At its recent Pure Accelerate customer event in the the UK, Pure Storage announced several innovations and enhancements to its portfolio. The new capabilities focus on real-time enterprise file services, virtualization, and financial flexibility.

Figure 1: Overview of Announcements (Source: Pure Storage)

The most significant of these announcements include:

1. Real-time Enterprise File: A dynamic file service designed to address the limitations of traditional storage, enabling real-time agility and non-disruptive upgrades.
2. Expanded Hardware Support: Pure introduced the new FlashBlade//S100, a cost-efficient, AI-ready platform supporting workloads such as AI, compliance, IoT, and Edge applications.
3. Simplicity and AI Integration: Pure Storage announces new features to simplify storage management with cloud-like operations. The most compelling of these is its new AI Copilot for File, which uses natural language models to eliminate bottlenecks and assist IT teams with file management.
4. Virtual Machine (VM) Assessment: A new tool to help IT teams optimize virtualization operations by providing performance monitoring, scenario planning, and resource optimization recommendations.
5. Universal Credits: A new financial model that allows businesses to purchase a pool of credits to use across various Pure Storage services.

Real-Time Enterprise File Service

Pure’s new Real-time Enterprise File is a dynamic file storage solution designed to address the needs of modern, data-intensive applications such as AI, analytics, and virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI).

The new offering resolves the limitations of traditional file-based storage systems by providing increased real-time agility, non-disruptive upgrades, and enhanced performance capabilities.

Figure 2: Pure Real-Time File Service (source: Pure Storage)

Key aspects of the new file service include:

• Real-time Agility: The new service allows for dynamic adjustments based on real-time business and application demands, not the more traditional pre-configured silos and rigid architectures found in traditional legacy storage solutions.
• Global Storage Pools: The service uses global storage pools to allow organizations to maximize all their storage resources without the complexity of managing individual arrays or planning storage allocations for specific applications.
• Zero-Move Tiering: Pure describes this as an “industry-first feature” that enables performance optimization without physically moving data between tiers.
• Non-Disruptive Upgrades: The platform ensures continuous, non-disruptive upgrades for hardware and software without downtime or data migration.

Figure 3: Innovations within New File Service (source: Pure Storage)

FlashBlade//S100

The FlashBlade//S100 is a scalable, entry-level data storage platform from Pure Storage, designed to support a wide range of data-intensive workloads. It features a scale-out architecture, making it suitable for small-scale and enterprise applications.

The new platform is geared toward AI-driven tasks and modern workloads, such as compliance, IoT, content sharing, Edge computing, and remote office/branch office (ROBO) use cases.

Figure 4: New Pure FlashBlade//S100 (source: Pure Storage)

Key features of the FlashBlade//S100 include:

• AI-Ready Architecture: The platform supports GPU Direct, making it an option for AI workloads requiring high-performance computing and seamless data transfer between storage and GPUs.
• Scalability: The FlashBlade//S100 can be expanded to meet the needs of different market segments, from cost-sensitive environments to high-end enterprise use cases.
• Progressive Pricing: The platform is designed to offer flexible pricing across various tiers, allowing organizations to scale according to their specific needs while maintaining cost efficiency.

Pure is targeting the the FlashBlade//S100 at organizations that need high-performance storage but also value scalability and cost-effectiveness, particularly for workloads that demand real-time data processing and analytics. It’s a strong addition to the portfolio.

AI Copilot for File

Pure Storage is enhancing storage management by introducing its generative AI-powered AI Copilot for File. The tool simplifies file management through natural language processing and automation.

The key elements of AI Copilot include:

• Natural Language for Files: Simplifies the management process for both IT generalists and experts.
• Automation: Eliminates file-related IT bottlenecks and automates quality of service (QoS) and multiprotocol configurations.

VM Assessment Tool

Pure Storage introduced a Virtual Machine Assessment tool integrated with its Pure1 management platform to optimize virtualization operations. The new tool offers insights and recommendations for managing virtualized environments.

Figure 5: New VM Assessment Tool (Source: Pure Storage)

Key features of the VM Assessment tool include:

• Performance Monitoring: Tracks the performance of virtualized environments to identify optimization opportunities.
• Scenario Planning and Rightsizing: Provides actionable insights for resource allocation and cost-efficiency.
• Subscription Impact Analysis: Helps decision-makers understand the impact of resource use on their subscriptions.

Universal Credits for Services

Pure’s new Universal Credits is a flexible financial model that allows customers to purchase a pool of credits that can then be used across various Pure Storage offerings, providing more adaptability and control over their storage costs.

Figure 6: Pure Universal Credits (Source: Pure Storage)

Key aspects of Universal Credits include:

• Cross-Service Flexibility: Credits can be applied to multiple Pure Storage services, including Evergreen//One (Pure’s Storage-as-a-Service platform), Pure Cloud Block Store, and Portworx (for container storage). This gives businesses the freedom to allocate resources where they are needed without being locked into a specific service.
• Predictable Billing: Universal Credits offer a more consistent and predictable billing structure. Businesses can use their credits as needed across different services without incurring unexpected costs.
• Volume Discounts: Organizations can benefit from volume discounts by purchasing credits in bulk, optimizing their financial planning and resource allocation.

The new model provides enterprises with financial flexibility, allowing them to adjust their storage usage dynamically as their needs evolve while maintaining control over their budget. Universal Credits help businesses move from rigid subscription models and toward a more consumption-based, flexible approach to managing storage infrastructure.

Analysis

Pure Storage’s latest announcements demonstrate a strategic push toward greater flexibility, automation, and real-time responsiveness in data storage, key factors for addressing the evolving needs of modern enterprises.

Pure’s new Real-time Enterprise File Service provides a more dynamic and agile solution for data-intensive workloads like AI and analytics, where traditional storage systems often fail. The new file service allows Pure to capitalize on the growing demand for high-performance, low-latency storage solutions.

Its new FlashBlade//S100 is a strong addition to its storage portfolio, expanding Pure’s reach from cost-sensitive use cases to enterprise AI and Edge applications. This scalability, combined with the AI Copilot for File and VM Assessment tools, shows Pure’s continuing focus on reducing operational complexity—an increasingly critical differentiator in a market where enterprises prioritize efficiency and automation, where Pure has always been stronger than its competition.

The new Universal Credits for Pure’s storage-as-a-service (STaaS) give businesses the flexibility and cost predictability needed to manage dynamic storage needs. This is a powerful addition to Pure’s arsenal. Subscriptions, which include Pure’s Evergreen STaaS offerings, accounted for nearly half of Pure’s overall revenue during its most recent quarter. This is an area where Pure is strongly differentiated.

This is an important segment where Pure is executing while strongly differentiating from its more traditional competitors. The new Universal Credits remove barriers to customer adoption and should serve the company well.

Pure Storage has always been about simplicity, whether in deploying or managing storage, buying and installing storage, or in providing flexible options for easy consumption. This set of announcements advance Pure’s ability satisfy each of these, strengthening its position against legacy vendors like Dell Technologies and HPE. Pure continues to offer an agile, customer-friendly portfolio of solutions aligned with the real-time demands of modern workloads.