Is Enterprise Storage Due for a Shake-Up? How TrueNAS is Challenging the Status Quo

What if the future of enterprise storage wasn’t locked behind expensive licenses and proprietary ecosystems?

In this IT Infrastructure as a Conversation episode, recorded during the IT Press Tour in Silicon Valley, we explore how TrueNAS is reshaping expectations in enterprise storage. Brett Davis, Executive Vice President, shares the TrueNAS story—from its roots in Berkeley Unix and FreeBSD to becoming the world’s largest open-source storage platform.

With over 500,000 annual downloads and adoption by more than 60 percent of Fortune 500 companies, TrueNAS is proving that open source and enterprise-grade performance aren’t mutually exclusive. Brett takes us inside the company’s philosophy, its decision to remain bootstrapped, and how it built a sustainable business by serving both community users and enterprise customers.

We dig into what differentiates TrueNAS from established players like NetApp, Dell, HPE, and Pure Storage, and discuss how it addresses growing concerns over vendor lock-in, inflated storage costs, and budget constraints. Brett also highlights how the platform is being used by organizations like NASA, CERN, Skywalker Sound, and the JFK Library—bringing real-world credibility to the open enterprise storage conversation.

As we look ahead, Brett previews TrueNAS’ upcoming software release, codenamed Fangtooth, which will deliver enhanced deduplication, support for RDMA, and enterprise-ready container support. He also unpacks trends such as the steady growth of both cloud and on-prem storage, the squeeze on IT budgets due to AI and VMware licensing hikes, and how businesses are rethinking their infrastructure choices.

If you’re exploring more cost-effective, transparent, and flexible storage solutions or questioning whether your current setup is built to last, this conversation offers timely insight and practical perspective.