Stack coupling", 2, "Master, volume servers, filer and S3 gateway, plus a metadata store to run" ], [ "Hardware / cloud coupling", 0, "Any hardware" ], [ "Skills and tooling coupling", 2, "SeaweedFS-specific operations and weed shell; smaller skills pool than Ceph" ] ], "integ": [ [ "Partner programme openness", 1.5, "No partner programme found; Apache 2.0 lets integrators package and support it freely" ], [ "Multi-tenancy and self-service", 2.5, "IAM and STS in the open source build; multi-tenancy and S3 QoS are Enterprise features (vendor page)" ], [ "API and infrastructure-as-code", 3, "Helm, Operator, CSI driver and admin API; Terraform provider not found" ], [ "Skills and certification", 1.5, "No training or certification found" ] ], "alt": null, "ranked": true, "reading": "SeaweedFS scores well on protocols and deployment because one Apache 2.0 code base serves S3, FUSE, WebDAV, SFTP, HDFS clients and an Iceberg catalog, from a single binary up to a Kubernetes Operator. Immutability is held to 2.5 because Object Lock has no backup-vendor validation on record and was still being fixed in three of the eight releases since August 2026; durability is held to 3 because automatic EC repair, bitrot scrub and self-healing sit in the paid Enterprise Edition. Credibility rests on a weekly release rhythm with no support windows, and the scores before 2026 are inferred because the older release history was not read. A buyer planning it as a backup target should test object lock with their own backup software and get SeaweedFS Enterprise's production price and support terms in writing.", "report": "/reports/object-storage-ledger-2026/seaweedfs", "ai": { "infra": { "2015": 1, "2016": 1, "2017": 1, "2018": 1, "2019": 1, "2020": 1, "2021": 1, "2022": 1, "2023": 1, "2024": 1, "2025": 1, "2026": 1 }, "stack": { "2015": 0, "2016": 0, "2017": 0, "2018": 0, "2019": 0, "2020": 0, "2021": 0, "2022": 0, "2023": 0, "2024": 0, "2025": 0, "2026": 2 }, "ops": { "2015": 0, "2016": 0, "2017": 0, "2018": 0, "2019": 0, "2020": 0, "2021": 0, "2022": 0, "2023": 0, "2024": 0, "2025": 0, "2026": 0 }, "agents": { "2015": 2, "2016": 2, "2017": 2, "2018": 2, "2019": 2, "2020": 2, "2021": 2, "2022": 2, "2023": 2, "2024": 2, "2025": 2, "2026": 2 } }, "ai_basis": { "infra": "S3 and FUSE access usable as a training data source; no GPUDirect or RDMA found", "stack": "Built-in Iceberg REST catalog with compaction, snapshot expiry and orphan file removal, S3 Tables and Lance tables (README; maturity not stated)", "ops": "None", "agents": "HTTP, filer and S3 APIs that agents can drive; no MCP server found" }, "ai_ledger": { "announced": 2, "ga": 2, "preview": 0, "pending": 0, "dropped": 0, "note": "The Iceberg catalog with S3 Tables and the Lance catalog appear in the README and release notes as shipped features; no dated AI announcement exists." }, "ai_reading": "SeaweedFS adds AI-adjacent data formats to the store itself: an Iceberg catalog and Lance tables, both shipped without a launch announcement. It has no GPU data path, no AI in its own operations and no agent interface beyond its APIs.", "mom": 15.3, "credT": 16, "commT": 8, "lockT": 7, "integT": 8.5 }, { "key": "netapp-storagegrid", "name": "NetApp StorageGRID", "short": "StorageGRID", "kind": "product", "group": "commercial", "since": 2015, "archetype": "Dependable builder", "grade": "B", "driver": "C", "mix": { "V": 21, "C": 43, "M": 21, "U": 0, "P": 14 }, "idx": 0.25, "domains": { "api": { "2015": 3, "2016": 3, "2017": 3, "2018": 3, "2019": 3.5, "2020": 3.5, "2021": 3.5, "2022": 3.5, "2023": 3.5, "2024": 4, "2025": 4, "2026": 4 }, "immutability": { "2015": 0, "2016": 0, "2017": 0, "2018": 0, "2019": 0, "2020": 3, "2021": 3, "2022": 4, "2023": 4, "2024": 4, "2025": 4.5, "2026": 4.5 }, "durability": { "2015": 4, "2016": 4, "2017": 4, "2018": 4, "2019": 4, "2020": 4, "2021": 4, "2022": 4, "2023": 4, "2024": 4, "2025": 4.5, "2026": 4.5 }, "perf": { "2015": 3.5, "2016": 3.5, "2017": 3.5, "2018": 3.5, "2019": 3.5, "2020": 3.5, "2021": 3.5, "2022": 3.5, "2023": 3.5, "2024": 4, "2025": 4.5, "2026": 4.5 }, "deploy": { "2015": 2.5, "2016": 2.5, "2017": 2.5, "2018": 2.5, "2019": 3, "2020": 3, "2021": 3, "2022": 3, "2023": 3, "2024": 3, "2025": 3, "2026": 3 }, "security": { "2015": 3, "2016": 3, "2017": 3, "2018": 3, "2019": 3, "2020": 3, "2021": 3, "2022": 3, "2023": 3, "2024": 3.5, "2025": 4, "2026": 4 }, "ops": { "2015": 3, "2016": 3, "2017": 3, "2018": 3, "2019": 3, "2020": 3, "2021": 3, "2022": 3, "2023": 3, "2024": 3.5, "2025": 4, "2026": 4 }, "protocols": { "2015": 3, "2016": 3, "2017": 3, "2018": 3, "2019": 3, "2020": 3, "2021": 3, "2022": 3, "2023": 3, "2024": 3, "2025": 0, "2026": 0 }, "lifecycle": { "2015": 3, "2016": 3, "2017": 3, "2018": 3, "2019": 3, "2020": 3, "2021": 3, "2022": 3, "2023": 3, "2024": 4, "2025": 4, "2026": 4 }, "ecosystem": { "2015": 1.5, "2016": 1.5, "2017": 1.5, "2018": 1.5, "2019": 1.5, "2020": 1.5, "2021": 1.5, "2022": 1.5, "2023": 1.5, "2024": 1.5, "2025": 2, "2026": 2 } }, "cred": [ [ "Cadence", 3.5, "11.9 (2024-11), 12.0 (2025-09) and 12.1 (2026-06) land nine to ten months apart; the schedule is not published" ], [ "Roadmap transparency", 2, "Public What's new and deprecation tables; release notes PDFs and downloads behind a support login; no roadmap" ], [ "Say-do", 3.5, "Swift and Archive Node removals happened on the published two-version schedule; 12.0 and 12.1 AI claims carry no GA dates" ], [ "Velocity", 3.5, "Several capabilities per release since 11.8: checksums, cloud pools, caching, branch buckets, consistency changes" ], [ "Lifecycle stability", 3, "Features are removed on a known schedule (Swift, Archive Node, Docker), which is predictable and still churn; support windows not found" ] ], "comm": [ [ "Price and licence volatility", 2, "Capacity licence unchanged as far as public sources show; prices not public; Futurum notes 12.1 came without licensing details" ], [ "Purchase constraints", 2.5, "Quote only; appliance or software nodes on the same licence; no free edition" ], [ "Channel and access", 3, "NetApp direct and partners; release notes and downloads need a support login" ], [ "Owner stability", 1, "Large listed owner since 2010; no change" ], [ "Cost of staying supported", 2.5, "Support windows not found; two lines patched in parallel in 2026; appliance generations reach end of support (SG5600)" ] ], "risk": "commercial", "lock": [ [ "Formats", 3, "Proprietary object layout and Cassandra metadata; data leaves through the S3 API" ], [ "Export path", 1.5, "Standard S3 reads, cross-grid replication and Cloud Storage Pools to other S3 targets" ], [ "Stack coupling", 2.5, "Own storage, metadata and Grid Manager stack on every node" ], [ "Hardware / cloud coupling", 1.5, "Software nodes on VMware or Linux hosts, or NetApp appliances; the Veeam listing covers the appliance only" ], [ "Skills and tooling coupling", 2.5, "Grid Manager and ILM are NetApp specific; a large NetApp skills pool helps" ] ], "integ": [ [ "Partner programme openness", 3.5, "NetApp partner programme with StorageGRID in it; terms not read (grade C)" ], [ "Multi-tenancy and self-service", 3.5, "Tenant accounts with their own users, keys and quotas and a Tenant Manager (grade C this edition)" ], [ "API and infrastructure-as-code", 3.5, "Grid Management API v4 and Tenant Management API; Terraform provider not verified" ], [ "Skills and certification", 3.5, "NetApp certification and training exist; a StorageGRID-specific track was not verified" ] ], "alt": null, "ranked": true, "reading": "StorageGRID earns the highest immutability score in this group because every part of the anchor is on record: both modes, legal hold, default retention, a Cohasset assessment, a KPMG audit, a 2026 Veeam listing and lock preserved across grids. Durability and lifecycle are strong for the same reason, a documented ILM engine across sites. It loses on protocols, where Swift was removed and nothing replaced it, and on deployment, which stops at VMware and Linux hosts. NetApp removes features on a published schedule, so a buyer should read the deprecation table for the release they plan to run, and ask for the 12.1 GA date before counting its features.", "report": "/reports/object-storage-ledger-2026/netapp-storagegrid", "ai": { "infra": { "2015": 1, "2016": 1, "2017": 1, "2018": 1, "2019": 1, "2020": 1, "2021": 1, "2022": 1, "2023": 1, "2024": 1, "2025": 2.5, "2026": 2.5 }, "stack": { "2015": 0, "2016": 0, "2017": 0, "2018": 0, "2019": 0, "2020": 0, "2021": 0, "2022": 0, "2023": 0, "2024": 1, "2025": 1, "2026": 1 }, "ops": { "2015": 0, "2016": 0, "2017": 0, "2018": 0, "2019": 0, "2020": 0, "2021": 0, "2022": 0, "2023": 0, "2024": 0, "2025": 0, "2026": 0 }, "agents": { "2015": 1.5, "2016": 1.5, "2017": 1.5, "2018": 1.5, "2019": 1.5, "2020": 1.5, "2021": 1.5, "2022": 1.5, "2023": 1.5, "2024": 1.5, "2025": 2, "2026": 2 } }, "ai_basis": { "infra": "12.0: S3 caching layer for AI and HPC and one trillion objects; no GPUDirect or S3 over RDMA GA found; 12.1 federated namespace and 12 TB/s claim announced without GA", "stack": "Dremio Iceberg lakehouse partner solution (2024-10); NetApp's wider AI Data Platform sits outside StorageGRID", "ops": "None", "agents": "12.0: Grid Management API v4; 12.1 change tracking for AI agents announced without GA; no MCP server found" }, "ai_ledger": { "announced": 4, "ga": 2, "preview": 0, "pending": 2, "dropped": 0, "note": "The 12.0 caching layer has documentation and the Dremio solution shipped; S3 over RDMA was only discussed as a direction, and the 12.1 AI items have no GA date." }, "ai_reading": "StorageGRID approaches AI through capacity and throughput: a caching layer, a trillion-object limit and, in 12.1, a federated namespace and change tracking for agents. None of it involves GPUDirect or RDMA, and there is no AI in operations or an agent interface beyond the management APIs. The 12.1 items should be re-scored once a GA date exists.", "mom": 8, "credT": 15.5, "commT": 11, "lockT": 11, "integT": 14 }, { "key": "cloudian-hyperstore", "name": "Cloudian HyperStore", "short": "Cloudian", "kind": "product", "group": "commercial", "since": 2015, "archetype": "Real innovator, thinly documented", "grade": "B", "driver": "V", "mix": { "V": 50, "C": 13, "M": 38, "U": 0, "P": 0 }, "idx": 0.5, "domains": { "api": { "2015": 3, "2016": 3, "2017": 3, "2018": 3, "2019": 3.5, "2020": 3.5, "2021": 3.5, "2022": 3.5, "2023": 3.5, "2024": 3.5, "2025": 3.5, "2026": 3.5 }, "immutability": { "2015": 0, "2016": 0, "2017": 0, "2018": 0, "2019": 1, "2020": 3, "2021": 3, "2022": 3, "2023": 3, "2024": 4, "2025": 4, "2026": 4 }, "durability": { "2015": 4, "2016": 4, "2017": 4, "2018": 4, "2019": 4, "2020": 4, "2021": 4, "2022": 4.5, "2023": 4.5, "2024": 4.5, "2025": 4.5, "2026": 4.5 }, "perf": { "2015": 3, "2016": 3, "2017": 3, "2018": 3, "2019": 3.5, "2020": 3.5, "2021": 3.5, "2022": 3.5, "2023": 4, "2024": 4, "2025": 4, "2026": 4.5 }, "deploy": { "2015": 3, "2016": 3, "2017": 3, "2018": 3, "2019": 3, "2020": 3, "2021": 3.5, "2022": 3.5, "2023": 3.5, "2024": 3.5, "2025": 4, "2026": 4 }, "security": { "2015": 3, "2016": 3, "2017": 3, "2018": 3, "2019": 3, "2020": 3, "2021": 3, "2022": 4, "2023": 4, "2024": 4.5, "2025": 4.5, "2026": 4.5 }, "ops": { "2015": 3, "2016": 3, "2017": 3, "2018": 3, "2019": 3, "2020": 3, "2021": 3, "2022": 3, "2023": 3.5, "2024": 3.5, "2025": 3.5, "2026": 3.5 }, "protocols": { "2015": 0, "2016": 0, "2017": 3, "2018": 3, "2019": 3, "2020": 3, "2021": 3, "2022": 3, "2023": 3.5, "2024": 3.5, "2025": 3.5, "2026": 3.5 }, "lifecycle": { "2015": 2.5, "2016": 2.5, "2017": 2.5, "2018": 2.5, "2019": 3.5, "2020": 3.5, "2021": 3.5, "2022": 3.5, "2023": 3.5, "2024": 3.5, "2025": 3.5, "2026": 3.5 }, "ecosystem": { "2015": 1.5, "2016": 1.5, "2017": 1.5, "2018": 1.5, "2019": 1.5, "2020": 1.5, "2021": 1.5, "2022": 1.5, "2023": 1.5, "2024": 1.5, "2025": 1.5, "2026": 1.5 } }, "cred": [ [ "Cadence", 3, "8.0 in 2023-11 and 8.2.6 by 2026-03 are the only dated versions; no published rhythm, release notes unreadable" ], [ "Roadmap transparency", 1.5, "Press releases and blog only; no roadmap, no readable release notes" ], [ "Say-do", 3, "GPUDirect announced 2024-11 and certified 2026-03; the RDMA for S3 GA and the vector database status remain open" ], [ "Velocity", 3, "Frequent AI announcements; shipped capability detail per release is thin without release notes" ], [ "Lifecycle stability", 3, "Same product line since 2015 with a single owner; support windows not published" ] ], "comm": [ [ "Price and licence volatility", 2, "No metric change found; reseller per-TB figures vary widely by tier and term, and the vendor publishes none" ], [ "Purchase constraints", 3, "Quote or reseller only; per-TB tiers by capacity and term; no free edition" ], [ "Channel and access", 2.5, "Direct, OEM and reseller channel with a free trial; documentation was unreachable in this pass" ], [ "Owner stability", 2.5, "Private, venture-backed; breakeven reported in 2024 (vendor); no acquisition found" ], [ "Cost of staying supported", 2.5, "Support windows and upgrade terms not published" ] ], "risk": "commercial", "lock": [ [ "Formats", 3, "Proprietary distributed layout with its own metadata store; data leaves through the S3 API" ], [ "Export path", 1.5, "Standard S3 reads and cross-region replication; no export tooling found" ], [ "Stack coupling", 2.5, "Own storage and metadata stack; file access through HyperStore File Services" ], [ "Hardware / cloud coupling", 1.5, "Own x86 servers, appliances, VMware, containers or public cloud; no validated-hardware requirement for software" ], [ "Skills and tooling coupling", 2.5, "Vendor-specific console and policies; a modest skills pool" ] ], "integ": [ [ "Partner programme openness", 3, "OEM and validated designs with Lenovo, Supermicro, HPE GreenLake and AWS Outposts; programme terms not published" ], [ "Multi-tenancy and self-service", 4, "Per-tenant IAM, RBAC, QoS, keys and metering; VMware Cloud Director Object Storage Extension documentation for providers (vendor)" ], [ "API and infrastructure-as-code", 3, "Admin API and S3 API; Terraform or Ansible not found" ], [ "Skills and certification", 2.5, "Vendor training; no public certification track found" ] ], "alt": null, "ranked": true, "reading": "Cloudian scores on durability, security and tenancy: per-bucket protection across data centers, KMIP and FIPS claims, per-tenant QoS and metering, plus a Cohasset-assessed compliance mode. The immutability score sits below StorageGRID because the Veeam listing is for 7.4.2.5 from 2023, governance mode is not shown and no second backup vendor document exists. The AI work is the most concrete in this group, yet every release note is unreadable, so versions and dates are missing. A buyer should ask for a Veeam Ready entry on HyperStore 8.x and the Cohasset report with its version before relying on either.", "report": "/reports/object-storage-ledger-2026/cloudian-hyperstore", "ai": { "infra": { "2015": 1, "2016": 1, "2017": 1, "2018": 1, "2019": 1, "2020": 1, "2021": 1, "2022": 1, "2023": 1, "2024": 2, "2025": 3, "2026": 3.5 }, "stack": { "2015": 0, "2016": 0, "2017": 0, "2018": 0, "2019": 0, "2020": 0, "2021": 0, "2022": 0, "2023": 0, "2024": 0, "2025": 1.5, "2026": 1.5 }, "ops": { "2015": 0, "2016": 0, "2017": 0, "2018": 0, "2019": 0, "2020": 0, "2021": 0, "2022": 0, "2023": 0, "2024": 0, "2025": 0, "2026": 0 }, "agents": { "2015": 1.5, "2016": 1.5, "2017": 1.5, "2018": 1.5, "2019": 1.5, "2020": 1.5, "2021": 1.5, "2022": 1.5, "2023": 1.5, "2024": 1.5, "2025": 1.5, "2026": 1.5 } }, "ai_basis": { "infra": "8.2.6 NVIDIA-Certified Storage, Foundation level, tested to 128 GPUs (2026-03-16); RDMA for S3 GA not confirmed", "stack": "Integrated vector database support announced 2025-07-08; HyperScale AI Data Platform as a Lenovo Validated Design (2026-03); reference designs rather than a GA serving stack", "ops": "None", "agents": "S3 and admin APIs that scripts can drive; no MCP server found" }, "ai_ledger": { "announced": 8, "ga": 3, "preview": 0, "pending": 5, "dropped": 0, "note": "GPUDirect for object storage, the PyTorch connector and the NVIDIA certification shipped; RDMA for S3, the vector database, the two AI Data Platform announcements and BlueField-4 support have no GA statement a buyer can check." }, "ai_reading": "Cloudian has spent 2024 to 2026 making HyperStore an AI data store: GPUDirect for object, a PyTorch connector and an NVIDIA certification on 8.2.6 are real, dated steps. The platform announcements around them (vector database, AI Data Platform, BlueField-4) are press text without version numbers. Nothing AI-assisted exists in operations and there is no agent interface beyond the APIs.", "mom": 8.5, "credT": 13.5, "commT": 12.5, "lockT": 11, "integT": 12.5 }, { "key": "versitygw", "name": "Versity S3 Gateway (VersityGW)", "short": "Versity S3 Gateway", "kind": "engine", "group": "engine", "since": 2023, "archetype": "Dependable builder, young", "grade": "B", "driver": "C", "mix": { "V": 18, "C": 73, "M": 0, "U": 0, "P": 9 }, "idx": 0.2, "domains": { "api": { "2023": 2, "2024": 2, "2025": 2, "2026": 3.5 }, "immutability": { "2023": 0, "2024": 0, "2025": 0, "2026": 2.5 }, "durability": { "2023": 2, "2024": 2, "2025": 2, "2026": 2 }, "perf": { "2023": 2.5, "2024": 2.5, "2025": 2.5, "2026": 3 }, "deploy": { "2023": 3.5, "2024": 3.5, "2025": 3.5, "2026": 4 }, "security": { "2023": 2, "2024": 2, "2025": 2, "2026": 3 }, "ops": { "2023": 2, "2024": 2, "2025": 2, "2026": 2.5 }, "protocols": { "2023": 2.5, "2024": 2.5, "2025": 2.5, "2026": 2.5 }, "lifecycle": { "2023": 1.5, "2024": 1.5, "2025": 1.5, "2026": 1.5 }, "ecosystem": { "2023": 3.5, "2024": 3.5, "2025": 3.5, "2026": 3.5 } }, "cred": [ [ "Cadence", 4, "Eight 1.x releases from February to October 2026, roughly monthly; no published rhythm" ], [ "Roadmap transparency", 2.5, "Public GitHub repository and release notes; no roadmap" ], [ "Say-do", 3, "Little announced ahead of release; the GPUDirect Tape Gateway and RDMA support carry no GA statement" ], [ "Velocity", 4, "Several substantive items per release in 2026: web UI, Helm, IAM service with STS, Object Lock hardening" ], [ "Lifecycle stability", 2.5, "No support policy or maintained branches published; steady semantic versioning" ] ], "comm": null, "risk": "commercial", "lock": [ [ "Formats", 0.5, "Objects are plain files on the backend; versions in a separate directory; metadata in extended attributes or sidecar files" ], [ "Export path", 0.5, "Read the files from the backend file system directly, or use S3" ], [ "Stack coupling", 1, "Needs a backend file system or object service; none is mandated" ], [ "Hardware / cloud coupling", 0, "Any server, several operating systems, amd64 and arm64" ], [ "Skills and tooling coupling", 1, "POSIX and S3 skills" ] ], "integ": [ [ "Partner programme openness", 1.5, "No partner programme found; Dell and Spectra Logic named as partners" ], [ "Multi-tenancy and self-service", 3, "Multi-tenant IAM accounts with LDAP, a standalone IAM service and STS (v1.8.0); quotas not found" ], [ "API and infrastructure-as-code", 2.5, "Admin CLI and API, Helm chart; no Terraform provider or operator found" ], [ "Skills and certification", 1, "No training or certification found" ] ], "alt": null, "ranked": true, "reading": "VersityGW scores well where a gateway can: S3 surface, deployment on almost any host, and very low lock-in, because objects stay as plain files on the backend. It scores low on durability, lifecycle and operations because it adds no protection of its own, no lifecycle rules were found, and the web UI only arrived in 2026. Immutability is 2.5: the Object Lock code is active and hardened release by release, but anyone with root on the backend file system can remove the files, and no backup vendor validation was found. A buyer should judge it together with the backend it fronts, and ask Versity which backend configurations it supports for Object Lock before using it as an immutable backup target.", "report": "/reports/object-storage-ledger-2026/versitygw", "ai": { "infra": { "2023": 1, "2024": 1, "2025": 1, "2026": 1.5 }, "stack": { "2023": 0, "2024": 0, "2025": 0, "2026": 0 }, "ops": { "2023": 0, "2024": 0, "2025": 0, "2026": 0 }, "agents": { "2023": 1.5, "2024": 1.5, "2025": 1.5, "2026": 1.5 } }, "ai_basis": { "infra": "S3 over RDMA through NVIDIA cuObject and hipObject in the README, maturity not stated (half step); GPUDirect Tape Gateway announced without GA", "stack": "None", "ops": "None", "agents": "S3 and admin APIs that agents can drive; no MCP server found" }, "ai_ledger": { "announced": 2, "ga": 0, "preview": 0, "pending": 2, "dropped": 0, "note": "S3 over RDMA appears in the README without a maturity statement, and the GPUDirect Tape Gateway was announced in mid 2026 (date given as 2026-07-30 or 2026-08-04) without a GA date." }, "ai_reading": "VersityGW's AI angle is the data path: RDMA for S3 and a GPUDirect route to tape, neither with a stated GA. It uses no AI in its own operation.", "mom": 15.7, "credT": 16, "commT": null, "lockT": 3, "integT": 8 }, { "key": "vast-data", "name": "VAST Data Platform", "short": "VAST", "kind": "product", "group": "filefirst", "since": 2019, "archetype": "Real innovator, many items pending", "grade": "B", "driver": "V", "mix": { "V": 44, "C": 0, "M": 33, "U": 0, "P": 22 }, "idx": 0.57, "domains": { "api": { "2019": 2, "2020": 2, "2021": 2, "2022": 3, "2023": 3, "2024": 3, "2025": 3.5, "2026": 3.5 }, "immutability": { "2019": 0, "2020": 0, "2021": 0, "2022": 2.5, "2023": 3.5, "2024": 3.5, "2025": 3.5, "2026": 3.5 }, "durability": { "2019": 2.5, "2020": 2.5, "2021": 2.5, "2022": 2.5, "2023": 2.5, "2024": 2.5, "2025": 4, "2026": 4 }, "perf": { "2019": 3.5, "2020": 3.5, "2021": 4, "2022": 4, "2023": 4, "2024": 4, "2025": 4, "2026": 4 }, "deploy": { "2019": 1.5, "2020": 1.5, "2021": 1.5, "2022": 1.5, "2023": 1.5, "2024": 1.5, "2025": 2.5, "2026": 2.5 }, "security": { "2019": 2, "2020": 2, "2021": 2, "2022": 3, "2023": 3, "2024": 3, "2025": 3.5, "2026": 3.5 }, "ops": { "2019": 3, "2020": 3, "2021": 3, "2022": 3, "2023": 3, "2024": 3, "2025": 3, "2026": 3.5 }, "protocols": { "2019": 3, "2020": 3, "2021": 3.5, "2022": 3.5, "2023": 3.5, "2024": 3.5, "2025": 4, "2026": 4 }, "lifecycle": { "2019": 1, "2020": 1, "2021": 1, "2022": 1, "2023": 1, "2024": 1, "2025": 2.5, "2026": 2.5 }, "ecosystem": { "2019": 1.5, "2020": 1.5, "2021": 1.5, "2022": 1.5, "2023": 1.5, "2024": 1.5, "2025": 1.5, "2026": 2 } }, "cred": [ [ "Cadence", 3.5, "Minor releases and service packs (5.5.0 up to SP6) with published upgrade paths; dates not published" ], [ "Roadmap transparency", 2.5, "Public knowledge base with detailed release notes; direction only in conference announcements; no roadmap" ], [ "Say-do", 3, "Compliance mode and the Veeam qualification shipped; CNode-X, PolicyEngine, TuningEngine and DataEnclave have no confirmed GA, with PolicyEngine and TuningEngine due by the end of 2026" ], [ "Velocity", 4, "5.5.0 alone brought S3 CORS, If-Match, NFSv4.2 extended attributes, mTLS, block async replication, vector indexing and capacity quotas" ], [ "Lifecycle stability", 3, "Rapid minor and service pack churn, upgrade paths limited to listed source releases, hardware platform names that change" ] ], "comm": [ [ "Price and licence volatility", 2.5, "No public prices; no change found" ], [ "Purchase constraints", 3.5, "Certified platforms only; capacity subscription in 100 TB increments (secondary sources)" ], [ "Channel and access", 2.5, "Public documentation; sold direct and through Cosmos partners (resellers, integrators, distributors, cloud providers)" ], [ "Owner stability", 3, "Private and venture-backed at a USD 30 billion valuation (2026-04); an IPO is reported as under consideration" ], [ "Cost of staying supported", 3, "Support windows not found; subscriptions transfer across enclosures (secondary sources)" ] ], "risk": "commercial", "lock": [ [ "Formats", 3, "Proprietary layout with similarity-based data reduction; data readable over NFS, SMB and S3" ], [ "Export path", 1.5, "NFS, SMB and S3 reads; no replication to an external S3 target found" ], [ "Stack coupling", 3.5, "Own stack spanning storage, database and compute" ], [ "Hardware / cloud coupling", 3, "Certified platforms from VAST, Supermicro, HPE and Cisco, or VAST on Cloud; no commodity software install" ], [ "Skills and tooling coupling", 3, "Vendor tooling and a platform model (views, tenants, DataEngine) specific to VAST" ] ], "integ": [ [ "Partner programme openness", 3.5, "Cosmos programme unified 2026-02-25 for resellers, integrators, technology alliances, distributors and cloud providers; OEM partners Supermicro, HPE and Cisco" ], [ "Multi-tenancy and self-service", 3.5, "Tenants with per-tenant and identity policies, STS and IAM roles; Polaris adds a multi-tenant control plane for cloud deployments" ], [ "API and infrastructure-as-code", 3, "REST API, CLI and Kubernetes CSI; Terraform and Ansible not found" ], [ "Skills and certification", 2.5, "No public certification found" ] ], "alt": null, "ranked": true, "reading": "VAST scores highest of the three file-first platforms on capability because its S3 side is documented in detail: STS, SSE-C, CORS, conditional reads, lifecycle rules and both lock modes, beside NFS, SMB, block and an event broker. Its limits are documented just as clearly: Object Lock cannot be used on a view that is also open over SMB or NFS, versioning cannot be turned off, and nothing tiers off the flash. Most 2026 announcements (CNode-X, PolicyEngine, TuningEngine, DataEnclave) have no GA date, and because the release notes carry no dates the direction list leans toward those announcements more than the shipped work does. A buyer planning to land backups on it should ask VAST for the Cohasset report and a current Veeam listing for the release they will run, and check that the view design allows Object Lock.", "report": "/reports/object-storage-ledger-2026/vast-data", "ai": { "infra": { "2019": 1.5, "2020": 1.5, "2021": 3.5, "2022": 3.5, "2023": 3.5, "2024": 3.5, "2025": 3.5, "2026": 3.5 }, "stack": { "2019": 0, "2020": 0, "2021": 0, "2022": 0, "2023": 0, "2024": 0, "2025": 3, "2026": 3 }, "ops": { "2019": 0, "2020": 0, "2021": 0, "2022": 0, "2023": 0, "2024": 0, "2025": 0, "2026": 0 }, "agents": { "2019": 2, "2020": 2, "2021": 2, "2022": 2, "2023": 2, "2024": 2, "2025": 2, "2026": 2 } }, "ai_basis": { "infra": "NVIDIA GPUDirect Storage integration (vendor; year approximate, grade C); BlueField-4 context memory storage and CNode-X announced 2026-02-26 without GA dates; no S3 over RDMA found", "stack": "5.5.0: vector indexing in VAST Database and Compute Clusters in the release notes (year approximate); DataEngine triggers, NIM microservices and the Sirius GPU SQL engine are vendor descriptions", "ops": "None GA; TuningEngine announced 2026-02-26 for the end of 2026", "agents": "REST API and CLI; no MCP server found; PolicyEngine for governing agent access is due by the end of 2026" }, "ai_ledger": { "announced": 6, "ga": 1, "preview": 0, "pending": 5, "dropped": 0, "note": "Vector indexing shipped in the 5.5.0 release notes; CNode-X, PolicyEngine, TuningEngine, BlueField-4 context memory storage and DataEnclave have no GA date in sources read." }, "ai_reading": "VAST has the deepest AI stack of the file-first platforms here, with vector indexing and compute clusters in its documented release notes. The rest of its 2026 AI programme is dated only as \"by the end of 2026\" or not at all, and there is no AI in its own operations and no MCP server.", "mom": 14.8, "credT": 16, "commT": 14.5, "lockT": 14, "integT": 12.5 }, { "key": "dell-objectscale", "name": "Dell ObjectScale (formerly ECS)", "short": "ObjectScale", "kind": "product", "group": "appliance", "since": 2015, "archetype": "Dependable builder, thinly documented", "grade": "B", "driver": "C", "mix": { "V": 19, "C": 38, "M": 25, "U": 0, "P": 19 }, "idx": 0.23, "domains": { "api": { "2015": 3, "2016": 3, "2017": 3, "2018": 3, "2019": 3.5, "2020": 3.5, "2021": 3.5, "2022": 3.5, "2023": 3.5, "2024": 3.5, "2025": 3.5, "2026": 4 }, "immutability": { "2015": 0, "2016": 0, "2017": 0, "2018": 0, "2019": 0, "2020": 0, "2021": 3, "2022": 3, "2023": 3.5, "2024": 3.5, "2025": 4, "2026": 4 }, "durability": { "2015": 4, "2016": 4, "2017": 4, "2018": 4, "2019": 4, "2020": 4, "2021": 4, "2022": 4, "2023": 4, "2024": 4, "2025": 4, "2026": 4 }, "perf": { "2015": 3.5, "2016": 3.5, "2017": 3.5, "2018": 3.5, "2019": 3.5, "2020": 3.5, "2021": 3.5, "2022": 3.5, "2023": 4, "2024": 4, "2025": 4, "2026": 4.5 }, "deploy": { "2015": 1.5, "2016": 1.5, "2017": 1.5, "2018": 1.5, "2019": 1.5, "2020": 2, "2021": 2, "2022": 2, "2023": 3, "2024": 3, "2025": 3, "2026": 3 }, "security": { "2015": 3, "2016": 3, "2017": 3, "2018": 3, "2019": 3, "2020": 3, "2021": 3, "2022": 3, "2023": 3.5, "2024": 3.5, "2025": 3.5, "2026": 3.5 }, "ops": { "2015": 3, "2016": 3, "2017": 3, "2018": 3, "2019": 3, "2020": 3, "2021": 3, "2022": 3, "2023": 3, "2024": 3, "2025": 3, "2026": 3.5 }, "protocols": { "2015": 3, "2016": 3, "2017": 3, "2018": 3, "2019": 3, "2020": 3, "2021": 3, "2022": 3, "2023": 3, "2024": 3, "2025": 3, "2026": 3 }, "lifecycle": { "2015": 2.5, "2016": 2.5, "2017": 2.5, "2018": 2.5, "2019": 2.5, "2020": 2.5, "2021": 2.5, "2022": 2.5, "2023": 2.5, "2024": 2.5, "2025": 3, "2026": 3 }, "ecosystem": { "2015": 1.5, "2016": 1.5, "2017": 1.5, "2018": 1.5, "2019": 1.5, "2020": 1.5, "2021": 1.5, "2022": 1.5, "2023": 1.5, "2024": 1.5, "2025": 1.5, "2026": 1.5 } }, "cred": [ [ "Cadence", 3.5, "4.0 (2025-04), 4.1, 4.2, 4.3.0.0 (about 2026-04) and 4.3.0.1: a minor release roughly every four to six months; dates not published" ], [ "Roadmap transparency", 2, "Blogs name coming features with footnotes; release notes and the availability guide need a Dell login" ], [ "Say-do", 3, "X560 and XF960 shipped on their dates and the Wasabi service reached a Veeam listing; TLS 1.3 on the data path, S3 Tables GA, X7700 and the NVIDIA certification are still open" ], [ "Velocity", 3.5, "RDMA, a new key-value store, wider erasure coding, compression and S3 Tables within about a year" ], [ "Lifecycle stability", 2.5, "The ECS to ObjectScale merge with an upgrade gate at 3.8.x and a product rename; appliance generations age out on Dell's schedule" ] ], "comm": [ [ "Price and licence volatility", 2.5, "No public prices, so changes are invisible; the 4.0 update was free with ProSupport; CapEx or OpEx options" ], [ "Purchase constraints", 3.5, "Hardware bundles; software only on qualified PowerEdge or OpenShift; no small edition beyond a developer version" ], [ "Channel and access", 3, "Dell direct and partners; documentation, release notes and patches behind a Dell sign-in" ], [ "Owner stability", 1, "Large listed owner since 2016; no change" ], [ "Cost of staying supported", 3, "Hardware refresh pattern (EX300 sales end 2022, support end 2027) and an upgrade gate at ECS 3.8.x; software windows not found" ] ], "risk": "commercial", "lock": [ [ "Formats", 3, "Proprietary chunk store with small objects packed into 128 MB chunks; data leaves through the S3 API" ], [ "Export path", 1.5, "Standard S3 reads and geo-replication; no export tooling found" ], [ "Stack coupling", 3, "Own Kubernetes-based microservice stack on every node" ], [ "Hardware / cloud coupling", 3, "Dell appliances or qualified PowerEdge servers only; runs on-premises" ], [ "Skills and tooling coupling", 2.5, "Dell-specific operations; a sizeable Dell services and partner pool" ] ], "integ": [ [ "Partner programme openness", 3.5, "Dell partner programme; the Wasabi hybrid service shows a provider channel; terms not read" ], [ "Multi-tenancy and self-service", 3, "Namespaces and tenant separation from ECS (grade C); quotas and self-service not read this edition" ], [ "API and infrastructure-as-code", 3.5, "REST API reference for 4.3, Terraform and Kubernetes COSI" ], [ "Skills and certification", 3, "Dell certification exists; an ObjectScale track was not verified" ] ], "alt": null, "ranked": true, "reading": "ObjectScale scores on durability and scale, both inherited from ECS, and on the 2026 performance work that put S3 over RDMA across the all-flash line. Immutability is solid with two Veeam listings and admin-consensus protection, yet no independent assessment exists. The costs are structural: Dell hardware or qualified PowerEdge only, a merge that gates upgrades at ECS 3.8.x, and release notes nobody outside a Dell login can read. A buyer should ask Dell for the ObjectScale Product Availability Guide and the status of NFS, HDFS and the TLS 1.3 data path before planning a migration from ECS.", "report": "/reports/object-storage-ledger-2026/dell-objectscale", "ai": { "infra": { "2015": 1, "2016": 1, "2017": 1, "2018": 1, "2019": 1, "2020": 1, "2021": 1, "2022": 1, "2023": 2, "2024": 2, "2025": 2, "2026": 3.5 }, "stack": { "2015": 0, "2016": 0, "2017": 0, "2018": 0, "2019": 0, "2020": 0, "2021": 0, "2022": 0, "2023": 0, "2024": 0, "2025": 1.5, "2026": 1.5 }, "ops": { "2015": 0, "2016": 0, "2017": 0, "2018": 0, "2019": 0, "2020": 0, "2021": 0, "2022": 0, "2023": 0, "2024": 0, "2025": 0, "2026": 0 }, "agents": { "2015": 1.5, "2016": 1.5, "2017": 1.5, "2018": 1.5, "2019": 1.5, "2020": 1.5, "2021": 1.5, "2022": 1.5, "2023": 1.5, "2024": 1.5, "2025": 1.5, "2026": 2 } }, "ai_basis": { "infra": "4.2 and 4.3: S3 over RDMA across the all-flash portfolio, KV cache offload with vLLM, LMCache and NVIDIA NIXL (Dell tests; no GA label); NVIDIA certification slated and unconfirmed", "stack": "Cloudera certification for private AI (2025-10); S3 Tables for Spark, Flink, Trino and Starburst in technology preview; Palantir and Omniverse integrations planned", "ops": "None", "agents": "4.3: Terraform and COSI beside the REST API reference; no MCP server found" }, "ai_ledger": { "announced": 6, "ga": 3, "preview": 1, "pending": 2, "dropped": 0, "note": "S3 over RDMA, KV cache offload and the Cloudera certification count as shipped on Dell's blog text; S3 Tables is a technology preview; the NVIDIA certification and the Palantir integration remain unconfirmed." }, "ai_reading": "ObjectScale's AI case is throughput: S3 over RDMA and KV cache offload for inference arrived in 4.2 and 4.3 with Dell test figures but no independent numbers. The data platform side is partner certifications and a preview of S3 Tables. There is no AI in operations and no agent interface beyond the APIs and Terraform.", "mom": 11, "credT": 14.5, "commT": 13, "lockT": 13, "integT": 13 }, { "key": "everpure-flashblade", "name": "Everpure FlashBlade (formerly Pure Storage, Purity//FB)", "short": "FlashBlade", "kind": "product", "group": "filefirst", "since": 2017, "archetype": "Dependable builder, hardware-bound", "grade": "B", "driver": "C", "mix": { "V": 30, "C": 30, "M": 30, "U": 0, "P": 10 }, "idx": 0.33, "domains": { "api": { "2017": 2, "2018": 2, "2019": 3, "2020": 3, "2021": 3, "2022": 3, "2023": 3, "2024": 3, "2025": 3, "2026": 3 }, "immutability": { "2017": 0, "2018": 0, "2019": 1, "2020": 1, "2021": 1, "2022": 1, "2023": 3.5, "2024": 3.5, "2025": 3.5, "2026": 3.5 }, "durability": { "2017": 2.5, "2018": 2.5, "2019": 2.5, "2020": 2.5, "2021": 2.5, "2022": 2.5, "2023": 4, "2024": 4, "2025": 4, "2026": 4 }, "perf": { "2017": 3.5, "2018": 3.5, "2019": 3.5, "2020": 3.5, "2021": 3.5, "2022": 3.5, "2023": 4, "2024": 4, "2025": 4, "2026": 4.5 }, "deploy": { "2017": 1, "2018": 1, "2019": 1, "2020": 1, "2021": 1, "2022": 1, "2023": 1, "2024": 1, "2025": 1, "2026": 1 }, "security": { "2017": 2.5, "2018": 2.5, "2019": 2.5, "2020": 2.5, "2021": 2.5, "2022": 2.5, "2023": 2.5, "2024": 2.5, "2025": 3, "2026": 3 }, "ops": { "2017": 3, "2018": 3, "2019": 3, "2020": 3, "2021": 3, "2022": 3, "2023": 3, "2024": 3, "2025": 3, "2026": 4 }, "protocols": { "2017": 3, "2018": 3, "2019": 3.5, "2020": 3.5, "2021": 3.5, "2022": 3.5, "2023": 3.5, "2024": 3.5, "2025": 3.5, "2026": 3.5 }, "lifecycle": { "2017": 1, "2018": 1, "2019": 1, "2020": 1, "2021": 1, "2022": 1, "2023": 2, "2024": 2, "2025": 2, "2026": 2 }, "ecosystem": { "2017": 1.5, "2018": 1.5, "2019": 1.5, "2020": 1.5, "2021": 1.5, "2022": 1.5, "2023": 1.5, "2024": 1.5, "2025": 1.5, "2026": 1.5 } }, "cred": [ [ "Cadence", 3.5, "Feature releases and long-life releases with GA posts (4.5.6, 4.5.7, 4.6.6, 4.6.8, 4.7.10); the GA dates themselves could not be read" ], [ "Roadmap transparency", 2, "Blogs and launch posts public; community GA posts and the support portal behind a login; no roadmap" ], [ "Say-do", 3.5, "S3 over RDMA, announced 2025-04-04 for later that year, is listed in the 4.7.10 long-life release; its GA date was not found" ], [ "Velocity", 3.5, "Object realms, S3 over RDMA, //EXA support and proactive patching within the 4.6 and 4.7 lines" ], [ "Lifecycle stability", 3.5, "Long-life releases with a planned end of life in April 2029 and Evergreen non-disruptive upgrades; the company rename moves product names through 2026" ] ], "comm": [ [ "Price and licence volatility", 2, "Evergreen model unchanged in sources read; the rename FAQ says contracts and SKUs do not change; prices not public" ], [ "Purchase constraints", 3.5, "Hardware purchase with an Evergreen subscription or Evergreen//One consumption; no software-only edition" ], [ "Channel and access", 3, "Partner led through Everpure Partner Central; support portal and community posts behind a login" ], [ "Owner stability", 1.5, "Large listed company; renamed Everpure in 2026 with a move beyond storage and an announced acquisition of 1touch; leadership unchanged" ], [ "Cost of staying supported", 2, "Evergreen promises non-disruptive upgrades of blades and software; the long-life line runs to April 2029" ] ], "risk": "commercial", "lock": [ [ "Formats", 3, "Proprietary Purity//FB layout; data leaves through NFS, SMB or S3" ], [ "Export path", 1, "NFS, SMB and S3 reads plus replication to AWS or other S3 targets (4.1.5)" ], [ "Stack coupling", 3.5, "Own operating system on own hardware; nothing third-party underneath" ], [ "Hardware / cloud coupling", 4.5, "FlashBlade hardware only; no VM, cloud or software-only form; no mandatory cloud attach found" ], [ "Skills and tooling coupling", 2.5, "Vendor tooling with an open Ansible collection; a sizeable partner pool" ] ], "integ": [ [ "Partner programme openness", 3.5, "Channel-led Everpure Partner Central; terms not read" ], [ "Multi-tenancy and self-service", 3.5, "Object realms for secure multi-tenancy with replication parity (4.6.8) and management access policies (search summary)" ], [ "API and infrastructure-as-code", 3.5, "REST API, CLI and the purestorage.flashblade Ansible collection with bucket, lock and replication parameters; Terraform not verified" ], [ "Skills and certification", 3.5, "FlashBlade certification exams exist (search result, grade B)" ] ], "alt": null, "ranked": true, "reading": "FlashBlade scores on durability, performance and operations: active-active object replication since 4.1.5, all-flash throughput with S3 over RDMA in the 4.7.10 long-life release, and a release scheme with a published end of life in April 2029. Immutability is solid on the evidence read, with a ratcheted retention lock, default retention and three Veeam listings, though no source printed the lock mode names. Deployment freedom scores 1 because it runs only on Everpure hardware, and the same fact drives most of its lock-in. A buyer should ask Everpure to confirm that both governance and compliance modes exist and whether IAM and STS are still unsupported, since all three Veeam pages list them as not supported.", "report": "/reports/object-storage-ledger-2026/everpure-flashblade", "ai": { "infra": { "2017": 1.5, "2018": 1.5, "2019": 1.5, "2020": 1.5, "2021": 1.5, "2022": 1.5, "2023": 1.5, "2024": 1.5, "2025": 1.5, "2026": 3.5 }, "stack": { "2017": 0, "2018": 0, "2019": 0, "2020": 0, "2021": 0, "2022": 0, "2023": 0, "2024": 0, "2025": 0, "2026": 0.5 }, "ops": { "2017": 1, "2018": 1, "2019": 1, "2020": 1, "2021": 1, "2022": 1, "2023": 1, "2024": 1, "2025": 1, "2026": 1 }, "agents": { "2017": 2, "2018": 2, "2019": 2, "2020": 2, "2021": 2, "2022": 2, "2023": 2, "2024": 2, "2025": 2, "2026": 2 } }, "ai_basis": { "infra": "4.7.10 long-life release lists S3 over RDMA; FlashBlade//EXA for AI factories and NVIDIA DGX SuperPOD named (vendor); GPUDirect not named", "stack": "Everpure Data Stream in beta sign-up (2026-03-17) to feed AI data pipelines to GPU clusters; half a step for a beta", "ops": "Vendor monitoring with analytics and patch advisories (grade C); ML forecasting not verified this pass", "agents": "REST API and CLI, later an Ansible collection; no MCP server found" }, "ai_ledger": { "announced": 2, "ga": 1, "preview": 1, "pending": 0, "dropped": 0, "note": "S3 over RDMA counts as GA because the 4.7.10 long-life release lists it; Data Stream is a beta. The //EXA platform and the 2026-10 growth outlook are product and business news with no AI feature to check." }, "ai_reading": "FlashBlade's AI case is throughput: S3 over RDMA reached the 4.7.10 long-life release about a year after it was announced, and //EXA targets large GPU clusters on vendor figures. There is no AI platform beyond a Data Stream beta, no AI assistant in operations that this pass could verify, and no MCP server.", "mom": 16.4, "credT": 16, "commT": 12, "lockT": 14.5, "integT": 14 }, { "key": "noobaa", "name": "NooBaa (Multicloud Object Gateway engine)", "short": "NooBaa", "kind": "engine", "group": "engine", "since": 2015, "archetype": "Dependable builder, inside ODF", "grade": "B", "driver": "C", "mix": { "V": 15, "C": 77, "M": 0, "U": 0, "P": 8 }, "idx": 0.17, "domains": { "api": { "2015": 1.5, "2016": 1.5, "2017": 1.5, "2018": 1.5, "2019": 2.5, "2020": 2.5, "2021": 2.5, "2022": 2.5, "2023": 2.5, "2024": 2.5, "2025": 3, "2026": 3.5 }, "immutability": { "2015": 0, "2016": 0, "2017": 0, "2018": 0, "2019": 0, "2020": 0, "2021": 0, "2022": 0, "2023": 0, "2024": 0, "2025": 0, "2026": 2 }, "durability": { "2015": 1.5, "2016": 1.5, "2017": 1.5, "2018": 1.5, "2019": 2, "2020": 2, "2021": 2, "2022": 2, "2023": 2, "2024": 2, "2025": 2.5, "2026": 2.5 }, "perf": { "2015": 1.5, "2016": 1.5, "2017": 1.5, "2018": 1.5, "2019": 2, "2020": 2, "2021": 2, "2022": 2, "2023": 2, "2024": 2, "2025": 2, "2026": 2.5 }, "deploy": { "2015": 1.5, "2016": 1.5, "2017": 1.5, "2018": 1.5, "2019": 3, "2020": 3, "2021": 3, "2022": 3, "2023": 3, "2024": 3, "2025": 3.5, "2026": 3.5 }, "security": { "2015": 1, "2016": 1, "2017": 1, "2018": 1, "2019": 2, "2020": 2, "2021": 2, "2022": 2, "2023": 2, "2024": 2, "2025": 2.5, "2026": 3 }, "ops": { "2015": 1.5, "2016": 1.5, "2017": 1.5, "2018": 1.5, "2019": 2.5, "2020": 2.5, "2021": 2.5, "2022": 2.5, "2023": 2.5, "2024": 2.5, "2025": 3, "2026": 3 }, "protocols": { "2015": 1, "2016": 1, "2017": 1, "2018": 1, "2019": 2, "2020": 2, "2021": 2, "2022": 2, "2023": 2, "2024": 2, "2025": 2.5, "2026": 2.5 }, "lifecycle": { "2015": 1, "2016": 1, "2017": 1, "2018": 1, "2019": 2, "2020": 2, "2021": 2, "2022": 2, "2023": 2, "2024": 2, "2025": 3, "2026": 3.5 }, "ecosystem": { "2015": 3.5, "2016": 3.5, "2017": 3.5, "2018": 3.5, "2019": 3.5, "2020": 3.5, "2021": 3.5, "2022": 3.5, "2023": 3.5, "2024": 3.5, "2025": 3.5, "2026": 3.5 } }, "cred": [ [ "Cadence", 4, "Feature releases every three to four months with backport patch releases: 5.18.0 (2025-03-11), 5.19.0 (2025-07-28), 5.20.0 (2025-11-19), 5.21.0 (2026-03-11), 5.22.0 (2026-07-15)" ], [ "Roadmap transparency", 2.5, "Open repository and release notes; no roadmap" ], [ "Say-do", 3, "Nothing is announced ahead of release, so there is little to check" ], [ "Velocity", 3.5, "Lifecycle rules, IAM policies, object lock and the Vectors API within 18 months" ], [ "Lifecycle stability", 3, "Backports to older lines; no upstream support window; the MongoDB removal in 5.20.0 changed the metadata layer" ] ], "comm": null, "risk": "commercial", "lock": [ [ "Formats", 1.5, "NSFS and namespace buckets keep data as plain files or native objects in the backend; the layout of data buckets on backing stores was not verified" ], [ "Export path", 1, "S3 reads; NSFS files can be read directly from the file system" ], [ "Stack coupling", 2, "PostgreSQL for metadata; Kubernetes operator or the non-containerised mode on Linux" ], [ "Hardware / cloud coupling", 0, "Any Kubernetes cluster or Linux host; any S3, Azure or GCS backend" ], [ "Skills and tooling coupling", 2, "S3 and Kubernetes skills; documentation and tooling centre on OpenShift" ] ], "integ": [ [ "Partner programme openness", 2, "No programme of its own; commercial route only through Red Hat and IBM" ], [ "Multi-tenancy and self-service", 2.5, "Accounts, IAM users with inline policies, object bucket claims and quotas through ODF; LDAP still a proof of concept" ], [ "API and infrastructure-as-code", 3, "Operator and CRDs, noobaa CLI; no Terraform provider found" ], [ "Skills and certification", 2, "Covered only by Red Hat courses on OpenShift Data Foundation" ] ], "alt": null, "ranked": true, "reading": "NooBaa scores as a gateway: S3 buckets that span cloud, object and file backends, with lifecycle and IAM features that matured mostly in 2025 and 2026. Durability and performance stay low because protection comes from the backing stores and no scale evidence was found. Immutability is 2 because object lock arrived only in 5.22.0 in July 2026, without documented modes or any backup vendor validation, so earlier ODF gateway deployments could not rely on it. A buyer should confirm which ODF release ships 5.22.0 and which lock modes it enforces before pointing backup software at a Multicloud Object Gateway bucket.", "report": "/reports/object-storage-ledger-2026/noobaa", "ai": { "infra": { "2015": 1, "2016": 1, "2017": 1, "2018": 1, "2019": 1, "2020": 1, "2021": 1, "2022": 1, "2023": 1, "2024": 1, "2025": 1, "2026": 1.5 }, "stack": { "2015": 0, "2016": 0, "2017": 0, "2018": 0, "2019": 0, "2020": 0, "2021": 0, "2022": 0, "2023": 0, "2024": 0, "2025": 0, "2026": 0 }, "ops": { "2015": 0, "2016": 0, "2017": 0, "2018": 0, "2019": 0, "2020": 0, "2021": 0, "2022": 0, "2023": 0, "2024": 0, "2025": 0, "2026": 0 }, "agents": { "2015": 1.5, "2016": 1.5, "2017": 1.5, "2018": 1.5, "2019": 1.5, "2020": 1.5, "2021": 1.5, "2022": 1.5, "2023": 1.5, "2024": 1.5, "2025": 1.5, "2026": 1.5 } }, "ai_basis": { "infra": "5.22.0 (2026-07-15): Vectors API, and RDMA updates with maturity not stated (half step)", "stack": "None", "ops": "None", "agents": "S3 API and Kubernetes CRDs; management API documentation is thin; no MCP server found" }, "ai_ledger": { "announced": 2, "ga": 1, "preview": 0, "pending": 1, "dropped": 0, "note": "The Vectors API shipped in 5.22.0; the RDMA updates in the same release carry no maturity statement." }, "ai_reading": "NooBaa's AI items arrived together in 5.22.0: a Vectors API and RDMA work whose maturity is not stated. There is no AI in its operation and no agent interface beyond the S3 API and CRDs.", "mom": 17, "credT": 16, "commT": null, "lockT": 6.5, "integT": 9.5 }, { "key": "redhat-odf", "name": "Red Hat OpenShift Data Foundation (RGW and the Multicloud Object Gateway)", "short": "OpenShift Data Foundation", "kind": "product", "group": "commercial", "since": 2020, "archetype": "Dependable builder, OpenShift-bound", "grade": "B", "driver": "C", "mix": { "V": 18, "C": 71, "M": 0, "U": 0, "P": 12 }, "idx": 0.2, "domains": { "api": { "2020": 3.5, "2021": 3.5, "2022": 3.5, "2023": 3.5, "2024": 3.5, "2025": 3.5, "2026": 4 }, "immutability": { "2020": 2.5, "2021": 2.5, "2022": 2.5, "2023": 2.5, "2024": 2.5, "2025": 2.5, "2026": 3 }, "durability": { "2020": 3.5, "2021": 3.5, "2022": 3.5, "2023": 4, "2024": 4, "2025": 4, "2026": 4.5 }, "perf": { "2020": 3, "2021": 3, "2022": 3, "2023": 3, "2024": 3, "2025": 3.5, "2026": 3.5 }, "deploy": { "2020": 2, "2021": 2, "2022": 2, "2023": 2, "2024": 2, "2025": 2, "2026": 2.5 }, "security": { "2020": 2.5, "2021": 2.5, "2022": 2.5, "2023": 2.5, "2024": 2.5, "2025": 3, "2026": 3.5 }, "ops": { "2020": 3, "2021": 3, "2022": 3, "2023": 3, "2024": 3, "2025": 3.5, "2026": 3.5 }, "protocols": { "2020": 2.5, "2021": 2.5, "2022": 2.5, "2023": 2.5, "2024": 2.5, "2025": 2.5, "2026": 2.5 }, "lifecycle": { "2020": 2.5, "2021": 2.5, "2022": 2.5, "2023": 2.5, "2024": 2.5, "2025": 2.5, "2026": 3 }, "ecosystem": { "2020": 3, "2021": 3, "2022": 3, "2023": 3, "2024": 3, "2025": 3, "2026": 3 } }, "cred": [ [ "Cadence", 4.5, "Three releases a year aligned to OpenShift minors, each with a published lifecycle row: 4.18 (2025-03-11), 4.19 (2025-07-28), 4.20 (2025-11-18), 4.21 (2026-03-09), 4.22 (2026-07-09)" ], [ "Roadmap transparency", 2.5, "Release notes label technology and developer previews; no public roadmap; lifecycle and subscription detail behind a login or a PDF" ], [ "Say-do", 3.5, "Most previews checked reached feature status within four to eight months; RGW erasure coding took about 24 months from 4.16 to 4.22" ], [ "Velocity", 3, "Object items are few per release: erasure coding for RGW in 4.22, STS and OBC quotas, S3 Vectors; most release items are DR, security and operations" ], [ "Lifecycle stability", 2.5, "About seven months of full support on odd releases (4.21 ends 2026-10-09), EUS on even releases only, upgrades set by the OpenShift calendar" ] ], "comm": [ [ "Price and licence volatility", 2.5, "No public price; the product page and the lifecycle page disagree on whether stand-alone editions exist; the subscription guide was revised on 2026-10-06 with unknown content" ], [ "Purchase constraints", 3.5, "Requires an OpenShift subscription; sold in Platform Plus or the Essentials and Advanced editions; no free edition" ], [ "Channel and access", 2.5, "Red Hat direct and partners; images and patches need a subscription" ], [ "Owner stability", 2, "IBM-owned vendor; development moved to IBM Storage in 2023 while the brand stayed with Red Hat" ], [ "Cost of staying supported", 3, "Three upgrades a year to stay in full support, or EUS on even releases at extra cost" ] ], "risk": "commercial", "lock": [ [ "Formats", 2.5, "RGW objects striped into RADOS; MCG data in backing stores managed by NooBaa" ], [ "Export path", 1, "S3 reads from RGW and MCG; MCG namespace buckets keep data in the cloud or file backend" ], [ "Stack coupling", 4, "OpenShift required; external mode requires a Red Hat Ceph Storage cluster" ], [ "Hardware / cloud coupling", 1.5, "Bare metal, vSphere, public clouds, Power, Z and Arm, always under OpenShift" ], [ "Skills and tooling coupling", 3, "OpenShift plus Ceph skills; odf-cli and operator CRDs" ] ], "integ": [ [ "Partner programme openness", 3, "Red Hat Partner Connect; terms not read for this edition" ], [ "Multi-tenancy and self-service", 3.5, "Object bucket claims give OpenShift projects self-service buckets; OBC quotas since 4.22; no storage-level metering" ], [ "API and infrastructure-as-code", 4, "Everything is a Kubernetes CRD (StorageCluster, CephObjectStore, ObjectBucketClaim), GitOps-ready" ], [ "Skills and certification", 3.5, "Red Hat training and exams cover OpenShift storage; the current course list was not verified" ] ], "alt": null, "ranked": true, "reading": "ODF scores as Ceph RGW minus the freedom: the same engine gives it erasure coding, Regional and Metro DR and Object Lock on RGW buckets, but only inside OpenShift and on the OpenShift calendar. Immutability sits at 3 because ODF documents no lock modes, the gateway's object lock arrived only with NooBaa 5.22.0 in July 2026, and no backup vendor validation was found. S3 server-side encryption for RGW is still a developer preview in 4.22, which holds security at 3.5. Before using it as a backup target, ask Red Hat which ODF release carries NooBaa 5.22, which Object Lock modes are supported on each path, and read the subscription guide, because Red Hat's own pages disagree on whether stand-alone editions exist.", "report": "/reports/object-storage-ledger-2026/redhat-odf", "ai": { "infra": { "2020": 1, "2021": 1, "2022": 1, "2023": 1, "2024": 1, "2025": 1, "2026": 1.5 }, "stack": { "2020": 0, "2021": 0, "2022": 0, "2023": 0, "2024": 0, "2025": 0, "2026": 0 }, "ops": { "2020": 0, "2021": 0, "2022": 0, "2023": 0, "2024": 0, "2025": 0, "2026": 0.5 }, "agents": { "2020": 2, "2021": 2, "2022": 2, "2023": 2, "2024": 2, "2025": 2, "2026": 2 } }, "ai_basis": { "infra": "4.22 (2026-07-09): S3 Vectors support", "stack": "None", "ops": "4.21: OpenShift Lightspeed knowledge integration through BYOK, technology preview", "agents": "Kubernetes API and CRDs that agents can drive with standard tooling; no MCP server found" }, "ai_ledger": { "announced": 2, "ga": 1, "preview": 1, "pending": 0, "dropped": 0, "note": "S3 Vectors shipped as a feature in 4.22; the Lightspeed integration has been a technology preview since 4.21." }, "ai_reading": "ODF's AI so far is S3 Vectors on the object gateway and a preview link to OpenShift Lightspeed; neither changes how the storage is run. Agents reach it through the Kubernetes API like any operator.", "mom": 11, "credT": 16, "commT": 13.5, "lockT": 12, "integT": 14 }, { "key": "nutanix-objects", "name": "Nutanix Objects (Nutanix Unified Storage)", "short": "Nutanix Objects", "kind": "product", "group": "platform", "since": 2019, "archetype": "Dependable builder", "grade": "B", "driver": "C", "mix": { "V": 20, "C": 53, "M": 13, "U": 0, "P": 13 }, "idx": 0.23, "domains": { "api": { "2019": 2, "2020": 2, "2021": 2, "2022": 3, "2023": 3, "2024": 3, "2025": 3, "2026": 3.5 }, "immutability": { "2019": 1.5, "2020": 1.5, "2021": 2.5, "2022": 2.5, "2023": 2.5, "2024": 2.5, "2025": 2.5, "2026": 2.5 }, "durability": { "2019": 2.5, "2020": 2.5, "2021": 2.5, "2022": 3.5, "2023": 3.5, "2024": 3.5, "2025": 3.5, "2026": 3.5 }, "perf": { "2019": 2, "2020": 2, "2021": 2, "2022": 3, "2023": 3, "2024": 3, "2025": 3, "2026": 3.5 }, "deploy": { "2019": 2, "2020": 2, "2021": 2, "2022": 2, "2023": 2, "2024": 2, "2025": 2, "2026": 2.5 }, "security": { "2019": 2.5, "2020": 2.5, "2021": 2.5, "2022": 2.5, "2023": 3, "2024": 3, "2025": 3, "2026": 3.5 }, "ops": { "2019": 3, "2020": 3, "2021": 3, "2022": 3, "2023": 3, "2024": 3, "2025": 3, "2026": 4 }, "protocols": { "2019": 2, "2020": 2, "2021": 2, "2022": 3, "2023": 3, "2024": 3, "2025": 3, "2026": 3 }, "lifecycle": { "2019": 1.5, "2020": 1.5, "2021": 1.5, "2022": 2.5, "2023": 2.5, "2024": 2.5, "2025": 3, "2026": 3.5 }, "ecosystem": { "2019": 1.5, "2020": 1.5, "2021": 1.5, "2022": 1.5, "2023": 1.5, "2024": 1.5, "2025": 1.5, "2026": 1.5 } }, "cred": [ [ "Cadence", 4, "Dated public update posts: 5.2 (2025-07-16), 5.2.1 (2025-09-16), 5.4 (2026-08-03), 5.3.1.1 (2026-08-18)" ], [ "Roadmap transparency", 2.5, "Public product update posts and blogs; release notes behind the portal login; roadmap shown on conference stages only" ], [ "Say-do", 3, "Multitenant scaling and metadata scale-out shipped in NUS 5.3; RDMA for S3 and the Agentic AI stack are pending; ransomware detection GA not verified" ], [ "Velocity", 3.5, "Several capabilities per release in 5.2, 5.3 and 5.4" ], [ "Lifecycle stability", 3.5, "No renames; upgrades through LCM with a managed MSP dependency" ] ], "comm": [ [ "Price and licence volatility", 2.5, "Per-TiB NUS licensing in NCI or dedicated mode; no dated change found" ], [ "Purchase constraints", 3, "Requires a Nutanix AOS cluster; trial and 2 TB entitlement for existing customers; no minimum capacity" ], [ "Channel and access", 2.5, "Public community update posts; release notes and downloads behind the portal login" ], [ "Owner stability", 1.5, "Listed company, no ownership change" ], [ "Cost of staying supported", 3, "Subscription licence; MSP and AOS version dependencies drive upgrades" ] ], "risk": "commercial", "lock": [ [ "Formats", 3, "Proprietary layout: metadata in ChakrDB on Nutanix storage, data through Stargate; data leaves through S3" ], [ "Export path", 1.5, "S3 reads, streaming replication and data movement to external S3 targets" ], [ "Stack coupling", 4, "Needs AOS and the Microservices Platform underneath" ], [ "Hardware / cloud coupling", 2.5, "Nutanix or qualified OEM hardware, or Nutanix Cloud Clusters in public cloud" ], [ "Skills and tooling coupling", 2.5, "Prism Central and LCM; a large Nutanix skills pool" ] ], "integ": [ [ "Partner programme openness", 3.5, "Established Nutanix partner programme (grade C)" ], [ "Multi-tenancy and self-service", 3.5, "Multitenant object scaling with quotas (NUS 5.3) and self-service access keys (5.2)" ], [ "API and infrastructure-as-code", 3.5, "v4 APIs for buckets, data movement targets and storage backends (5.4); COSI in NKP; Terraform provider not verified" ], [ "Skills and certification", 3.5, "Nutanix certification programme exists (grade C); no Objects-specific track verified" ] ], "alt": null, "ranked": true, "reading": "Nutanix Objects scores on operations and on a steady 2025 to 2026 cadence: metadata on Blockstore, rolling and parallel upgrades, prefix and tag policies and v4 APIs all arrived in dated public posts. Immutability is the weak point for a backup buyer, because Nutanix names no lock modes and the most specific test, Veeam's 2024 listing, says compliance mode with retention above zero days is not supported. Deployment and lock-in reflect the platform: Objects needs AOS and the Microservices Platform, so it suits sites that already run Nutanix. A buyer planning Veeam immutability should ask Nutanix whether Objects 5.4 supports compliance mode and whether Veeam has retested it.", "report": "/reports/object-storage-ledger-2026/nutanix-objects", "ai": { "infra": { "2019": 1, "2020": 1, "2021": 1, "2022": 1, "2023": 1, "2024": 1, "2025": 1, "2026": 2 }, "stack": { "2019": 0, "2020": 0, "2021": 0, "2022": 0, "2023": 0, "2024": 0, "2025": 1, "2026": 1 }, "ops": { "2019": 0, "2020": 0, "2021": 0, "2022": 0, "2023": 1.5, "2024": 1.5, "2025": 1.5, "2026": 1.5 }, "agents": { "2019": 1.5, "2020": 1.5, "2021": 1.5, "2022": 1.5, "2023": 1.5, "2024": 1.5, "2025": 1.5, "2026": 2 } }, "ai_basis": { "infra": "NUS 5.3 and 5.4: metadata scale-out and a direct-to-worker data path, positioned as a shared tier for inference context and RAG (vendor); RDMA for S3 pending", "stack": "Snowflake integration brief (2025-02) and Dremio validation (NUS 5.3); the Nutanix Agentic AI stack is announced, not GA", "ops": "Data Lens ransomware detection and recovery extended to Objects (2023-10, vendor); Data Lens 2.0 on-premises and air-gapped with NUS 5.3", "agents": "5.4: v4 APIs for buckets and data movement; COSI in NKP 2.16.1 (2025-11); no MCP server found" }, "ai_ledger": { "announced": 4, "ga": 2, "preview": 0, "pending": 2, "dropped": 0, "note": "The direct-to-worker path and the Dremio validation shipped; RDMA for S3 and the Agentic AI stack are promised for later in 2026." }, "ai_reading": "Nutanix pitches Objects as a shared tier for AI inference context, and the 2026 metadata and data path changes support that. The GPU-facing piece, RDMA for S3, is not yet GA, and the Agentic AI stack belongs to Nutanix's wider platform and has no GA date.", "mom": 9.1, "credT": 16.5, "commT": 12.5, "lockT": 13.5, "integT": 14 }, { "key": "scality-ring", "name": "Scality RING", "short": "Scality RING", "kind": "product", "group": "commercial", "since": 2015, "archetype": "Vision-led, thinly documented", "grade": "B", "driver": "V", "mix": { "V": 56, "C": 0, "M": 33, "U": 0, "P": 11 }, "idx": 0.63, "domains": { "api": { "2015": 2, "2016": 2, "2017": 2, "2018": 2, "2019": 3, "2020": 3, "2021": 3, "2022": 3.5, "2023": 3.5, "2024": 3.5, "2025": 3.5, "2026": 4 }, "immutability": { "2015": 0, "2016": 0, "2017": 0, "2018": 0, "2019": 1, "2020": 1, "2021": 3, "2022": 3, "2023": 3, "2024": 3, "2025": 3, "2026": 3.5 }, "durability": { "2015": 4, "2016": 4, "2017": 4, "2018": 4, "2019": 4, "2020": 4, "2021": 4, "2022": 4, "2023": 4.5, "2024": 4.5, "2025": 4.5, "2026": 4.5 }, "perf": { "2015": 3.5, "2016": 3.5, "2017": 3.5, "2018": 3.5, "2019": 3.5, "2020": 3.5, "2021": 3.5, "2022": 4, "2023": 4, "2024": 4, "2025": 4, "2026": 4 }, "deploy": { "2015": 3, "2016": 3, "2017": 3, "2018": 3, "2019": 3, "2020": 3, "2021": 3, "2022": 3, "2023": 3, "2024": 3, "2025": 3, "2026": 3 }, "security": { "2015": 2.5, "2016": 2.5, "2017": 2.5, "2018": 2.5, "2019": 2.5, "2020": 2.5, "2021": 2.5, "2022": 3.5, "2023": 3.5, "2024": 3.5, "2025": 3.5, "2026": 3.5 }, "ops": { "2015": 2.5, "2016": 2.5, "2017": 2.5, "2018": 2.5, "2019": 2.5, "2020": 2.5, "2021": 2.5, "2022": 3.5, "2023": 3.5, "2024": 3.5, "2025": 3.5, "2026": 3.5 }, "protocols": { "2015": 3, "2016": 3, "2017": 3, "2018": 3, "2019": 3, "2020": 3, "2021": 3, "2022": 3, "2023": 3, "2024": 3, "2025": 3, "2026": 3 }, "lifecycle": { "2015": 2, "2016": 2, "2017": 2, "2018": 2, "2019": 2, "2020": 2, "2021": 2, "2022": 3.5, "2023": 3.5, "2024": 3.5, "2025": 3.5, "2026": 3.5 }, "ecosystem": { "2015": 1.5, "2016": 1.5, "2017": 1.5, "2018": 1.5, "2019": 1.5, "2020": 1.5, "2021": 1.5, "2022": 2, "2023": 2, "2024": 2, "2025": 2, "2026": 2 } }, "cred": [ [ "Cadence", 3, "Versions 8.5.5, 9.1.0, 9.3.0.7 and 9.5.2.0 exist between 2023 and 2026, so releases happen; no release date is published" ], [ "Roadmap transparency", 1.5, "Documentation and release notes behind an SSO login; direction appears in press releases only" ], [ "Say-do", 3, "The 2022 promise of day-one Veeam support was kept for Backup & Replication 12 and 13; the 2026 AI items carry no GA labels and cannot be checked yet" ], [ "Velocity", 3, "RING9 was the last release with published capability detail (2022-11); 2026 brings many announcements and thin release detail" ], [ "Lifecycle stability", 3, "Support windows unknown; RING continues as a core product while ADI is added beside it" ] ], "comm": [ [ "Price and licence volatility", 2, "No metric or price change found since 2023; prices are not public, so changes would not be visible either" ], [ "Purchase constraints", 3, "Quote only, aimed at large deployments; no free or small edition of RING" ], [ "Channel and access", 3, "Direct and partners; documentation, release notes and downloads need a login" ], [ "Owner stability", 2.5, "Private, venture-backed company with no acquisition found; last disclosed funding round 2018" ], [ "Cost of staying supported", 2.5, "Support windows and upgrade terms not published" ] ], "risk": "commercial", "lock": [ [ "Formats", 3, "Proprietary peer-to-peer layout with ARC erasure coding; objects leave only through the API" ], [ "Export path", 1.5, "Standard S3 reads and bucket replication; no export tooling found" ], [ "Stack coupling", 3, "Scality's own storage, metadata and supervisor stack on every node" ], [ "Hardware / cloud coupling", 1, "Standard x86 servers from several vendors; runs air-gapped" ], [ "Skills and tooling coupling", 3, "Vendor-specific operations and a small skills pool compared with Ceph" ] ], "integ": [ [ "Partner programme openness", 3.5, "Channel programme refreshed 2026-06; hardware partners HPE, Supermicro, Lenovo and Bull; terms not published" ], [ "Multi-tenancy and self-service", 3.5, "Multi-tenant namespace and VMware Cloud Director integration in production at providers (vendor); quotas and metering detail not read" ], [ "API and infrastructure-as-code", 3, "S3, IAM-compatible, monitoring and placement APIs (RING9); no Terraform or Ansible content found" ], [ "Skills and certification", 2.5, "Vendor training exists; a public certification track was not found" ] ], "alt": null, "ranked": true, "reading": "RING scores on durability and scale: network erasure coding across sites, stretched deployments and a Veeam record that runs from 2019 to Backup & Replication 13 in 2026. It loses points for what cannot be read. No release date, no support window, no compliance-mode statement for a RING version and no price could be found, and the file protocols that older collateral describes are missing from the current product page. The 2026 direction is almost entirely AI announcements. A buyer should ask Scality for the RING 9.5 release notes, the Object Lock modes it supports and the status of NFS and SMB before treating the vendor claims as capability.", "report": "/reports/object-storage-ledger-2026/scality-ring", "ai": { "infra": { "2015": 1, "2016": 1, "2017": 1, "2018": 1, "2019": 1, "2020": 1, "2021": 1, "2022": 2, "2023": 2, "2024": 2, "2025": 2, "2026": 2.5 }, "stack": { "2015": 0, "2016": 0, "2017": 0, "2018": 0, "2019": 0, "2020": 0, "2021": 0, "2022": 0, "2023": 0, "2024": 0, "2025": 0, "2026": 1.5 }, "ops": { "2015": 0, "2016": 0, "2017": 0, "2018": 0, "2019": 0, "2020": 0, "2021": 0, "2022": 0, "2023": 0, "2024": 0, "2025": 0, "2026": 2 }, "agents": { "2015": 1.5, "2016": 1.5, "2017": 1.5, "2018": 1.5, "2019": 1.5, "2020": 1.5, "2021": 1.5, "2022": 1.5, "2023": 1.5, "2024": 1.5, "2025": 1.5, "2026": 2 } }, "ai_basis": { "infra": "WEKA tiering partnership (2026-02) and an RDMA KV cache connector in ADI with no GA statement; no GPUDirect or S3 over RDMA GA found", "stack": "AI Inference Factory with open-weight models, sold as a licence or managed service (vendor, 2026-10-08); whether it runs on RING and its GA status are unverified", "ops": "ADI Guardian AI agents with human approval, available through partners (vendor, 2026-05-12); no version and no GA label, so scored below a GA assistant", "agents": "ADI lists MCP extensibility (vendor); no documented MCP server for RING found" }, "ai_ledger": { "announced": 5, "ga": 2, "preview": 1, "pending": 2, "dropped": 0, "note": "ADI and the AI Inference Factory are \"available now\" on the vendor's word; the RDMA KV cache connector has no GA statement; the F5 and WEKA partnerships are announcements without a product to check." }, "ai_reading": "Scality's AI effort in 2026 sits in ADI and the AI Inference Factory, both described as available through partners without version numbers or release notes a buyer can read. RING itself contributes an NVMe tier and tiering partnerships. Nothing here has been verified beyond the press release, so every AI point is provisional until a readable release note appears.", "mom": 3.9, "credT": 13.5, "commT": 13, "lockT": 11.5, "integT": 12.5 }, { "key": "rustfs", "name": "RustFS", "short": "RustFS", "kind": "product", "group": "opensource", "since": 2025, "archetype": "Sharp opportunist, young product", "grade": "B", "driver": "M", "mix": { "V": 18, "C": 36, "M": 45, "U": 0, "P": 0 }, "idx": 0.18, "domains": { "api": { "2025": 0.5, "2026": 3 }, "immutability": { "2025": 0, "2026": 2 }, "durability": { "2025": 0.5, "2026": 3 }, "perf": { "2025": 0.5, "2026": 2.5 }, "deploy": { "2025": 0.5, "2026": 4 }, "security": { "2025": 0.5, "2026": 3 }, "ops": { "2025": 0.5, "2026": 3 }, "protocols": { "2025": 0, "2026": 3.5 }, "lifecycle": { "2025": 0.5, "2026": 3 }, "ecosystem": { "2025": 2, "2026": 3.5 } }, "cred": [ [ "Cadence", 3.5, "Frequent tags; beta in April 2026, release candidates in August, GA on 2026-09-16; no published rhythm" ], [ "Roadmap transparency", 3, "Public release notes and a README matrix that marks each feature Available or Preview; direction only in the GA post; no roadmap" ], [ "Say-do", 2.5, "GA arrived on the vendor's own timeline; Object Lock is listed as Available but missing from the GA post; S3 Vectors and RustFS 2.0 have no dates" ], [ "Velocity", 4, "Large changes in each release candidate and patch since September 2026" ], [ "Lifecycle stability", 1.5, "No support window; 1.0 is weeks old and a preview line already runs beside it" ] ], "comm": [ [ "Price and licence volatility", 1, "Apache 2.0 since the source opened; no prices published, so no history to judge" ], [ "Purchase constraints", 1, "No purchase needed; no paid tier exists" ], [ "Channel and access", 1.5, "Open download; enterprise support only by email contact" ], [ "Owner stability", 4, "Company founded in 2024 per its website; country, investors and funding not public" ], [ "Cost of staying supported", 3, "No support terms or release windows published" ] ], "risk": "commercial", "lock": [ [ "Formats", 2, "Own on-disk layout; MinIO-encrypted objects are not readable by RustFS (README)" ], [ "Export path", 1, "S3 API read-out" ], [ "Stack coupling", 1.5, "Own cluster and pools; any network" ], [ "Hardware / cloud coupling", 0, "Any server on amd64 or arm64" ], [ "Skills and tooling coupling", 1.5, "S3 skills transfer; RustFS-specific operations are new to most teams" ] ], "integ": [ [ "Partner programme openness", 1.5, "No partner programme found; Apache 2.0 lets integrators package and support it freely" ], [ "Multi-tenancy and self-service", 2.5, "Multi-tenancy, IAM and OIDC listed as Available in the README" ], [ "API and infrastructure-as-code", 2.5, "S3 and admin API, Helm chart; Terraform provider not found" ], [ "Skills and certification", 0.5, "No training or certification found" ] ], "alt": null, "ranked": true, "reading": "RustFS scores as a broad but young S3 server: its README lists versioning, lifecycle, replication, IAM, OIDC, KMS and several file protocols as available, and half of the domains land at 3 on that basis. Performance stays at 2.5 because no sizing guide, scale reference or benchmark with numbers was found, and immutability at 2 because Object Lock appears only in the README and not in the 1.0.0 announcement. Commercial risk sits with the owner: the code is Apache 2.0 with no paid tier, while RustFS, Inc. has not published its country, its funding or any support terms. A buyer should test object lock, healing and upgrades between 1.0 releases on their own hardware before trusting it with backups.", "report": "/reports/object-storage-ledger-2026/rustfs", "ai": { "infra": { "2025": 0.5, "2026": 1 }, "stack": { "2025": 0, "2026": 0.5 }, "ops": { "2025": 0, "2026": 0 }, "agents": { "2025": 1, "2026": 2.5 } }, "ai_basis": { "infra": "S3 store positioned for data lakes and AI; no GPUDirect or RDMA; NVIDIA Inception is a programme membership", "stack": "S3 Tables with an Iceberg REST catalog in preview (2026-09-10); S3 Vectors and RustFS 2.0 announced without dates", "ops": "None", "agents": "S3 and admin APIs; MCP named among protocols in the GA post (vendor claim); release status, identity and audit controls not verified" }, "ai_ledger": { "announced": 4, "ga": 0, "preview": 1, "pending": 3, "dropped": 0, "note": "S3 Tables is in preview; S3 Vectors, RustFS 2.0 and the MCP interface have no verified release status; NVIDIA Inception membership is a programme statement with nothing to check." }, "ai_reading": "RustFS markets itself for AI and data lakes, but none of its AI items has reached GA: S3 Tables is a preview, S3 Vectors and a RustFS 2.0 are undated, and MCP support is named without a release status. It has no AI in its own operations.", "mom": 50, "credT": 14.5, "commT": 10.5, "lockT": 6, "integT": 7 }, { "key": "hitachi-hcp", "name": "Hitachi Content Platform and VSP One Object", "short": "Hitachi HCP", "kind": "product", "group": "appliance", "since": 2015, "archetype": "Integrated stack", "grade": "B", "driver": "P", "mix": { "V": 14, "C": 21, "M": 21, "U": 0, "P": 43 }, "idx": 0.25, "domains": { "api": { "2015": 2.5, "2016": 2.5, "2017": 2.5, "2018": 2.5, "2019": 3, "2020": 3, "2021": 3, "2022": 3, "2023": 3, "2024": 3, "2025": 3.5, "2026": 3.5 }, "immutability": { "2015": 0, "2016": 0, "2017": 0, "2018": 0, "2019": 0, "2020": 0, "2021": 0, "2022": 0, "2023": 0, "2024": 0, "2025": 3.5, "2026": 3.5 }, "durability": { "2015": 3.5, "2016": 3.5, "2017": 3.5, "2018": 3.5, "2019": 4, "2020": 4, "2021": 4, "2022": 4, "2023": 4, "2024": 4, "2025": 4, "2026": 4 }, "perf": { "2015": 3, "2016": 3, "2017": 3, "2018": 3, "2019": 3, "2020": 3, "2021": 3, "2022": 3, "2023": 3, "2024": 3.5, "2025": 3.5, "2026": 4 }, "deploy": { "2015": 2, "2016": 2, "2017": 2, "2018": 2, "2019": 2, "2020": 2, "2021": 2, "2022": 2, "2023": 2, "2024": 2, "2025": 2, "2026": 2 }, "security": { "2015": 3.5, "2016": 3.5, "2017": 3.5, "2018": 3.5, "2019": 3.5, "2020": 3.5, "2021": 3.5, "2022": 3.5, "2023": 3.5, "2024": 3.5, "2025": 4, "2026": 4 }, "ops": { "2015": 3, "2016": 3, "2017": 3, "2018": 3, "2019": 3, "2020": 3, "2021": 3, "2022": 3, "2023": 3, "2024": 3, "2025": 3, "2026": 3.5 }, "protocols": { "2015": 3, "2016": 3, "2017": 3, "2018": 3, "2019": 3, "2020": 3, "2021": 3, "2022": 3, "2023": 3, "2024": 3, "2025": 3, "2026": 3 }, "lifecycle": { "2015": 3, "2016": 3, "2017": 3, "2018": 3, "2019": 3, "2020": 3, "2021": 3, "2022": 3, "2023": 3, "2024": 3, "2025": 3, "2026": 3 }, "ecosystem": { "2015": 1.5, "2016": 1.5, "2017": 1.5, "2018": 1.5, "2019": 1.5, "2020": 1.5, "2021": 1.5, "2022": 1.5, "2023": 1.5, "2024": 1.5, "2025": 1.5, "2026": 1.5 } }, "cred": [ [ "Cadence", 3, "Dated release notes about twice a year: VSP One Object 3.2 (2025-10) and 3.3 (2026-05), HCP 10.0 (2025-11) and 10.0.1 (2026-05)" ], [ "Roadmap transparency", 2, "HCP release notes PDFs are public; VSP One Object notes return HTTP 401; no roadmap" ], [ "Say-do", 3, "Object Lock and table buckets reached the spec sheet; VSP One Block QLC and TLC support is still unconfirmed" ], [ "Velocity", 3, "O14 servers, Object Lock, table buckets and VSP 360 in about a year; 3.3 itself has no major new features" ], [ "Lifecycle stability", 2.5, "Three overlapping object lines with a successor line; KVM and HSwift support removed" ] ], "comm": [ [ "Price and licence volatility", 2.5, "No public prices, so changes cannot be seen; term licence on ingested capacity" ], [ "Purchase constraints", 3.5, "36 or 60 month term licence, four node minimum, packaged hardware" ], [ "Channel and access", 3, "Direct and partners; VSP One Object release notes behind a login" ], [ "Owner stability", 3, "CEO change on 2026-04-01, executive departures in 2026 and an unconfirmed sale report (2026-01); the parent is a large listed group" ], [ "Cost of staying supported", 3, "Term licence renewals; hardware generations G10, G11 and O12 replace each other; end of support dates not found" ] ], "risk": "commercial", "lock": [ [ "Formats", 3, "Proprietary object layout; data leaves through S3, HCP REST, NFS or CIFS" ], [ "Export path", 1.5, "Standard S3 and REST reads and replication; no export tooling found" ], [ "Stack coupling", 3, "Own microservices stack on every node" ], [ "Hardware / cloud coupling", 3.5, "Named Supermicro or HPE servers for VSP One Object; HCP VM on VMware ESXi only since KVM support ended" ], [ "Skills and tooling coupling", 3, "Hitachi-specific tooling and VSP 360; smaller skills pool than the larger storage vendors" ] ], "integ": [ [ "Partner programme openness", 3, "Hitachi partner channel exists; terms not verified" ], [ "Multi-tenancy and self-service", 3.5, "HCP: up to 1,000 tenants, 10,000 namespaces and 10,000 users per tenant (P limits); VSP One Object tenancy model not read" ], [ "API and infrastructure-as-code", 2.5, "S3 and REST management APIs; no Terraform or Ansible found" ], [ "Skills and certification", 3, "An HCP certification exam exists (search result)" ] ], "alt": null, "ranked": true, "reading": "Hitachi scores on what HCP built over many years: geo-distributed erasure coding across up to six sites, 1,000 tenants per system and a security list that now includes KMIP, FIPS 140-3 and SAML. Immutability rests on VSP One Object, which documents only compliance mode and needs MD5 for Veeam, while the Cohasset assessment is a vendor statement about classic HCP. Deployment is the weakest domain: packaged Supermicro or HPE servers, and an HCP VM that lost KVM support. A buyer should ask Hitachi which line the quote covers, HCP or VSP One Object, and get its Object Lock modes and end of support dates in writing.", "report": "/reports/object-storage-ledger-2026/hitachi-hcp", "ai": { "infra": { "2015": 1, "2016": 1, "2017": 1, "2018": 1, "2019": 1, "2020": 1, "2021": 1, "2022": 1, "2023": 1, "2024": 1, "2025": 1.5, "2026": 1.5 }, "stack": { "2015": 0, "2016": 0, "2017": 0, "2018": 0, "2019": 0, "2020": 0, "2021": 0, "2022": 0, "2023": 0, "2024": 0, "2025": 2, "2026": 2 }, "ops": { "2015": 0, "2016": 0, "2017": 0, "2018": 0, "2019": 0, "2020": 0, "2021": 0, "2022": 0, "2023": 0, "2024": 0, "2025": 0, "2026": 0 }, "agents": { "2015": 1.5, "2016": 1.5, "2017": 1.5, "2018": 1.5, "2019": 1.5, "2020": 1.5, "2021": 1.5, "2022": 1.5, "2023": 1.5, "2024": 1.5, "2025": 1.5, "2026": 1.5 } }, "ai_basis": { "infra": "VSP One Object with NVMe metadata and \"AI optimized data paths\" (vendor wording); no GPUDirect or S3 over RDMA found", "stack": "VSP One Object: S3 table buckets with an Apache Iceberg catalog and a PII detection service in the spec sheet; embedded SQL engine is a vendor claim; GA date not stated", "ops": "None found", "agents": "S3 and REST management APIs; no MCP server found" }, "ai_ledger": { "announced": 3, "ga": 2, "preview": 0, "pending": 1, "dropped": 0, "note": "Table buckets and PII detection appear in the 2026-08 spec sheet; \"AI optimized data paths\" has no feature definition behind it." }, "ai_reading": "Hitachi's AI case for VSP One Object is the data lakehouse: table buckets, an Iceberg catalog and a PII detection service. There is no GPU data path, no AI in operations and no agent interface beyond the APIs.", "mom": 14.3, "credT": 13.5, "commT": 15, "lockT": 14, "integT": 12 }, { "key": "qumulo", "name": "Qumulo Core S3 API", "short": "Qumulo", "kind": "product", "group": "filefirst", "since": 2015, "archetype": "Sharp opportunist", "grade": "C", "driver": "M", "mix": { "V": 25, "C": 25, "M": 50, "U": 0, "P": 0 }, "idx": 0.25, "domains": { "api": { "2015": 0, "2016": 0, "2017": 0, "2018": 0, "2019": 0, "2020": 0, "2021": 0, "2022": 2, "2023": 2, "2024": 2.5, "2025": 2.5, "2026": 2.5 }, "immutability": { "2015": 0, "2016": 0, "2017": 0, "2018": 0, "2019": 0, "2020": 0, "2021": 0, "2022": 0, "2023": 0, "2024": 2, "2025": 2, "2026": 2.5 }, "durability": { "2015": 3, "2016": 3, "2017": 3, "2018": 3, "2019": 3, "2020": 3, "2021": 3, "2022": 3, "2023": 3, "2024": 3.5, "2025": 3.5, "2026": 3.5 }, "perf": { "2015": 3, "2016": 3, "2017": 3, "2018": 3, "2019": 3, "2020": 3, "2021": 3, "2022": 3, "2023": 3, "2024": 3, "2025": 3.5, "2026": 3.5 }, "deploy": { "2015": 2, "2016": 2, "2017": 2, "2018": 2, "2019": 2.5, "2020": 2.5, "2021": 2.5, "2022": 2.5, "2023": 2.5, "2024": 2.5, "2025": 3.5, "2026": 3.5 }, "security": { "2015": 1.5, "2016": 1.5, "2017": 1.5, "2018": 1.5, "2019": 1.5, "2020": 2, "2021": 2, "2022": 2, "2023": 2, "2024": 2.5, "2025": 2.5, "2026": 2.5 }, "ops": { "2015": 3, "2016": 3, "2017": 3, "2018": 3, "2019": 3, "2020": 3, "2021": 3, "2022": 3, "2023": 3, "2024": 3, "2025": 3.5, "2026": 3.5 }, "protocols": { "2015": 3.5, "2016": 3.5, "2017": 3.5, "2018": 3.5, "2019": 3.5, "2020": 3.5, "2021": 3.5, "2022": 3.5, "2023": 3.5, "2024": 3.5, "2025": 3.5, "2026": 3.5 }, "lifecycle": { "2015": 1, "2016": 1, "2017": 1, "2018": 1, "2019": 1, "2020": 2, "2021": 2, "2022": 2, "2023": 2, "2024": 2, "2025": 2, "2026": 2 }, "ecosystem": { "2015": 1, "2016": 1, "2017": 1, "2018": 1, "2019": 1, "2020": 1, "2021": 1, "2022": 1.5, "2023": 1.5, "2024": 1.5, "2025": 1.5, "2026": 1.5 } }, "cred": [ [ "Cadence", 3.5, "The feature log shows quarterly releases (7.5.0.3 to 7.10.0.2) with maintenance releases between them; no dates published" ], [ "Roadmap transparency", 2.5, "Public administrator guide and feature log; no roadmap; AI direction only in press releases" ], [ "Say-do", 3, "The Veeam v13 certification was claimed as completed; the AI items of 2025-11 to 2026-07 have no GA dates to check" ], [ "Velocity", 3.5, "S3 work in most releases: conditional writes in 7.9.0.4, multipart and versioning fixes, an ObjectLockEnabled setting in 7.5.3" ], [ "Lifecycle stability", 3, "Stable product naming and a quarterly scheme; support windows not published; CEO change in 2024" ] ], "comm": [ [ "Price and licence volatility", 2.5, "No public prices, so changes cannot be seen; no licence change found" ], [ "Purchase constraints", 3, "Sold with qualified hardware or as a cloud subscription; metric not published" ], [ "Channel and access", 2.5, "Documentation and feature log public; sold through Cisco, Arrow, HPE, Supermicro and cloud marketplaces" ], [ "Owner stability", 3, "Private; last public round was a Series E of USD 125 million in 2020-07; CEO change 2024-07-09" ], [ "Cost of staying supported", 3, "Support windows and renewal terms not found" ] ], "risk": "commercial", "lock": [ [ "Formats", 3, "Proprietary file system; each object is a file, so data stays readable over SMB, NFS and S3" ], [ "Export path", 1, "SMB, NFS and S3 reach the same data; Shift copies files to Amazon S3" ], [ "Stack coupling", 3, "Own file system stack on every node" ], [ "Hardware / cloud coupling", 2, "Qualified hardware from Cisco, Arrow, HPE and Supermicro, Run Anywhere x86, or AWS, Azure and Google Cloud" ], [ "Skills and tooling coupling", 2.5, "Standard NAS and S3 skills; qq CLI and vendor tooling for operations" ] ], "integ": [ [ "Partner programme openness", 3, "Hardware partners Cisco (recommended), Arrow, HPE and Supermicro, plus cloud marketplaces; partner terms not found" ], [ "Multi-tenancy and self-service", 2.5, "Up to 16,000 buckets, access keys and per-bucket policies; tenant isolation and quotas for S3 not read" ], [ "API and infrastructure-as-code", 3, "REST API and qq CLI cover administration; Terraform not verified" ], [ "Skills and certification", 2.5, "No public certification found" ] ], "alt": null, "ranked": true, "reading": "Qumulo scores as a file platform that also speaks S3: the protocols, deployment and operations rows carry it, while the S3 API and immutability rows sit below the object-first products. The S3 surface is narrow by design, with no lifecycle rules, no STS, path-style addressing only, no SSE selection and Object Lock in compliance mode only. Durability and performance are grade C, because erasure coding and replication were not read for this edition and the throughput figure is a vendor claim. A buyer planning to use it as a backup target should confirm with Qumulo whether bucket default retention works and get the Veeam v13 certification record for the Core version they will run.", "report": "/reports/object-storage-ledger-2026/qumulo", "ai": { "infra": { "2015": 1, "2016": 1, "2017": 1, "2018": 1, "2019": 1, "2020": 1, "2021": 1, "2022": 1, "2023": 1, "2024": 1, "2025": 2, "2026": 2 }, "stack": { "2015": 0, "2016": 0, "2017": 0, "2018": 0, "2019": 0, "2020": 0, "2021": 0, "2022": 0, "2023": 0, "2024": 0, "2025": 0.5, "2026": 0.5 }, "ops": { "2015": 0, "2016": 0, "2017": 0, "2018": 0, "2019": 0, "2020": 0, "2021": 0, "2022": 0, "2023": 0, "2024": 0, "2025": 1, "2026": 1 }, "agents": { "2015": 2, "2016": 2, "2017": 2, "2018": 2, "2019": 2, "2020": 2, "2021": 2, "2022": 2, "2023": 2, "2024": 2, "2025": 2, "2026": 2 } }, "ai_basis": { "infra": "Cloud Native Qumulo at 1.6 TB/s on AWS and NeuralCache predictive caching (vendor claims, year approximate); no GPUDirect or S3 over RDMA found", "stack": "Helios AI Agent (2025-11-21) and NeuralSearch with a Databricks partnership (2026-07-24) announced; GA not read, so half a step", "ops": "Nexus described as an AI-assisted management portal on the products page; what it does and its release status were not read", "agents": "REST API and qq CLI cover all administration; no MCP server found" }, "ai_ledger": { "announced": 3, "ga": 0, "preview": 0, "pending": 3, "dropped": 0, "note": "Helios AI Agent, Cloud AI Accelerator and NeuralSearch appear as products on the vendor site, but no release note or GA date was read, so all three count as pending." }, "ai_reading": "Qumulo's AI story is a set of named products on its website (NeuralCache, NeuralSearch, Helios AI Agent, Cloud AI Accelerator, Nexus) with no release note or GA date read for any of them. Until their status can be checked they score half a step to one step at most, and there is no MCP server.", "mom": 13.9, "credT": 15.5, "commT": 14, "lockT": 11.5, "integT": 11 }, { "key": "scality-artesca", "name": "Scality ARTESCA", "short": "ARTESCA", "kind": "product", "group": "commercial", "since": 2021, "archetype": "Sharp opportunist", "grade": "B", "driver": "M", "mix": { "V": 0, "C": 36, "M": 45, "U": 0, "P": 18 }, "idx": 0, "domains": { "api": { "2021": 3, "2022": 3, "2023": 3.5, "2024": 3.5, "2025": 3.5, "2026": 4 }, "immutability": { "2021": 2.5, "2022": 2.5, "2023": 3.5, "2024": 3.5, "2025": 3.5, "2026": 4 }, "durability": { "2021": 3, "2022": 3, "2023": 3, "2024": 3.5, "2025": 3.5, "2026": 3.5 }, "perf": { "2021": 2.5, "2022": 2.5, "2023": 2.5, "2024": 3, "2025": 3, "2026": 3 }, "deploy": { "2021": 3, "2022": 3, "2023": 3.5, "2024": 3.5, "2025": 3.5, "2026": 3.5 }, "security": { "2021": 3, "2022": 3, "2023": 3, "2024": 3.5, "2025": 3.5, "2026": 3.5 }, "ops": { "2021": 2.5, "2022": 2.5, "2023": 3, "2024": 3, "2025": 3, "2026": 3.5 }, "protocols": { "2021": 0, "2022": 0, "2023": 0, "2024": 0, "2025": 0, "2026": 0 }, "lifecycle": { "2021": 2, "2022": 2, "2023": 2, "2024": 2, "2025": 2, "2026": 2 }, "ecosystem": { "2021": 1.5, "2022": 1.5, "2023": 1.5, "2024": 1.5, "2025": 1.5, "2026": 1.5 } }, "cred": [ [ "Cadence", 3, "2.0 (2023-05), 3.0 (2024-05), 4.0 (by 2025-07), 4.1 and 4.2 (by 2026-06): about one major a year, dates not published" ], [ "Roadmap transparency", 1.5, "Documentation behind an SSO login; direction in press releases and one sponsored preview" ], [ "Say-do", 3.5, "Appliance, pay-as-you-go, ARTESCA+ Veeam, guarantee and Maestro all shipped as announced; the 3.0 delivery date and the Maestro SaaS plan are open" ], [ "Velocity", 3.5, "A capability wave per major: Object Lock and OVA in 2.0, CORE5 in 3.0, HA and the Veeam appliance in 2025 and 2026" ], [ "Lifecycle stability", 3, "Moved from a Kubernetes product on MetalK8s to an appliance-style product in 2023; support windows not published" ] ], "comm": [ [ "Price and licence volatility", 2, "Pay-as-you-go added in 2025 beside subscriptions; nothing withdrawn; the 2023 entry price is the only public figure" ], [ "Purchase constraints", 2.5, "Subscription only; 50 TB minimum for provider billing and for the cyber guarantee; small entry sizes exist" ], [ "Channel and access", 3, "Sold through partners and distributors; documentation and downloads behind a login; free trial" ], [ "Owner stability", 2.5, "Private, venture-backed Scality; no acquisition found; last disclosed round 2018" ], [ "Cost of staying supported", 2.5, "Support windows not published; the guarantee requires a current release, which pushes upgrades" ] ], "risk": "commercial", "lock": [ [ "Formats", 3, "Proprietary erasure-coded layout; data leaves through the S3 API" ], [ "Export path", 1.5, "Standard S3 reads and replication to other Scality sites; no export tooling found" ], [ "Stack coupling", 2.5, "Own storage stack on a hardened Linux or Kubernetes base; the Veeam appliance couples the backup server to it" ], [ "Hardware / cloud coupling", 1.5, "Validated x86 servers from five vendors, a vSphere OVA or a turnkey appliance; no public cloud form" ], [ "Skills and tooling coupling", 2.5, "Vendor tooling and Maestro; the appliance hides most operations" ] ], "integ": [ [ "Partner programme openness", 3.5, "Channel programme refreshed 2026-06; distribution through Ingram Micro, Carahsoft, TD Synnex and Arrow; all sales through partners (vendor)" ], [ "Multi-tenancy and self-service", 3, "Maestro aggregates fleets and billing data for providers; tenant quotas and QoS not found" ], [ "API and infrastructure-as-code", 2.5, "S3 and IAM APIs; no Terraform or Ansible content found" ], [ "Skills and certification", 2.5, "Vendor training; no public certification track found" ] ], "alt": null, "ranked": true, "reading": "ARTESCA scores where a backup target needs to: both lock modes, a Veeam Ready record that runs from 1.x to Backup & Replication 13, a hardened appliance form and a guarantee that puts money behind compliance mode. It scores low on breadth. There is no file protocol, no documented tiering, no public cloud form and no readable release note, and the only backup vendor validation found is Veeam. The move from Kubernetes product to appliance in 2023 was a reset buyers should know about. The one thing to check is the Object Lock and lifecycle behaviour with the backup software you actually run, because every published validation is Veeam's.", "report": "/reports/object-storage-ledger-2026/scality-artesca", "ai": { "infra": { "2021": 1, "2022": 1, "2023": 1, "2024": 1, "2025": 1, "2026": 1 }, "stack": { "2021": 0, "2022": 0, "2023": 0, "2024": 0, "2025": 0, "2026": 0 }, "ops": { "2021": 0, "2022": 0, "2023": 0, "2024": 0, "2025": 0, "2026": 0 }, "agents": { "2021": 1.5, "2022": 1.5, "2023": 1.5, "2024": 1.5, "2025": 1.5, "2026": 1.5 } }, "ai_basis": { "infra": "Backup target on NVMe nodes; no AI-specific feature claimed for ARTESCA", "stack": "None", "ops": "None", "agents": "S3 and IAM APIs that scripts and agents can drive; no MCP server" }, "ai_ledger": { "announced": 0, "ga": 0, "preview": 0, "pending": 0, "dropped": 0, "note": "Scality's AI announcements of 2026 concern ADI, the AI Inference Factory and RING; none names ARTESCA." }, "ai_reading": "ARTESCA makes no AI claims of its own and the product page carries none. Scality's AI work is scored under RING, so this entry has no AI say-do record to check.", "mom": 13, "credT": 14.5, "commT": 12.5, "lockT": 11, "integT": 11.5 }, { "key": "quantum-activescale", "name": "Quantum ActiveScale", "short": "ActiveScale", "kind": "product", "group": "appliance", "since": 2015, "archetype": "Dependable builder", "grade": "B", "driver": "C", "mix": { "V": 0, "C": 50, "M": 50, "U": 0, "P": 0 }, "idx": 0, "domains": { "api": { "2015": 2, "2016": 2, "2017": 2, "2018": 2, "2019": 3, "2020": 3, "2021": 3, "2022": 3, "2023": 3, "2024": 3.5, "2025": 3.5, "2026": 3.5 }, "immutability": { "2015": 0, "2016": 0, "2017": 0, "2018": 0, "2019": 0, "2020": 0, "2021": 2.5, "2022": 2.5, "2023": 2.5, "2024": 3, "2025": 3, "2026": 3 }, "durability": { "2015": 3.5, "2016": 3.5, "2017": 3.5, "2018": 3.5, "2019": 4, "2020": 4, "2021": 4, "2022": 4, "2023": 4, "2024": 4, "2025": 4, "2026": 4 }, "perf": { "2015": 2.5, "2016": 2.5, "2017": 2.5, "2018": 2.5, "2019": 3, "2020": 3, "2021": 3, "2022": 3, "2023": 3, "2024": 3.5, "2025": 3.5, "2026": 3.5 }, "deploy": { "2015": 1.5, "2016": 1.5, "2017": 1.5, "2018": 1.5, "2019": 1.5, "2020": 1.5, "2021": 1.5, "2022": 1.5, "2023": 1.5, "2024": 2, "2025": 2, "2026": 2 }, "security": { "2015": 2, "2016": 2, "2017": 2, "2018": 2, "2019": 2, "2020": 2, "2021": 2, "2022": 2, "2023": 2, "2024": 2.5, "2025": 2.5, "2026": 2.5 }, "ops": { "2015": 2.5, "2016": 2.5, "2017": 2.5, "2018": 2.5, "2019": 3, "2020": 3, "2021": 3, "2022": 3, "2023": 3, "2024": 3, "2025": 3, "2026": 3 }, "protocols": { "2015": 0, "2016": 0, "2017": 0, "2018": 0, "2019": 0, "2020": 0, "2021": 0, "2022": 0, "2023": 0, "2024": 2.5, "2025": 2.5, "2026": 2.5 }, "lifecycle": { "2015": 2, "2016": 2, "2017": 2, "2018": 2, "2019": 3, "2020": 3, "2021": 3, "2022": 3, "2023": 3, "2024": 4, "2025": 4.5, "2026": 4.5 }, "ecosystem": { "2015": 1.5, "2016": 1.5, "2017": 1.5, "2018": 1.5, "2019": 1.5, "2020": 1.5, "2021": 1.5, "2022": 1.5, "2023": 1.5, "2024": 1.5, "2025": 1.5, "2026": 1.5 } }, "cred": [ [ "Cadence", 3.5, "7.0 (2024-03), 7.1 (2025-02), 7.2 (2025-08), 7.3.0 (2026-05) and 7.3.1 (2026-07), each with a dated public PDF" ], [ "Roadmap transparency", 2, "Public release notes and limits; no roadmap" ], [ "Say-do", 3.5, "Every dated item found shipped (Z200, IAM, ranged restore, admin MFA, Veeam 13 listing); few forward promises exist to test" ], [ "Velocity", 3, "Z200, IAM, MFA and ranged restore across 24 months; 7.3.x is maintenance" ], [ "Lifecycle stability", 2.5, "Upgrades only from recent releases and no downgrade; Ubuntu 20.04 base in 2025; company management turnover" ] ], "comm": [ [ "Price and licence volatility", 2.5, "No public prices, so changes cannot be seen; the 7.2 refresh kept pricing" ], [ "Purchase constraints", 3.5, "Three or four node appliance minimum on qualified hardware; quote only" ], [ "Channel and access", 2.5, "Public release notes and documentation; downloads and support through MyQuantum" ], [ "Owner stability", 3.5, "CEO and CFO changes in 2025, a debt buyout and losses, then reported revenue growth and debt elimination in 2026 (vendor)" ], [ "Cost of staying supported", 3, "End of support dates not found; hardware generations P100 and X100 replaced by P200 and X200" ] ], "risk": "commercial", "lock": [ [ "Formats", 3, "Proprietary two-dimensional erasure coding layout; data leaves through S3 or NFS" ], [ "Export path", 1.5, "S3 and NFS reads, bucket replication; no export tooling found" ], [ "Stack coupling", 3, "Own software stack on every node" ], [ "Hardware / cloud coupling", 3.5, "Quantum platforms or qualified Supermicro and Cisco servers only; tape tier on LTO libraries" ], [ "Skills and tooling coupling", 3, "Quantum-specific console and tooling; small skills pool" ] ], "integ": [ [ "Partner programme openness", 2.5, "Service providers such as ASI Solutions and media partners are named; programme terms not found" ], [ "Multi-tenancy and self-service", 3, "Up to 5 million accounts and users and 5 million buckets, IAM domains and groups, CSV import of accounts (limits table)" ], [ "API and infrastructure-as-code", 2.5, "REST API and CLI; no Terraform or Ansible found" ], [ "Skills and certification", 2, "No ActiveScale certification found" ] ], "alt": null, "ranked": true, "reading": "ActiveScale's strongest domain is lifecycle, built on a Glacier storage class on tape with ranged restore. Its release notes are public and dated, so the 2024 to 2026 steps rest on primary text: Z200 all-flash and IAM in 7.0, IAM conditions and ranged restore in 7.1, admin MFA in 7.2. Security and deployment stay low, with no federation, external KMS or software-only build found. Commercial risk is among the highest in this Ledger because of Quantum's 2025 management and debt changes, even after the reported debt elimination in 2026. A buyer should ask Quantum which Object Lock mode ActiveScale applies and whether legal hold is supported, and read the FY2026 annual report before signing a multi-year contract.", "report": "/reports/object-storage-ledger-2026/quantum-activescale", "ai": { "infra": { "2015": 1, "2016": 1, "2017": 1, "2018": 1, "2019": 1, "2020": 1, "2021": 1, "2022": 1, "2023": 1, "2024": 1.5, "2025": 1.5, "2026": 1.5 }, "stack": { "2015": 0, "2016": 0, "2017": 0, "2018": 0, "2019": 0, "2020": 0, "2021": 0, "2022": 0, "2023": 0, "2024": 0, "2025": 0, "2026": 0 }, "ops": { "2015": 0, "2016": 0, "2017": 0, "2018": 0, "2019": 1, "2020": 1, "2021": 1, "2022": 1, "2023": 1, "2024": 1, "2025": 1, "2026": 1 }, "agents": { "2015": 1.5, "2016": 1.5, "2017": 1.5, "2018": 1.5, "2019": 1.5, "2020": 1.5, "2021": 1.5, "2022": 1.5, "2023": 1.5, "2024": 1.5, "2025": 1.5, "2026": 1.5 } }, "ai_basis": { "infra": "7.0: Z200 NVMe all-flash nodes; no GPUDirect or S3 over RDMA found", "stack": "None", "ops": "Cloud Based Analytics for monitoring, rule based (introducing year grade C)", "agents": "S3 and REST management APIs and CLI; no MCP server found" }, "ai_ledger": { "announced": 0, "ga": 0, "preview": 0, "pending": 0, "dropped": 0, "note": "No AI feature was announced for ActiveScale from 2023 to 2026; AI appears only in positioning and in the CEO's comments on demand." }, "ai_reading": "ActiveScale treats AI as a reason to keep more data: an all-flash tier and a tape-backed cold tier for training sets. There is no GPU data path, no AI in operations beyond rule-based analytics and no agent interface beyond the APIs.", "mom": 11.5, "credT": 14.5, "commT": 15, "lockT": 14, "integT": 10 }, { "key": "datacore-swarm", "name": "DataCore Swarm (formerly Caringo)", "short": "Swarm", "kind": "product", "group": "commercial", "since": 2015, "archetype": "Sharp opportunist", "grade": "B", "driver": "M", "mix": { "V": 13, "C": 25, "M": 38, "U": 0, "P": 25 }, "idx": 0.17, "domains": { "api": { "2015": 2.5, "2016": 2.5, "2017": 2.5, "2018": 2.5, "2019": 3, "2020": 3, "2021": 3, "2022": 3, "2023": 3, "2024": 3, "2025": 3, "2026": 3 }, "immutability": { "2015": 0, "2016": 0, "2017": 0, "2018": 0, "2019": 0, "2020": 0, "2021": 0, "2022": 3, "2023": 3.5, "2024": 3.5, "2025": 3.5, "2026": 3.5 }, "durability": { "2015": 3.5, "2016": 3.5, "2017": 3.5, "2018": 3.5, "2019": 4, "2020": 4, "2021": 4, "2022": 4, "2023": 4, "2024": 4, "2025": 4, "2026": 4 }, "perf": { "2015": 2.5, "2016": 2.5, "2017": 2.5, "2018": 2.5, "2019": 2.5, "2020": 2.5, "2021": 2.5, "2022": 2.5, "2023": 2.5, "2024": 2.5, "2025": 2.5, "2026": 2.5 }, "deploy": { "2015": 3, "2016": 3, "2017": 3, "2018": 3, "2019": 3, "2020": 3, "2021": 3, "2022": 3, "2023": 3, "2024": 3.5, "2025": 3.5, "2026": 3.5 }, "security": { "2015": 2.5, "2016": 2.5, "2017": 2.5, "2018": 2.5, "2019": 3, "2020": 3, "2021": 3, "2022": 3, "2023": 3, "2024": 3, "2025": 3, "2026": 3 }, "ops": { "2015": 2.5, "2016": 2.5, "2017": 2.5, "2018": 2.5, "2019": 3, "2020": 3, "2021": 3, "2022": 3, "2023": 3, "2024": 3, "2025": 3, "2026": 3 }, "protocols": { "2015": 2, "2016": 2, "2017": 2, "2018": 2, "2019": 2, "2020": 2, "2021": 2, "2022": 2, "2023": 2, "2024": 2, "2025": 2, "2026": 2 }, "lifecycle": { "2015": 2, "2016": 2, "2017": 2, "2018": 2, "2019": 2.5, "2020": 2.5, "2021": 2.5, "2022": 2.5, "2023": 2.5, "2024": 2.5, "2025": 2.5, "2026": 2.5 }, "ecosystem": { "2015": 1.5, "2016": 1.5, "2017": 1.5, "2018": 1.5, "2019": 1.5, "2020": 1.5, "2021": 1.5, "2022": 1.5, "2023": 1.5, "2024": 1.5, "2025": 1.5, "2026": 1.5 } }, "cred": [ [ "Cadence", 3, "Swarm 16 (2023-12), 17.x and 18.0.0 (2026-07); most release dates are not published" ], [ "Roadmap transparency", 2.5, "Release notes and user guides in an open documentation space; no roadmap" ], [ "Say-do", 3.5, "Single node, the appliance, Veeam 13 support and Swarm 18 were all delivered; few forward promises exist to test" ], [ "Velocity", 2.5, "Few feature statements found for Swarm 17 and 18" ], [ "Lifecycle stability", 2.5, "Brand changes from Caringo to DataCore (documentation still under the perifery name); 17 and 18 run in parallel" ] ], "comm": [ [ "Price and licence volatility", 2, "Capacity term licences; no change found, and no public prices" ], [ "Purchase constraints", 2.5, "Term licences only; any quantity of capacity, any x86 hardware or the appliance" ], [ "Channel and access", 2.5, "Public documentation; direct and partner sales; downloads may need a support login (not verified)" ], [ "Owner stability", 3, "Private owner that keeps acquiring (Caringo 2021, Arcastream 2025); a 2026 report mentions a potential exit" ], [ "Cost of staying supported", 2, "Updates and 24x7 support included in the term licence (vendor)" ] ], "risk": "commercial", "lock": [ [ "Formats", 3, "Proprietary object layout from the CAStor heritage; data leaves through S3 or HTTP" ], [ "Export path", 1.5, "S3 and HTTP reads, replication; no export tooling found" ], [ "Stack coupling", 2.5, "Own storage stack booted on each node" ], [ "Hardware / cloud coupling", 1, "Any x86 server or the optional appliance; runs fully on-premises" ], [ "Skills and tooling coupling", 3, "SCSP, Content Gateway and lifepoint skills are scarce" ] ], "integ": [ [ "Partner programme openness", 2.5, "Direct and partner sales; programme terms not found" ], [ "Multi-tenancy and self-service", 3.5, "Domains and tenants with metered quotas and a self-service portal (vendor)" ], [ "API and infrastructure-as-code", 2.5, "REST APIs; no Terraform or Ansible found" ], [ "Skills and certification", 2, "No Swarm certification found" ] ], "alt": null, "ranked": true, "reading": "Swarm is software that installs on any x86 server, which keeps its hardware lock-in low and its deployment score above the appliances. Its immutability record covers two backup vendors, Veeam and NetBackup, with legal hold and layered retention limits documented, though the retention modes could not be read. Elsewhere the scores are held back by thin evidence: no scale figures, no S3 compatibility matrix, no external KMS and few dated feature lists for Swarm 16 to 18. A buyer should get DataCore's Retention Modes page and the Swarm 18 release notes, and ask how long the 17 and 18 lines will each receive updates.", "report": "/reports/object-storage-ledger-2026/datacore-swarm", "ai": { "infra": { "2015": 1, "2016": 1, "2017": 1, "2018": 1, "2019": 1, "2020": 1, "2021": 1, "2022": 1, "2023": 1, "2024": 1, "2025": 1, "2026": 1 }, "stack": { "2015": 0, "2016": 0, "2017": 0, "2018": 0, "2019": 0, "2020": 0, "2021": 0, "2022": 0, "2023": 0, "2024": 0, "2025": 0, "2026": 0 }, "ops": { "2015": 0, "2016": 0, "2017": 0, "2018": 0, "2019": 0, "2020": 0, "2021": 0, "2022": 0, "2023": 0, "2024": 0, "2025": 0, "2026": 0 }, "agents": { "2015": 1.5, "2016": 1.5, "2017": 1.5, "2018": 1.5, "2019": 1.5, "2020": 1.5, "2021": 1.5, "2022": 1.5, "2023": 1.5, "2024": 1.5, "2025": 1.5, "2026": 1.5 } }, "ai_basis": { "infra": "Capacity tier; nothing AI-specific", "stack": "None", "ops": "None; the 2026-09 portfolio announcement on agentic AI for IT operations is not GA and not Swarm specific", "agents": "S3, SCSP and REST management APIs; no MCP server found" }, "ai_ledger": { "announced": 1, "ga": 0, "preview": 0, "pending": 1, "dropped": 0, "note": "The only AI item is DataCore's portfolio-wide agentic AI for IT operations (2026-09), not tied to Swarm and not GA." }, "ai_reading": "Swarm has no AI feature on record; AI appears on DataCore's pages for Nexus and in a portfolio announcement. Its role in AI work is a capacity tier behind S3.", "mom": 2.2, "credT": 14, "commT": 12, "lockT": 11, "integT": 10.5 }, { "key": "zenko-cloudserver", "name": "Zenko CloudServer (Scality open-source S3 server)", "short": "CloudServer", "kind": "engine", "group": "engine", "since": 2016, "archetype": "Dependable builder, maintenance-led", "grade": "C", "driver": "C", "mix": { "V": 0, "C": 75, "M": 0, "U": 13, "P": 13 }, "idx": 0, "domains": { "api": { "2016": 2, "2017": 2, "2018": 2, "2019": 3, "2020": 3, "2021": 3.5, "2022": 3.5, "2023": 3.5, "2024": 3.5, "2025": 3.5, "2026": 3.5 }, "immutability": { "2016": 0, "2017": 0, "2018": 0, "2019": 0, "2020": 0, "2021": 2, "2022": 2, "2023": 2, "2024": 2, "2025": 2, "2026": 2 }, "durability": { "2016": 1, "2017": 1, "2018": 1, "2019": 2, "2020": 2, "2021": 2, "2022": 2, "2023": 2, "2024": 2, "2025": 2, "2026": 2 }, "perf": { "2016": 1.5, "2017": 1.5, "2018": 1.5, "2019": 2, "2020": 2, "2021": 2, "2022": 2, "2023": 2, "2024": 2, "2025": 2, "2026": 2 }, "deploy": { "2016": 2.5, "2017": 2.5, "2018": 2.5, "2019": 2.5, "2020": 2.5, "2021": 2.5, "2022": 2.5, "2023": 2.5, "2024": 2.5, "2025": 2.5, "2026": 2.5 }, "security": { "2016": 1.5, "2017": 1.5, "2018": 1.5, "2019": 2.5, "2020": 2.5, "2021": 2.5, "2022": 2.5, "2023": 2.5, "2024": 2.5, "2025": 2.5, "2026": 2.5 }, "ops": { "2016": 1.5, "2017": 1.5, "2018": 1.5, "2019": 1.5, "2020": 1.5, "2021": 1.5, "2022": 1.5, "2023": 1.5, "2024": 1.5, "2025": 1.5, "2026": 2 }, "protocols": { "2016": 0, "2017": 0, "2018": 0, "2019": 0, "2020": 0, "2021": 0, "2022": 0, "2023": 0, "2024": 0, "2025": 0, "2026": 0 }, "lifecycle": { "2016": 1.5, "2017": 1.5, "2018": 1.5, "2019": 3, "2020": 3, "2021": 3, "2022": 3, "2023": 3, "2024": 3, "2025": 3, "2026": 3 }, "ecosystem": { "2016": 3.5, "2017": 3.5, "2018": 3.5, "2019": 3.5, "2020": 3.5, "2021": 3.5, "2022": 3.5, "2023": 3.5, "2024": 3.5, "2025": 3.5, "2026": 3.5 } }, "cred": [ [ "Cadence", 4, "Tagged releases several times a week across the 7.10, 9.2, 9.3 and 9.4 lines in 2026-09 and 2026-10; no published rhythm" ], [ "Roadmap transparency", 2.5, "Release notes, source and issues public on GitHub; no roadmap; the readthedocs site matches branch 8.2" ], [ "Say-do", 3, "Nothing announced, so nothing to miss; scored at the midpoint" ], [ "Velocity", 2.5, "Mostly fixes in 2026 (KMS, socket leak, CVEs, lifecycle listing); the 9.5 previews add replica reporting, pull replication and Node 24" ], [ "Lifecycle stability", 3.5, "Four lines patched in parallel with backports, 7.10 still patched in 2026-10; no published policy; Orbit removed in 9.5.0-preview.5" ] ], "comm": null, "risk": "commercial", "lock": [ [ "Formats", 1, "Data in local files or in the customer's own AWS, Azure or Google buckets; metadata in files, MongoDB or Redis" ], [ "Export path", 0.5, "Everything reads back through S3 or straight from the backend" ], [ "Stack coupling", 1.5, "Needs a metadata store and, for replication, the Backbeat component" ], [ "Hardware / cloud coupling", 0, "Any host that runs Node.js or Docker; fully offline capable" ], [ "Skills and tooling coupling", 1.5, "S3 and Node.js skills; IAM only through Scality's proprietary Vault" ] ], "integ": [ [ "Partner programme openness", 2.5, "Apache-2.0 lets anyone embed and resell it; no third-party packager or partner programme found" ], [ "Multi-tenancy and self-service", 1.5, "Accounts and IAM need the proprietary Vault; no quotas or portal in the engine" ], [ "API and infrastructure-as-code", 2, "S3 API only; no admin API, Terraform or Ansible content found" ], [ "Skills and certification", 1, "No training or certification found" ] ], "alt": null, "ranked": true, "reading": "CloudServer scores as a capable S3 front end and little more: the source tree carries handlers for versioning, lifecycle, replication, notifications and object lock, while durability, scale and identity come from the backend and from Scality's proprietary Vault. Its credibility rests on cadence, with four release lines patched in parallel through October 2026, while the documentation and the Docker Hub image have not kept up. Lock-in is low because data sits in files or in the customer's own cloud buckets and leaves through S3. The one thing to check is object lock behaviour in governance and compliance mode on the release you deploy, since no test result or backup vendor validation was found.", "report": "/reports/object-storage-ledger-2026/zenko-cloudserver", "ai": { "infra": { "2016": 1, "2017": 1, "2018": 1, "2019": 1, "2020": 1, "2021": 1, "2022": 1, "2023": 1, "2024": 1, "2025": 1, "2026": 1 }, "stack": { "2016": 0, "2017": 0, "2018": 0, "2019": 0, "2020": 0, "2021": 0, "2022": 0, "2023": 0, "2024": 0, "2025": 0, "2026": 0 }, "ops": { "2016": 0, "2017": 0, "2018": 0, "2019": 0, "2020": 0, "2021": 0, "2022": 0, "2023": 0, "2024": 0, "2025": 0, "2026": 0 }, "agents": { "2016": 1, "2017": 1, "2018": 1, "2019": 1, "2020": 1, "2021": 1, "2022": 1, "2023": 1, "2024": 1, "2025": 1, "2026": 1 } }, "ai_basis": { "infra": "S3 front end over local or cloud backends, usable as a data source; no AI-specific feature", "stack": "None", "ops": "None", "agents": "S3 API that scripts and agents can drive; no admin API and no MCP server" }, "ai_ledger": { "announced": 0, "ga": 0, "preview": 0, "pending": 0, "dropped": 0, "note": "The project publishes release notes only and announced no AI item from 2023 to 2026." }, "ai_reading": "CloudServer has no AI features and claims none. It can serve as an S3 front end for data that other tools use, and agents can drive it only through the S3 API.", "mom": 1, "credT": 15.5, "commT": null, "lockT": 4.5, "integT": 7 }, { "key": "ibm-cos", "name": "IBM Cloud Object Storage on-premises (ClevOS, formerly Cleversafe)", "short": "IBM COS", "kind": "product", "group": "appliance", "since": 2015, "archetype": "Slow follower", "grade": "B", "driver": "C", "mix": { "V": 0, "C": 75, "M": 13, "U": 0, "P": 13 }, "idx": 0, "domains": { "api": { "2015": 2.5, "2016": 2.5, "2017": 2.5, "2018": 2.5, "2019": 2.5, "2020": 2.5, "2021": 3, "2022": 3, "2023": 3, "2024": 3, "2025": 3, "2026": 3 }, "immutability": { "2015": 0, "2016": 0, "2017": 0, "2018": 0, "2019": 0, "2020": 0, "2021": 0, "2022": 0, "2023": 3, "2024": 3, "2025": 3, "2026": 3 }, "durability": { "2015": 4.5, "2016": 4.5, "2017": 4.5, "2018": 4.5, "2019": 4.5, "2020": 4.5, "2021": 4.5, "2022": 4.5, "2023": 4.5, "2024": 4.5, "2025": 4.5, "2026": 4.5 }, "perf": { "2015": 3.5, "2016": 3.5, "2017": 3.5, "2018": 3.5, "2019": 3.5, "2020": 3.5, "2021": 3.5, "2022": 3.5, "2023": 3.5, "2024": 3.5, "2025": 3.5, "2026": 3.5 }, "deploy": { "2015": 2.5, "2016": 2.5, "2017": 2.5, "2018": 2.5, "2019": 3, "2020": 3, "2021": 3, "2022": 3, "2023": 3, "2024": 3, "2025": 3, "2026": 3 }, "security": { "2015": 3, "2016": 3, "2017": 3, "2018": 3, "2019": 3, "2020": 3, "2021": 3, "2022": 3, "2023": 3.5, "2024": 3.5, "2025": 3.5, "2026": 3.5 }, "ops": { "2015": 3, "2016": 3, "2017": 3, "2018": 3, "2019": 3, "2020": 3, "2021": 3, "2022": 3, "2023": 3.5, "2024": 3.5, "2025": 3.5, "2026": 3.5 }, "protocols": { "2015": 2, "2016": 2, "2017": 2, "2018": 2, "2019": 3, "2020": 3, "2021": 3, "2022": 3, "2023": 3, "2024": 3, "2025": 3, "2026": 3 }, "lifecycle": { "2015": 1.5, "2016": 1.5, "2017": 1.5, "2018": 1.5, "2019": 1.5, "2020": 1.5, "2021": 2.5, "2022": 2.5, "2023": 2.5, "2024": 2.5, "2025": 2.5, "2026": 2.5 }, "ecosystem": { "2015": 1.5, "2016": 1.5, "2017": 1.5, "2018": 1.5, "2019": 1.5, "2020": 1.5, "2021": 1.5, "2022": 1.5, "2023": 1.5, "2024": 1.5, "2025": 1.5, "2026": 1.5 } }, "cred": [ [ "Cadence", 3, "Continuous Delivery model since 3.16 with frequent point releases; release dates are not published" ], [ "Roadmap transparency", 1.5, "Older release notes PDFs are public; current notes, lifecycle dates and alerts sit behind an IBM login; no roadmap" ], [ "Say-do", 3, "No forward announcements for the on-premises product were found to test" ], [ "Velocity", 2.5, "Recent items are observability and removals; the last substantive capability found is Object Lock in 2023" ], [ "Lifecycle stability", 3, "A defined Continuous Delivery model with a longer-term option; no forced migration seen" ] ], "comm": [ [ "Price and licence volatility", 2, "Perpetual, subscription and consumption options; no change found, and no public prices" ], [ "Purchase constraints", 2.5, "Several licence models and a choice of certified hardware vendors; quote only" ], [ "Channel and access", 3, "IBM direct and Business Partners; lifecycle dates, alerts and current notes need an IBM login" ], [ "Owner stability", 2, "Large listed owner since 2015; IBM now also sells IBM Storage Ceph for object, and no statement on the future of COS was found" ], [ "Cost of staying supported", 2.5, "End of support dates not readable; Continuous Delivery model asks for regular upgrades" ] ], "risk": "commercial", "lock": [ [ "Formats", 4, "Encrypted, dispersed slices that are readable only through the system" ], [ "Export path", 1.5, "S3 reads and S3 proxy and migration features in vault mode" ], [ "Stack coupling", 3, "Own Manager, Accesser and Slicestor stack" ], [ "Hardware / cloud coupling", 2.5, "IBM appliances or certified x86 servers from several vendors; runs on-premises" ], [ "Skills and tooling coupling", 3, "IBM-specific Manager, Accesser and Slicestor skills" ] ], "integ": [ [ "Partner programme openness", 3, "IBM Business Partner programme; terms for COS not read" ], [ "Multi-tenancy and self-service", 4, "Container mode scales to millions of containers and users, with a storage account portal, a Service API and usage reports in CSV, JSON or XML (Redpaper)" ], [ "API and infrastructure-as-code", 3, "S3, Service API and Manager REST API; no Terraform or Ansible found" ], [ "Skills and certification", 2.5, "No COS certification track verified" ] ], "alt": null, "ranked": false, "reading": "IBM COS keeps the durability design Cleversafe built: objects are encrypted and dispersed as slices across nodes and sites, so no single node holds all the data, and that earns a 4.5. The rest of the record is thin for 2024 to 2026, because current release notes are not public and the newest items found are an observability feature and removals. Object Lock covers compliance mode only, and the only Veeam test is on ClevOS 3.17. A buyer should ask IBM for the 3.19 and 3.20 release dates, the Object Lock modes in 3.20, and whether new object deployments are being steered to IBM Storage Ceph.", "report": "/reports/object-storage-ledger-2026/ibm-cos", "ai": { "infra": { "2015": 1, "2016": 1, "2017": 1, "2018": 1, "2019": 1, "2020": 1, "2021": 1, "2022": 1, "2023": 1, "2024": 1, "2025": 1, "2026": 1 }, "stack": { "2015": 0, "2016": 0, "2017": 0, "2018": 0, "2019": 0, "2020": 0, "2021": 0, "2022": 0, "2023": 0, "2024": 0, "2025": 0, "2026": 0 }, "ops": { "2015": 0, "2016": 0, "2017": 0, "2018": 0, "2019": 0, "2020": 0, "2021": 0, "2022": 0, "2023": 0, "2024": 0, "2025": 0, "2026": 0 }, "agents": { "2015": 1.5, "2016": 1.5, "2017": 1.5, "2018": 1.5, "2019": 1.5, "2020": 1.5, "2021": 1.5, "2022": 1.5, "2023": 1.5, "2024": 1.5, "2025": 1.5, "2026": 1.5 } }, "ai_basis": { "infra": "Capacity tier for analytics and backup; nothing AI-specific", "stack": "None; \"data lake for AI\" is product page wording only", "ops": "None found", "agents": "S3, Service API and Manager REST API; no MCP server found" }, "ai_ledger": { "announced": 0, "ga": 0, "preview": 0, "pending": 0, "dropped": 0, "note": "No AI item for the on-premises product was found for 2023 to 2026; IBM points AI buyers to IBM Storage Scale and Ceph." }, "ai_reading": "IBM COS on-premises has no AI feature on record. Its AI role is a capacity tier behind the APIs, while IBM's AI storage story runs through other products.", "mom": 9.2, "credT": 13, "commT": 12, "lockT": 14, "integT": 12.5 }, { "key": "minio-ce", "name": "MinIO Community Edition", "short": "MinIO CE", "kind": "product", "group": "opensource", "since": 2015, "archetype": "Wound down for the commercial line", "grade": "B", "driver": "P", "mix": { "V": 0, "C": 36, "M": 0, "U": 0, "P": 64 }, "idx": 0, "domains": { "api": { "2015": 1.5, "2016": 1.5, "2017": 1.5, "2018": 1.5, "2019": 3, "2020": 3, "2021": 3, "2022": 4, "2023": 4, "2024": 4, "2025": 4, "2026": 4 }, "immutability": { "2015": 0, "2016": 0, "2017": 0, "2018": 0, "2019": 0, "2020": 3.5, "2021": 3.5, "2022": 3.5, "2023": 3.5, "2024": 3.5, "2025": 3.5, "2026": 3.5 }, "durability": { "2015": 1, "2016": 1, "2017": 1, "2018": 1, "2019": 3, "2020": 3, "2021": 3, "2022": 4, "2023": 4, "2024": 4, "2025": 4, "2026": 4 }, "perf": { "2015": 2, "2016": 2, "2017": 2, "2018": 2, "2019": 3.5, "2020": 3.5, "2021": 3.5, "2022": 4, "2023": 4, "2024": 4, "2025": 4, "2026": 4 }, "deploy": { "2015": 3, "2016": 3, "2017": 3, "2018": 3, "2019": 3.5, "2020": 3.5, "2021": 3.5, "2022": 4, "2023": 4, "2024": 4, "2025": 2.5, "2026": 2.5 }, "security": { "2015": 1, "2016": 1, "2017": 1, "2018": 1, "2019": 2.5, "2020": 2.5, "2021": 2.5, "2022": 3.5, "2023": 3.5, "2024": 3.5, "2025": 3, "2026": 2.5 }, "ops": { "2015": 1.5, "2016": 1.5, "2017": 1.5, "2018": 1.5, "2019": 2.5, "2020": 2.5, "2021": 2.5, "2022": 3.5, "2023": 3.5, "2024": 3.5, "2025": 2.5, "2026": 2 }, "protocols": { "2015": 0, "2016": 0, "2017": 0, "2018": 0, "2019": 0, "2020": 0, "2021": 0, "2022": 0, "2023": 0, "2024": 0, "2025": 0, "2026": 0 }, "lifecycle": { "2015": 0, "2016": 0, "2017": 0, "2018": 0, "2019": 1, "2020": 1, "2021": 1, "2022": 3.5, "2023": 3.5, "2024": 3.5, "2025": 3.5, "2026": 3.5 }, "ecosystem": { "2015": 3.5, "2016": 3.5, "2017": 3.5, "2018": 3.5, "2019": 5, "2020": 5, "2021": 5, "2022": 5, "2023": 5, "2024": 5, "2025": 3.5, "2026": 2.5 } }, "cred": [ [ "Cadence", 0.5, "Releases every few weeks through 2025, then none after 2025-10-15" ], [ "Roadmap transparency", 1, "No roadmap; each wind-down step appeared as a README commit without notice" ], [ "Say-do", 1.5, "No feature promises for the community edition 2023 to 2026; on 2025-10-26 a maintainer said source only would remain for the near future, and maintenance mode followed on 2025-12-03" ], [ "Velocity", 0.5, "Mostly fixes in 2025; nothing since 2025-10-15" ], [ "Lifecycle stability", 0.5, "Console, identity provider logins, binaries, maintenance and the repository removed in eleven months, 2025-05-24 to 2026-04-25" ] ], "comm": [ [ "Maintainer concentration", 5, "One company, MinIO, Inc., owned the repository and cut every release, then archived it" ], [ "Backer health", 5, "The only backer withdrew: maintenance mode 2025-12-03, no longer maintained 2026-02-12; its effort goes to AIStor" ], [ "Licence-change risk", 3, "Relicensed from Apache 2.0 to AGPLv3 in 2021; the archived AGPLv3 code keeps its licence, but the free successor AIStor Free is closed and bars redistribution" ], [ "Abandonment signs", 5, "Last release 2025-10-15; repository archived 2026-04-25" ], [ "Security response", 5, "No fix after RELEASE.2025-10-15; maintenance mode offered critical fixes case by case, then the project stopped on 2026-02-12" ] ], "risk": "sustainability", "lock": [ [ "Formats", 1.5, "Erasure-coded parts with xl.meta per object on a local filesystem; data is read out through S3" ], [ "Export path", 0.5, "Any S3 client or mc mirror; the vendor says AIStor binaries are backward compatible with community deployments" ], [ "Stack coupling", 1, "Own erasure sets on XFS drives; erasure sets cannot change after creation" ], [ "Hardware / cloud coupling", 0, "Any server" ], [ "Skills and tooling coupling", 1, "S3 and mc skills; wide pool of users" ] ], "integ": [ [ "Partner programme openness", 0.5, "No partner programme; AGPL makes embedding or reselling a licence question" ], [ "Multi-tenancy and self-service", 1.5, "IAM policies or separate deployments; external identity provider logins removed from the open source build on 2025-05-24" ], [ "API and infrastructure-as-code", 2, "S3 and admin API with mc admin; a community Terraform provider was not re-verified; no maintained target" ], [ "Skills and certification", 2, "Wide S3 and mc skills; the MinIO certification of 2024-05-21 relates to the commercial line" ] ], "alt": null, "ranked": false, "reading": "The capability lines are those of the MinIO code base frozen at its last release, so S3 coverage, erasure coding and Object Lock still score as they did in 2022. Four lines fall, each on a dated removal: security and operations with the 2025-05-24 release, deployment when binaries stopped on 2025-10-15, and ecosystem when outside changes stopped and the repository was archived. Sustainability risk is close to the maximum because one company owned the project and has stopped it, and no community release followed the five AIStor stable releases of 2026 that listed security fixes. A buyer still running it should list the release on every cluster and plan a move, either to AIStor, whose binaries the vendor calls backward compatible, or to another S3 store through an S3 copy.", "report": "/reports/object-storage-ledger-2026/minio-ce", "ai": { "infra": { "2015": 1, "2016": 1, "2017": 1, "2018": 1, "2019": 1, "2020": 1, "2021": 1, "2022": 1, "2023": 1, "2024": 1, "2025": 1, "2026": 1 }, "stack": { "2015": 0, "2016": 0, "2017": 0, "2018": 0, "2019": 0, "2020": 0, "2021": 0, "2022": 0, "2023": 0, "2024": 0, "2025": 0, "2026": 0 }, "ops": { "2015": 0, "2016": 0, "2017": 0, "2018": 0, "2019": 0, "2020": 0, "2021": 0, "2022": 0, "2023": 0, "2024": 0, "2025": 0, "2026": 0 }, "agents": { "2015": 2, "2016": 2, "2017": 2, "2018": 2, "2019": 2, "2020": 2, "2021": 2, "2022": 2, "2023": 2, "2024": 2, "2025": 2, "2026": 2 } }, "ai_basis": { "infra": "S3 object store usable as a training data source; no RDMA or GPU path in the community line", "stack": "None", "ops": "None", "agents": "S3 and admin APIs that agents can drive; no MCP server for the community edition" }, "ai_ledger": { "announced": 0, "ga": 0, "preview": 0, "pending": 0, "dropped": 0, "note": "No AI item was announced for the community edition from 2023 to 2026; the AI work went into AIStor." }, "ai_reading": "The community edition has no AI features and will receive none. Its S3 API still serves as a data source for training jobs and can be driven by agents, but nothing on top of it is maintained.", "mom": -10.5, "credT": 4, "commT": 23, "lockT": 4, "integT": 6 } ] }