Jill Stelfox, Panzura | VMworld 2020
Channel: SiliconANGLE theCUBE
Date: 30/09/2020

Jill Stelfox, Chairman and CEO of Panzura, joins Stu Miniman for coverage of VMworld 2020.

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https://siliconangle.com/2020/09/30/growing-demand-for-file-storage-and-workforce-collaboration-boosts-panzuras-growth-vmworld/

Growing demand for file storage and workforce collaboration boosts Panzura’s growth

BY SILVIA FREGONI

Although the global pandemic has caused serious damage to many companies, it has been a growth driver for others. Cloud file storage provider Panzura LLC, acquired some months ago by venture capital firm Profile Capital Management LLC, has been capitalizing as enterprises demand flexibility and security for their remote workforces.

“Literally, we bought the company a few days before California closed for COVID, and so this is the moment where file storage and collaboration is absolutely key,” said Jill Stelfox (pictured), chairman and chief executive officer of Panzura. “So, great timing for us from that perspective.”

Stelfox spoke with Stu Miniman, host of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s livestreaming studio, during VMworld. They discussed Panzura’s solutions for business before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, its partnership with VMware, some use cases for its technology and its prospects for rapid growth. (* Disclosure below.)

Cost management makes the difference
What made Panzura an interesting target for Profile Capital was its unique technology and its ability to grow quickly, according to Stelfox. And this growth has been occurring significantly in recent months, partly due to the impact of the pandemic on digital transformation and business needs.

“We’ve invested a ton of money in our sales partners and customers, so since I’ve been here, we’ve literally grown our revenue about 65%,” she said. “Also, we’re investing heavily in R&D, and you’re going to see some fun things coming from us on the R&D front.”

Panzura’s patented technology delivers real-time cloud-based file operations, including file locking to prevent overwriting or versioning, accelerating collaboration between remote workers regardless of location. This allows organizations to share data globally, with security, according to Stelfox.

“Panzura is more than just a file system. It is a piece of fabric that allows you to put files in a really high-performance way into the cloud and collaborate across the globe,” she explained.

An interesting feature of Panzura is the way it handles data. “You don’t have to duplicate it. We just do snapshots, and it’s there and available when you need it,” Stelfox highlighted.

Another important capability is cost management, an essential resource for organizations that have great amounts of data and very large files.

“Being able to have a solution that automatically manages cash versus S3 and long-term storage, that’s one of our key [points],” Stelfox explained. “We have 34 patents or something like that, [and] one of our main claims to fame is that we can absolutely do that and that reduces the costs long-term of your storage in the cloud.”

Pazura’s range of customers is diverse. The company has worked with one of the largest banks in the world, which took a legacy wire transfer application and placed it into the cloud, and with the vast majority of gaming companies, for example.

“They use Panzura to run all their files and collaborate on those really large games where they can code across the world,” Stelfox concluded.

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of VMworld. (* Disclosure: Panzura LLC sponsored this segment of theCUBE. Neither Panzura nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)