Magic Quadrant for Distributed File Systems and Object Storage

Distributed File Systems and Object Storage Vendor Product Comparisons 2023

Key features and pros and cons of top Distributed File Systems and Object Storage products:

Cloudian - Challenger

Pros:

S3 on-premises: Cloudian has broad support within the S3 API and closely emulates AWS S3 services.
Hybrid cloud support: Cloudian is one of the few object storage offerings in the market that can run in the major public clouds, providing the same S3 services on-premises and in the cloud.
Broad deployment options: Cloudian delivers a broad range of deployment options including software and hardware-agnostic offerings, Cloudian-branded appliances (that can start as a single node), cloud-based instances, and managed services options (including those managed through HPE GreenLake).

Cons:

Limited file services: Cloudian's file services are not fully integrated with its object storage and data written as a file cannot be read as an object until the cached file is written to the object store.
Limited ransomware detection: Cloudian's ransomware detection is limited to identifying attempts to change or delete data in its immutable storage. It does not scan for known ransomware signatures.
Lack of global coverage: Cloudian has limited business and brand awareness in Asia/Pacific and Latin America, hindering its traction in those geographies.

DataCore - Niche Player

Pros:

Track record: DataCore's Swarm has been in the market for close to 15 years, including at large enterprises and government sites where it showed a high level of stability.
Container architecture: The new version of Swarm is based on a container architecture providing the flexibility to deploy it anywhere, including at the edge or in cloud-native environments.
Strong SDS portfolio: DataCore is a software-defined storage portfolio vendor with an established installed base of block storage to complement its object and container storage offerings.

Cons:

Limited use cases: Swarm is predominantly used for backup and archive use cases and has limited traction in other areas such as analytics or consolidation.
No ransomware defense: DataCore's ransomware capabilities are limited to immutable storage and recovery. It does not offer any native ransomware detection.
Inadequate file support: DataCores' file support is limited to basic file access and it has very limited adoption for file use cases.

DDN - Niche Player

Pros:

High-performance computing (HPC) and AI: DDN has a strong presence in organizations with large-scale data processing requirements in HPC and large-scale AI deployments, including a high number of deployments with NVIDIA DGX SuperPOD.
Strong performance efficiency: DDN's storage appliances can deliver high throughput and IOPS from a smaller footprint compared to alternatives due to its performance efficiency.
Global coverage: DDN has close to half of its customers outside of North America, including in Asia/Pacific countries.

Cons:

Niche use cases: DDN's key focus continues to be HPC and AI market segments. It has limited presence in other use cases due to a lack of supporting features for general-purpose storage.
File-only workloads: DDN's S3 support on EXAScaler is suitable for limited object storage use cases, and not for large-scale, cloud-native object storage deployments.
No ransomware defense: DDN lacks the ability to detect known ransomware signatures or anomalous behavior that could be potential cyber activity.

Dell Technologies - Leader

Pros:

Broad portfolio: Dell Technologies has the broadest portfolio of file and object products and services, addressing a wide range of workloads.
As a service: APEX Data Storage Services (ADSS) is central to Dell's multicloud strategy with broad feature support for file, backup and block storage services.
Vertical integration: File and object storage appliances are vertically integrated with Dell's standard x86 servers, giving clients assurance on faster availability of parts around the globe.

Cons:

Separate products: PowerScale does not fully replace the need for a separate object storage product. Advanced object functionality (such as geodispersal) is only available through Dell's ECS or ObjectScale products.
Lack of global namespace: Dell lacks the ability to provide file services in edge or remote locations from a centralized or global file system.
PowerScale complexity: Some Gartner clients cite that PowerScale has become complex to operate, expensive and slow to deliver new features.

Hitachi Vantara - Challenger

Pros:

Broad deployment options: Hitachi Vantara HCP has a broad portfolio of deployment, configuration and workload options including appliance, software only, cloud, on-premises, multiprotocol and an asymmetrical scaling architecture.
Ops management: Hitachi Vantara HCP has integrated with its cloud-based Ops Center Clear Site tool to simplify operational use and to include fleet wide telemetry.
Cost-effective scaling: Hitachi Vantara HCP disaggregated scale-out architecture allows it to independently balance performance and capacity with scale-out demands, enabling a more cost-effective outcome.

Cons:

Documentation complexity: Hitachi Vantara HCP clients cite documentation complexity and challenges navigating the information for critical insights and parameters needed during implementation or configuration.
Reliance on file management OEM solution: For file and object unification purposes, Hitachi Vantara is taking an OEM partnership approach to the file system that can add complexity and support-related challenges over the long term, including roadmap prioritization issues.
Inefficient deduplication method: Hitachi Vantara HCP uses a postprocessing deduplication methodology that may not be as efficient as others and that may require additional storage capacity.

Huawei - Challenger

Pros:

High performance: Huawei's steady R&D investments in OceanStor Pacific have resulted in significant performance improvement, which appeals to customers looking for a low-latency and high-throughput storage platform.
Broad use cases: OceanStor Pacific's multiprotocol and autotiering functions have expanded its applicability for workload consolidation initiatives.
Strong customer support: Gartner clients consistently rate OceanStor Pacific highly for sales, deployment and support experience.

Cons:

Lack of global reach: Huawei's traction outside of Asia/Pacific is lower than the Leaders in this Magic Quadrant, which may raise concerns with risk-averse multinational prospects.
Limited software-only and cloud offerings: OceanStor Pacific is not available as software-defined storage on third-party hardware or as a marketplace offering at major hyperscale cloud providers.
Pending end of support for OceanStor 9000: Significant file storage capacity remains on legacy OceanStor 9000 systems as customers are proceeding cautiously when it comes to migrating their extensive file deployments to the new platform.

IBM - Leader

Pros:

Proven scale: IBM Storage Scale is the underlying file system in many of the supercomputers and AI deployments around the world, due to its proven parallel file system performance and appliances based on NVMe storage or IBM FlashCore Modules.
Global file and object services: IBM Storage Scale's active file and object management provides local read/write performance irrespective of the location of the data (in a data center, cloud or edge locations).
Red Hat Ceph: Assuming ownership of Red Hat Ceph, IBM has the potential to appeal to a broader set of customers looking for an open-source-based unified platform for all types of data (file, block or object).

Cons:

Portfolio complexity: Customers must carefully navigate the overlapping portfolio of IBM Storage Scale, IBM Cloud Object Storage, and IBM Storage Ceph to choose the right underlying solution for their use cases.
Lack of as-a-service offering: Apart from IBM Cloud, IBM does not offer file or object as-a-service in AWS, Azure or GCP. The alternative is Storage Scale in AWS for self-management.
Skill requirements: Storage Scale, continues to require CLI-based skills for advanced tuning and configuration.

IEIT SYSTEMS - Niche Player

Pros:

High performance: IEIT SYSTEMS uses storage-class memory to store metadata of files and objects to accelerate metadata performance for use in low-latency use cases.
Market leverage: IEIT SYSTEMS leverages its global server market position to provide aggressive pricing to channel partners outside of its primary China region.
Licensing flexibility: IEIT SYSTEMS has replaced its fixed-node pricing and limited bundle features with a more flexible set of license and feature options that provide clients with a richer set of choices that align to usage requirements.

Cons:

Lack of public cloud support: IEIT SYSTEMS product has not been integrated or is not supported on public clouds outside of major Chinese clouds.
Limited consumption as a service offerings: IEIT SYSTEMS does not provide pay-per-use consumption-based offerings with major cloud providers such as AWS and Azure outside of its China market.
Limited global coverage: IEIT SYSTEMS has very small presence outside of the APAC region, making it unsuitable for organizations with a global presence.

NetApp - Challenger

Pros:

Global Operations: NetApp has storage products for all segments of the storage market with a large and global installed base, which benefits customers with global operations.
Broad set of use cases: NetApp StorageGRID addresses a broad set of use cases, including those related to production storage, such as analytics, cloud-native applications and hybrid cloud storage.
Cost-performance flexibility: NetApp's StorageGRID models provide cost-performance flexibility ranging from cost-optimized dense appliances to performance-focused appliances for transactional object workloads.

Cons:

No native file services: StorageGRID lacks a native file interface, and customers have to use an external file gateway or NetApp ONTAP with its FabricPool feature for applications supporting only file protocols.
Suboptimal customer experience: Some Gartner clients cite their customer experience with initial deployment as suboptimal, and the user interface is more complex relative to the Leaders in this Magic Quadrant.
Limited ransomware detection: StorageGRID's ransomware capabilities are limited to immutable object storage, fast recovery, and versioning and object locking; it lacks the ability to reduce the ransomware exposure window.

Nutanix - Visionary

Pros:

Software-defined multiprotocol platform: Nutanix's Unified Storage platform appeals to customers that are looking for a single, multiprotocol platform that can be deployed either at the edge, in the data center or in the cloud.
Advanced data services: Nutanix Unified Storage is designed to be easy to implement, maintain, monitor and scale by IT generalists, while delivering advanced cyber resilience to detect, respond, and recover from ransomware threat , hybrid cloud integration and disaster recovery.
Strong customer experience: Gartner clients highlight Nutanix's reliable and prompt customer support experience.

Cons:

Limited awareness for stand-alone storage deployments: As a hyperconverged platform vendor, Nutanix is rarely shortlisted by prospects that are looking for storage-only infrastructure solutions.
Reliance on external providers: Nutanix's complete solution and as-a-service delivery options are only available through service providers or server OEM partnerships.
Limited advance performance capabilities: Nutanix Files and Nutanix Objects do not offer data efficiency or performance guarantees. It does not have geodistributed erasure coding and does not support QLC flash memory or Network File System (NFS) over remote direct memory access (RDMA).

Pure Storage - Leader

Pros:

Strong customer experience: Pure Storage is consistently cited by Gartner clients as being easy to do business with, simple and intuitively deployable along with a proactive and responsive support organization.
Flash technology: Investments and innovation in QLC flash chips have provided clients with a viable and economic path from hybrid storage platforms to the performance and resilience benefits of flash-based storage.
Platform-as-a-service offerings: Within its peer group, Pure Storage offers a more advanced managed-as-a-service file system, which has enabled customers to transition their storage spend away from capital expenditure.

Cons:

Less budget friendly object storage: Pure Storage object storage deployments are not ideally suited for certain budget-constrained use cases.
Limited upgrade options: Customers will not be able to nondisruptively upgrade from the current FlashBlade appliance to the new FlashBlade//S and FlashBlade//E appliances.
No public cloud integration: Pure Storage's unified file and object offerings lack the ability to run in any public cloud, which removes any hybrid cloud capabilities.

Quantum - Niche Player

Pros:

Data expansion opportunities: Quantum's broad portfolio of tape products and hyperscale partner relationships helps its customers to take advantage of the unique cloud-related benefits of actively managing and storing large amounts of data.
Resilient and scalable metadata: Quantum leverages a database to provide more resilient and scalable metadata for its object store, compared to other vendors in this market.
Cost-effective retention: Quantum's ActiveScale replication to public clouds and native retention to tape provides an operationally flexible and cost-effective way to manage large amounts of data for long-term, policy-based retention and enhanced sustainability goals.

Cons:

Minimal file capabilities: ActiveScale doesn't support multiprotocol access between file and object protocols, and is principally used by customers as an object store for storing data.
Lack of key enterprise features: ActiveScale lacks some critical features including deduplication, S3 select and third-party key management.
Limited access management: ActiveScale lacks identity access management for multitenant environments, which limits its full potential in shared, multitenant service provider environments.

Qumulo - Leader

Pros:

Cloud-native: Qumulo is available as a cloud-native service in Azure, as opposed to a VM instance in a marketplace that requires self-managing.
Ease-of-use and timely support: Gartner clients consistently say that Qumulo provides easy setup, simple configuration, intuitive interfaces, timely access to support and reliable feature updates.
Optimal efficiency: Qumulo's adaptive data protection features allow customers to dynamically change their erasure coding as a cluster grows to increase efficiency and resiliency.

Cons:

Limited global coverage: Qumulo has limited in-field sales support outside of North America and EMEA, limiting the options of clients in the rest of the world.
Lack of advanced object storage functionality: Qumulo lacks a key-value based data store that is required for advanced cloud native object storage use cases.
Lack of key features: Qumulo lacks deduplication and in-line compression to maximize efficiency, and has limited integration with ransomware security capabilities.

Scality - Leader

Pros:

Track record: Scality has been providing a unified file and object storage solution since 2013. Its proven track record includes a large number of high-capacity, intricately distributed deployments across different geographies.
Software flexibility: Scality appeals to prospects looking for software-only solutions that are capable of running on both a wide range of industry-standard hardware at the edge, and in the data center.
Strong reliability: RING has advanced data protection through geographically distributed storage across multiple data availability zones, achieving a data durability of 14 nines.

Cons:

Reliance on external providers: Similar to other software-defined products, users must engage with vendor channel partners and OEMs to acquire comprehensive infrastructure solutions and access capabilities delivered as a service.
Not for file-centric applications: Scality does not cater to file workloads that demand low-latency or enterprise-level file services, relying instead on partnerships with Weka and CTERA Networks to address these specific needs.
Complex product selection: Choosing between the RING and ARTESCA product lines presents a complex decision, involving a thorough evaluation of which option would best cater to your future requirements.

VAST Data - Challenger

Pros:

HPE partnership: VAST's OEM partnership with HPE GreenLake for File Storage makes it an attractive option for prospects who are already benefiting from HPE's global sales and support capabilities.
Multiple use cases: VAST is designed to address multiple use cases by incorporating multiprotocol high-performance, low-latency storage based on lower-cost QLC flash with advanced data reduction algorithms delivering on both cost efficiency and performance.
Strong customer support: VAST end users highlight high-quality and prompt customer support with frequent software updates and quick bug fixes.

Cons:

Limited global reach: VAST has limited brand awareness and smaller global installed base compared to the market leaders, raising concern with some risk-averse prospects.
Deployment limitations: VAST is not suited for customers with deployment sizes smaller than 100TB or implementations that are required to run as software-defined storage on industry-standard server platforms.
Lack of advanced capabilities: VAST Data Platform lacks cyber vulnerability assessments, forensic analytics and anomaly detection. In addition, it currently does not offer synchronous replication or general performance guarantees, and only has early trials for hyperscale public-cloud deployment.

WEKA - Visionary

Pros:

Hybrid cloud flexibility: The WEKA Data Platform appeals to prospects looking for a flexible, hardware-agnostic software storage platform that can run and scale across the edge, the data center and in the public cloud.
High efficiency: The WEKA platform extends high-performance file services to lower-cost object storage to deliver on independent scaling for either performance or capacity.
High performance: The WEKA platform's performance optimization and parallel file system make it an attractive option for HPC and AI/ML workloads

Cons:

Limited global reach: WEKA's brand awareness, traction and global deployments are lower than the Leaders in this Magic Quadrant, which may raise concerns with risk-averse prospects.
Complex onboarding: Software-defined storage installation and third-party object storage integration may be more complex to onboard than an appliance model, and require professional services and dedicated resources.
Lacks advanced capabilities: The WEKA Data Platform lacks some general-purpose features, such as cyber resilience, advanced ransomware protection, AI-based operations, synchronous replication, data efficiency guarantees, advanced S3 APIs and geodistributed object storage.

FAQs

Q: Which vendors are Leaders in 2023?

A: Dell Technologies, IBM, Pure Storage, Qumulo, Scality

Q: What does "Leader" mean in MQ terms?

A: Leaders provide mature offerings that meet market demand and have demonstrated the vision necessary to sustain their market position as requirements evolve. The hallmark of Leaders is that they focus on and invest in their offerings to the point where they lead the market and can affect its overall direction. As a result, Leaders can become the vendors to watch as you try to understand how new market offerings might evolve. Leaders typically possess a large, satisfied customer base (relative to the size of the market) and enjoy high visibility within the market. Their size and financial strength enable them to remain viable in a challenging economy. Leaders typically respond to a wide market audience by supporting broad market requirements.

Q: How do I interpret a Gartner Magic Quadrant?

A: https://www.gartner.com/en/research/methodologies/magic-quadrants-research

Report:

Top Vendor Products for Distributed File Systems and Object Storage in 2023

Distributed File Systems and Object Storage Vendor Product Comparisons 2023

Pros:

Cons:

Pros:

Cons:

Pros:

Cons:

Pros:

Cons:

Pros:

Cons:

Pros:

Cons:

Pros:

Cons:

Pros:

Cons:

Pros:

Cons:

Pros:

Cons:

Pros:

Cons:

Pros:

Cons:

Pros:

Cons:

Pros:

Cons:

Pros:

Cons:

Pros:

Cons:

FAQs

Q: Which vendors are Leaders in 2023?

Q: What does "Leader" mean in MQ terms?

Q: How do I interpret a Gartner Magic Quadrant?

Reference