Partners love our generosity, claims Nexenta CEO
Tarkan Maner claims his firm is 'the Tesla of the storage world' as he blasts larger rivals who 'abuse' customers
The chief executive of Nexenta claimed partners love the software-defined storage start-up because of the margins it shares with them, as he sought to position it as "the Tesla of the storage world".
Talking to CRN, Nexenta chief executive Tarkan Maner contrasted his firm's approach with incumbents in the storage market who "abuse their customers with very large enterprise costs and very large gear".
"Whereas we make it very simple for the customer to deploy a software-only approach," he added.
The platform service provider offers storage solutions that work on multiple cloud platforms including Open Stack, VMware, Microsoft and Citrix and is soon to release a new technology called NexentaFusion, which will provide its customers with software-defined storage analytics and orchestration.
Maner (pictured) said it operates a capacity-based pricing model and shares "big percentage points" with its reseller partners, of which it currently has 25 in the UK.
"We are at a 90 per cent gross margin, and share our profitability with our customers and partners. That is why channel partners love Nexenta: they make more money with us because we give them the option to," he said.
At a recent visit to rocket and spacecraft manufacturer Spacex, Nexenta was dubbed ‘the Tesla of the storage space', according to Maner.
"We are economic, open and don't create MESS [massively expensive storage systems]. Those vendors that create MESS – I don't have to mention them, everyone knows who – they have large direct sales organisations."
Speaking about the vendor's plans for an IPO, Maner commented: "We are focusing on the IPO. It all depends on a lot of different dynamics, but it is our plan for the next two years. We have just finalised a round of funding, which we will announce in a few weeks.
"With that fundraising we will have more road map, and more opportunities for an IPO," he said.