iXsystems doubles down on TrueNAS Enterprise growth by spinning off server business to Amaara Networks, simplifying strategy amid booming demand for open storage.
In a move that screams "storage is our true love," iXsystems has announced it's spinning off its server hardware integration business to Amaara Networks. The divorce is amicable – the kids (customers) will be well taken care of, and both parties get to focus on what they're best at.
For iXsystems, that means doubling down on their rapidly growing TrueNAS Enterprise storage platform, which has been quietly eating the lunch of some major storage players.
TrueNAS Takes Center Stage
If you've been following iXsystems, this move shouldn't come as a shock. During the 60th IT Press Tour in January, the company was already dropping hints, with executives highlighting that their TrueNAS brand has "100x the recognition" of the iXsystems name. Brett Davis, EVP at iXsystems, noted that at trade shows, people would approach their iXsystems booth asking, "What do you guys do?" only to light up when they mentioned TrueNAS.
"Oh, TrueNAS! Of course. We use it in our data center."
The company has seen impressive growth metrics, including a 40% compound growth rate since 2021, a 900% increase in NVMe flash capacity deployment in 2024, and a 300% jump in million-dollar deployments.
The Storage Market's Open Secret
While proprietary storage giants like NetApp, Pure Storage, and Dell have dominated enterprise storage conversations, TrueNAS has been the industry's open-source rebel, quietly infiltrating over 60% of Fortune 500 companies.
What's their secret sauce? TrueNAS can save organizations upwards of 30% on storage costs – a compelling proposition as IT budgets remain flat while data growth curves look like hockey sticks. And with the recent Broadcom-VMware situation sending customers scrambling for cost savings anywhere they can find them, TrueNAS's value proposition has never been more attractive.
Customer Impact: Don't Panic
For existing server customers, iXsystems assures a smooth transition to Amaara Networks. The press release emphasizes this isn't abandonment, but a strategic partnership that will benefit customers on both sides.
"We're not ghosting our server customers," iXsystems might as well have said. "We're just introducing them to someone who can give them the attention they deserve while we focus on making TrueNAS even more awesome."
Why This Makes Sense
The move aligns perfectly with what we learned during the IT Press Tour. Morgan Littlewood, SVP of Product Management, revealed a robust roadmap for TrueNAS in 2025, including fast deduplication, block cloning that's 10x faster than previous methods, and enhanced container support.
The company has also been expanding its product portfolio to address different market segments:
F-Series: All-NVMe systems for performance-hungry applications
M-Series: Capacity-optimized systems that scale to 30 petabytes
H-Series: Power-efficient systems with high availability
R-Series: Cost-optimized systems for budget-conscious deployments
With the server business divestiture, iXsystems can channel more resources into these innovations.
Reading Between the Lines
While not explicitly stated, this move might prepare iXsystems for future developments – perhaps acquisition, investment, or even public offering? The simplification of the business model certainly makes the company's story cleaner and more focused.
What's clear is that after 20+ years in business, iXsystems is betting big on open enterprise storage at a time when organizations are increasingly wary of vendor lock-in and astronomical storage costs.
For IT professionals looking for alternatives to the usual storage suspects, TrueNAS continues to gain momentum as the open enterprise storage platform of choice – and now, with 100% of iXsystems' attention behind it.
As one IT director put it during a Gartner Peer Insights review cited during the tour: "Their TrueNAS platform stands out as the most flexible and efficient storage solution on the market." With this latest move, iXsystems is determined to keep it that way.
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