Engage2Excel expands StorONE storage platform to 1PB

Engage2Excel has expanded its use of StorONE's storage platform, which now manages more than 1PB of data across several storage functions.

The workforce solutions provider uses StorONE for production storage, backup, virtual tape library, business continuity, disaster recovery, and long-term retention. Over several years, the environment has grown as new requirements emerged, rather than being replaced by separate systems.

The deployment offers a case study in how companies are trying to extend the life of existing flash storage assets as data volumes rise. According to StorONE, Engage2Excel is achieving up to nine times more effective storage from its existing flash infrastructure through a software feature called FlashSpan.

FlashSpan, previously known as Real Time Tiering, analyses data access patterns and places data on different storage media based on usage. That approach keeps flash capacity available for data that benefits most from it, while allowing lower-cost media to be used within the same environment.

The deployment is supported by Fabrics4Clouds, Engage2Excel's infrastructure partner. The company said the project has broadened from an initial storage role into a wider platform used across multiple stages of the data lifecycle.

Many corporate IT teams still use separate products for primary storage, backup, and disaster recovery, often adding new tools as data estates expand. Using one software layer across those functions can reduce operational complexity, although the announcement did not disclose financial terms or the amount of flash hardware in use.

StorONE positions its software as hardware-agnostic, allowing customers to run it across different servers and storage media. That model is intended to give organisations flexibility to retain existing infrastructure rather than tie storage software to a single hardware platform.

For Engage2Excel, the operational benefit appears to be consistency across environments. Patrick Elalouf, Chief Information Officer of Engage2Excel, said the same software now underpins production, backup, and disaster recovery.

"One of the biggest advantages has been consistency," said Patrick Elalouf, Chief Information Officer of Engage2Excel.

"Our teams work with the same StorONE software across production, backup, and disaster recovery, making the environment easier to manage as our business grows."

Fabrics4Clouds also framed the product in operational rather than purely technical terms. André Mellul, Chief Executive Officer of Fabrics4Clouds, said the platform had required comparatively little day-to-day management.

"I classify enterprise infrastructure into two categories: platforms you constantly have to manage, and platforms you can simply set and forget," said André Mellul, Chief Executive Officer of Fabrics4Clouds.

"StorONE firmly belongs in the second category. They've consistently delivered on and exceeded their technology roadmap."

The relationship also reflects how smaller infrastructure software providers seek traction through long-running customer deployments and channel partners. In this case, Engage2Excel has continued to expand the platform over time rather than use it for a single workload.

Gal Naor, Chief Executive Officer of StorONE, linked that expansion to customer retention, describing continued use by existing customers as a key measure of performance.

"The greatest measure of success isn't winning a customer; it's continuing to earn their trust as their business grows," said Gal Naor, Chief Executive Officer of StorONE.

"We're proud that Engage2Excel has continued expanding its StorONE deployment over the years. That kind of long-term relationship reflects our commitment to delivering meaningful innovations that help organisations unlock up to 9x more effective storage from existing flash infrastructure."