Grau Data Storage
GRAU DATA GmbH is a German software company developing WORM-based data archiving (XtreemStore), ransomware protection (Blocky for Veeam), audit-proof storage (FileLock), and metadata mining (Metadata-Hub) software for over 2,000 enterprise, research, financial, and healthcare customers, sold primarily through a global channel partner network across Europe, the USA, and Asia.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2000
- HeadquartersSchwäbisch Gmünd, Germany
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Grau Data Storage does
GRAU DATA GmbH is a privately held German software company headquartered in Schwäbisch Gmünd, Baden-Württemberg, that develops four product families for secure, long-term data management: Blocky for Veeam (WORM-based ransomware protection that runs directly on Veeam Windows Servers with digital-fingerprint authentication), FileLock (audit-proof archiving certified by KPMG against German IDW and HGB standards), Metadata-Hub (metadata mining of unstructured data for analytics and AI-readiness), and XtreemStore (a third-generation object-oriented tape archive providing an S3 Glacier interface for archiving billions of objects to LTO tape via LTFS). The technology stack is built on a WORM foundation refined over more than 30 years, originating with predecessor GRAU Storage Systems' automatic tape libraries for IBM mainframes; the current company was re-established in 2000 by founder Herbert Grau as a pure software business after the predecessor entity's sale to EMASS, ADIC, and ultimately Quantum.
GRAU DATA serves more than 2,000 customers across enterprise, research, financial services, and healthcare/life sciences verticals, with active customers including Kreissparkasse Karlsruhe (FileLock), Systemair (Blocky, 160 TB across 47 branches), Maschinenringe Deutschland, TU Dresden (Arcitecta + XtreemStore), Universität zu Lübeck, and ZUSE Institut Berlin (Metadata-Hub). The company's commercial motion is predominantly indirect, executed through a global network of more than 30 channel partners (Fujitsu, Dell, Bechtle, SVA, SoftwareOne, NetPlans, Cristie Data, contac, Kendox, d.velop, Adeon, and others), with direct sales coverage for North America led by David Cerf; revenue is generated primarily through software licenses across the four product lines, with quote-based enterprise pricing and no public price list. The company is family-owned and bootstrapped, led by co-CEOs Herbert Grau and Adriana Grau (in a Doppelspitze succession arrangement since 2021), operates with a headcount in the 11-50 range, and has expanded its ecosystem through integration partnerships and consortium memberships with Arcitecta Mediaflux, Veeam, IBM Spectrum Protect, BeeGFS (via ThinkParQ), COMBACK ARION, and the iRODS Consortium.
Grau Data Storage firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Grau Data Storage
- Legal name
- GRAU DATA GmbH
- Website
- https://graudata.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2000
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- GRAU DATA GmbH is a German software company developing WORM-based data archiving (XtreemStore), ransomware protection (Blocky for Veeam), audit-proof storage (FileLock), and metadata mining (Metadata-Hub) software for over 2,000 enterprise, research, financial, and healthcare customers, sold primarily through a global channel partner network across Europe, the USA, and Asia.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Grau Data Storage industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Data Archiving and Protection Software
- NAICS
- Software Publishers (5132)
- SIC
- Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Data Protection & Archiving (WORM, Long-Term Retention) (HDABAEAH)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Records Management, Information Governance & Retention (BPAEAPAO), Recordkeeping, Archiving & Audit Trail (WORM/SEC 17a-4) (FSAFAOAK), IT Governance, Risk & Compliance (IT GRC) Platforms (HDAEALAK)
Keywords
Where Grau Data Storage is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Schwäbisch Gmünd
- HQ country
- Germany
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
Grau Data Storage business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- Software Licenses: GRAU DATA sells software licenses for its four product families: XtreemStore (tape object archive), Blocky (ransomware protection), FileLock (audit-proof archiving), and MetadataHub (metadata mining). The company operates as a software manufacturer with direct sales and partner channels globally.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels4 records
Grau Data Storage product offering
Product offeringCore offering
GRAU DATA develops and sells enterprise data management software centered on WORM (Write Once, Read Many) technology. Its portfolio of four products — Blocky for Veeam (ransomware protection for Veeam backups), FileLock (audit-proof archiving), Metadata-Hub (metadata mining), and XtreemStore (object-oriented S3-to-tape archive) — addresses secure long-term archiving, regulatory compliance, backup immutability, and AI-readiness of unstructured data for enterprises, research institutions, and government agencies.
Product overview
GRAU DATA is a German software company offering a portfolio of four distinct products: Blocky for Veeam (WORM-based ransomware protection for Veeam backup environments), FileLock (audit-proof archiving for regulatory compliance), Metadata-Hub (metadata mining for unstructured data analysis and AI-readiness), and XtreemStore (S3-to-Tape object archive software for long-term tape storage). These solutions are sold primarily through a global partner network and address data protection, archival, and management needs for enterprises, research institutions, and government agencies.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Blocky for Veeam®: Ransomware protection software for Veeam backup environments, using GRAU DATA's WORM technology to create an immutable shield for Veeam backups on Windows servers.
- FileLock
- Metadata-Hub
- XtreemStore
Products and services
- Blocky for Veeam Ransomware protection software that runs directly on Veeam Windows Servers, using WORM (Write Once Read Many) technology and digital fingerprint authentication to create an immutable shield for Veeam backups and prevent encryption by ransomware. Targeted at enterprises and backup environments using Veeam.
- FileLock WORM-based audit-proof archiving software that provides tamper-proof, hardware-independent storage of digital documents and records to meet legal and regulatory requirements (HGB, GDPdU, German IDW standards). Designed as a pure Windows application for banks, insurance companies, and other regulated organizations requiring KPMG-certified compliance.
- Metadata-Hub Metadata mining solution that extracts and analyzes embedded metadata from unstructured data to enable metadata-driven search, improve AI and analytics training models, and support data lineage and governance. Targeted at research institutions, life sciences, and organizations preparing large unstructured datasets for AI workloads.
- XtreemStore Third-generation object-oriented tape archive software providing an S3 Glacier and filesystem interface for archiving billions of objects to LTO tape via the LTFS standard, with File Versioning and ObjectLock compliance support. Targeted at enterprises, research institutions, and HPC/AI workloads requiring cost-efficient, sovereign long-term tape archiving.
Quantifiable outcome
- Storage cost reduction of approximately 50% for iRODS users through tape-based archiving
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Grau Data Storage
Customer profileNamed customers9 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Grau Data Storage technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration6 records
Feature4 records
Grau Data Storage partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core, strategic, primary and key.
- COMBACKcoreArcitecta, GRAU DATA, and COMBACK announced a joint demonstration of an integrated data management and archive solution at ISC 2026. The combined architecture integrates Arcitecta's Mediaflux platform with GRAU DATA's Metadata-Hub and XtreemStore, and COMBACK's BDT ORION enterprise tape infrastructure.
- ThinkParQ / BeeGFScoreThinkParQ and GRAU DATA formed a strategic partnership to integrate automated tape archive tiering into the BeeGFS parallel file system. The XtreemStor system uses intelligent tiering to move inactive AI, HPC, and big data workloads from fast media to LTO tape archives via S3 object interface. Both companies are Germany-based, allowing joint customers to meet European data sovereignty requirements.
- COMBACK GmbHcoreCOMBACK's ARION Tape Library has been certified for use with GRAU DATA XtreemStore software. This enables companies to store archive data with low TCO on COMBACK tape systems. The ARION supports up to 640 tape slots with 16 LTO-FH drives. Combined solution provides on-premise S3 to tape archiving with data sovereignty.
- ArcitectacoreArcitecta and GRAU DATA have integrated and certified their solutions for data management and tape archiving. The integration combines Arcitecta's Mediaflux research data management platform with GRAU DATA's XtreemStore tape object archive. This enables customers to move inactive data cost-effectively to LTO tapes via S3 Glacier interface while Mediaflux maintains central metadata management. Successfully deployed at TU Dresden.
- iRODS ConsortiumstrategicGRAU DATA joined the iRODS Consortium to help iRODS users reduce storage costs by approximately 50% and better utilize unstructured data for AI and analytics. The MetadataHub product helps iRODS users transform unstructured data and embedded metadata into valuable analytics insights. iRODS is open-source software used for storing, managing, and sharing large amounts of data and metadata worldwide.
- VeeamcoreVeeam is the primary backup platform that Blocky for Veeam protects against ransomware. Blocky is currently the only ransomware protection for backups that runs directly on the Veeam Windows Server. The integration is seamless and provides zero-trust protection for Veeam backup environments.
- Cristie DataprimaryCristie Data is a key channel partner for GRAU DATA, distributing Blocky for Veeam ransomware protection. Cristie Data identified Blocky as an ideal complementary product for protecting Veeam repositories and presented the solution, leading to Maschinenringe's purchase decision.
- interface systemskeyinterface systems is the integration partner that helped win the TU Dresden project combining Arcitecta Mediaflux and GRAU DATA XtreemStore. Olaf Jacobi from interface systems is quoted as a key account manager in the partnership.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Grau Data Storage competitors and assessment
Company assessmentMarket position
Competitive moat5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Grau Data Storage social profiles
Digital presenceGrau Data Storage compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
Grau Data Storage financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Grau Data Storage leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles4 records
Grau Data Storage funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Grau Data Storage 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 Grau Data Storage
What does Grau Data Storage do?
GRAU DATA develops and sells enterprise data management software centered on WORM (Write Once, Read Many) technology. Its portfolio of four products — Blocky for Veeam (ransomware protection for Veeam backups), FileLock (audit-proof archiving), Metadata-Hub (metadata mining), and XtreemStore (object-oriented S3-to-tape archive) — addresses secure long-term archiving, regulatory compliance, backup immutability, and AI-readiness of unstructured data for enterprises, research institutions, and government agencies.
Is Grau Data Storage a public or private company?
Grau Data Storage is a private company. It is classified as family owned and is currently operating.
When was Grau Data Storage founded?
Grau Data Storage was founded in 2000. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Grau Data Storage based?
Grau Data Storage is headquartered in Schwäbisch Gmünd, Germany, in the Europe region.
How does Grau Data Storage make money?
One revenue line is on record: software Licenses.
Does Grau Data Storage have an API?
No public API is recorded for Grau Data Storage.
What industry is Grau Data Storage in?
Grau Data Storage's product category is Data Archiving and Protection Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDABAEAH, Data Protection & Archiving (WORM, Long-Term Retention), with a secondary code of BPAEAPAO, Records Management, Information Governance & Retention. Its NAICS code is 5132 and its SIC code is 7372.