Datera
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2013
- HeadquartersSanta Clara, United States
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Datera does
Datera is a privately-held software company founded in 2013 and headquartered in Santa Clara, California, that builds a software-defined storage (SDS) platform for enterprise block and object data. Its core product, the Datera Data Services Platform, runs on industry-standard x86 servers and is organized into a three-layer architecture: a Dynamic Data Plane that distributes data across nodes, racks, and sites; an Optimized IO Stack that delivers sub-200 microsecond latency using NVDIMM caching and bare-metal execution; and an Autonomous Control Plane that encodes application intent via policies and templates, with machine-learning-driven continuous optimization. A patented Lockless Coherency Protocol enables heterogeneous clusters across server brands and media generations without IO locking bottlenecks, and built-in L3 BGP network virtualization supports NFV-style data mobility.
The platform targets Global 2000 enterprises, cloud service providers, and digital-native companies that need Tier-1 storage performance on commodity infrastructure — including use cases in databases (MySQL, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, Cassandra, SAP HANA), containers (Kubernetes, OpenShift, Docker), virtualization (VMware vSphere), and private cloud (OpenStack, Platform9). Datera monetizes primarily through enterprise software licensing on customer or partner-provided x86 servers (Dell, HPE, Fujitsu, Intel, Quanta, Supermicro, Mellanox networking), supplemented by professional services for deployment. Go-to-market combines direct enterprise field sales with channel distribution via the HPE Complete program and Fujitsu strategic partnership, supported by an API-first, free-trial motion aimed at DevOps and infrastructure-as-code buyers.
Datera has raised approximately $63.9 million in venture funding across three disclosed rounds (2013, 2015, 2018) led by Khosla Ventures and Samsung Ventures. The company operates with 51–100 employees and has not announced a funding round since September 2018; its most recent disclosed growth metric is a 240% revenue increase cited for the first half of 2018.
Datera firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Datera
- Legal name
- Datera, Inc.
- Website
- https://datera.io
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2013
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Datera industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Enterprise Software-Defined Storage
- NAICS
- Software Publishers (5132), Software Publishers (513210)
- SIC
- Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Enterprise Storage Arrays (SAN/NAS/Object Storage) (HDACACAB)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Object Storage Platforms (HDABAEAC)
Keywords
Where Datera is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Santa Clara
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Datera business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Software Platform License: Datera sells its software-defined storage platform as a license that runs on customer-provided or partner-provided x86 servers. This is a software licensing model where customers purchase the software to deploy on their hardware infrastructure.
- Professional Services: Professional services for deployment, configuration, and 'roll your own' in-house deployments. Customers can either buy pre-configured servers from partners or work with Datera professional services to deploy the software.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | Enterprise software-defined storage platform - pricing not publicly disclosed |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels7 records
Datera product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Datera sells a software-defined storage platform that turns industry-standard x86 servers into enterprise-grade block and object storage. The platform uses a patented Lockless Coherency Protocol and an Autonomous Control Plane with machine learning to deliver policy-driven, self-optimizing storage with sub-200µS latencies, heterogeneous hardware support, and API-first programmability. Customers deploy the software on their own or partner-provided servers, with options for pre-configured appliances through HPE and Fujitsu.
Product overview
Datera offers a unified Data Services Platform that combines software-defined storage capabilities for block and object data. The platform consists of the core Datera Data Services Platform, augmented by an Autonomous Control Plane for policy-driven operations and a Dynamic Data Plane for data mobility. Supporting integrations include the Kubernetes CSI Plugin, vSphere VCP Plugin, and OpenStack Cinder Driver. The platform enables enterprises to deploy storage infrastructure that is heterogeneous, dynamic, and autonomous, delivering cloud-like simplicity with enterprise-class performance on industry-standard hardware.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Datera Data Services Platform Enterprise-grade software-defined storage platform that delivers block and object data storage with cloud-like simplicity on industry-standard x86 servers, for Global 2000 enterprises and cloud service providers.
- Datera Autonomous Control Plane Intelligent control plane technology that encodes application storage needs, resiliency requirements, and protection policies, then autonomously optimizes storage resources using machine learning.
- Datera Dynamic Data Plane Shared-nothing data layer that distributes data across nodes, racks, and sites with heterogeneous media management and 2-5 volume copies for continuous availability.
- Datera Cloud-based Analytics Portal Cloud-based analytics and monitoring portal providing telemetry, latency reporting, capacity projections, and predictive operations for Datera storage nodes.
- Datera Python SDK Python SDK enabling developers to programmatically manage Datera storage volumes, snapshots, clones, and data services for infrastructure-as-code and automation workflows.
Quantifiable outcome
- 240% revenue growth in first half of the year with customer growth over same period
- +6 more outcomes
Companies that use Datera
Customer profileNamed customers7 records
Segments6 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Datera technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration29 records
AI capability4 records
Feature8 records
Datera partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Six partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- FujitsucoreFujitsu joined as a strategic partner in May 2020 to support enterprises rapidly adopting software-defined storage to achieve radically better business outcomes. Fujitsu is a respected global brand.
- HPEcoreDatera joined the HPE Complete program in June 2019, enabling HPE to bring enterprise software-defined storage to market for the first time with proven enterprise 'ilities' (agility, flexibility, availability, scalability). This is a flagship channel partnership.
- PacketcorePacket, a cloud provider, uses Datera's Enterprise SDS to bring elasticity and consistency of virtual public clouds to bare metal. Joint private cloud solution announced with up to 50% savings vs public cloud.
- VMwarecoreVMware integration includes vCenter Plugin for storage provisioning and management from within vSphere UI, optimized for virtualized environments.
- Kubernetes/CSIcoreDatera CSI (Container Storage Interface) Volume Plugin provides distributed data storage for Kubernetes containers. Deep integration with Kubernetes Storage Classes for SLA-aligned resource allocation.
- OpenStackcoreDatera supports OpenStack Cinder Driver and works with OpenStack-based private and hybrid cloud platforms.
Scale indicators10 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Datera competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Pure Storage: Pure Storage is a leading all-flash enterprise storage vendor competing in the same tier-1 enterprise block storage market Datera targets, with comparable performance and TCO value propositions, but delivered via proprietary hardware rather than software on commodity x86.
- VMware vSAN: VMware vSAN is a hyperconverged software-defined storage layer bundled with vSphere, competing head-to-head with Datera in VMware environments. Datera's vCenter Plugin is explicitly positioned against vSAN in virtualization use cases.
- Nutanix: Nutanix is a leading hyperconverged infrastructure vendor whose software-defined storage runs on commodity x86 hardware — a near-identical architecture to Datera. Both target enterprise data center modernization and Kubernetes workloads.
- Scality: Scality is a software-defined object and file storage vendor competing in enterprise and cloud service provider deployments. It is referenced as an SDDC Symposium co-partner and competes in Datera's object storage segment.
- Cloudian: Cloudian provides enterprise object storage software running on commodity x86 servers, directly comparable to Datera's object storage capabilities. It targets similar enterprise and service provider use cases including backup and private cloud.
- Hedvig: Hedvig provides software-defined storage unifying block, file, and object on commodity hardware, directly comparable to Datera's unified data services platform. It targets similar enterprise modernization and hybrid cloud use cases.
Broad incumbents
- NetApp: NetApp is an established enterprise storage incumbent offering hybrid and all-flash arrays (AFF, FAS) and ONTAP software-defined storage. It competes with Datera across both traditional arrays and SDS, with a much larger installed base and broader product portfolio.
- Dell EMC (PowerStore / PowerScale): Dell EMC's PowerStore, PowerScale (Isilon), and VxRail offerings cover enterprise block, object, and HCI storage — directly overlapping with Datera's unified platform. Dell is also one of Datera's certified server partners, making it both a competitor and partner.
Emerging players
- Ceph (Red Hat): Red Hat Ceph Storage is the leading open-source software-defined storage platform that Datera directly benchmarks against (10X write advantage claim). It is the primary open-source alternative Datera positions against in enterprise sales.
- MinIO: MinIO is an open-source, Kubernetes-native object storage software that runs on commodity hardware, comparable to Datera's object storage and Kubernetes CSI integration. It is a frequent comparison point in container storage evaluations.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Datera social profiles
Digital presenceDatera financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Datera leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles6 records
Datera funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds3 records
Investors2 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Datera M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Datera
What does Datera do?
Datera sells a software-defined storage platform that turns industry-standard x86 servers into enterprise-grade block and object storage. The platform uses a patented Lockless Coherency Protocol and an Autonomous Control Plane with machine learning to deliver policy-driven, self-optimizing storage with sub-200µS latencies, heterogeneous hardware support, and API-first programmability. Customers deploy the software on their own or partner-provided servers, with options for pre-configured appliances through HPE and Fujitsu.
Is Datera a public or private company?
Datera is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Datera founded?
Datera was founded in 2013. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Datera based?
Datera is headquartered in Santa Clara, United States, in the North America region.
How does Datera make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Software Platform License is the primary driver. The others are professional Services.
Who are Datera's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Pure Storage, VMware vSAN, Nutanix, Scality, Cloudian and Hedvig. Broad incumbents are NetApp and Dell EMC (PowerStore / PowerScale). Emerging players are Ceph (Red Hat) and MinIO.
Does Datera have an API?
Yes. Datera provides a comprehensive RESTful API for composable infrastructure and self-service provisioning. The API-first design enables programmatic storage management, allowing developers to dynamically provision block or object storage, invoke data services such as zero-copy snaps and clones, or instantiate new deployments using pre-defined templates. From a single volume to an entire storage cloud, Datera can dynamically provision everything with just one API call. Developer documentation is at datera.io.
What industry is Datera in?
Datera's product category is Enterprise Software-Defined Storage. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDACACAB, Enterprise Storage Arrays (SAN/NAS/Object Storage), with a secondary code of HDABAEAC, Object Storage Platforms. Its NAICS code is 5132 and its SIC code is 7372.