Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) bundled Datera’s software-defined storage onto its servers as part of a new partnership. It gives HPE customers scale-out block and object storage. And it also moves Datera’s platform into more enterprise data centers.

“Datera suffered from the typical startup problem,” said CEO Guy Churchward. “We needed to go out and get our message into the enterprise. And we needed a trusted partner who had equity with them.” That partner is HPE, the No. 2 data center server vendor worldwide, according to IDC.

For the record: Dell EMC is No. 1. And HPE and Datera say they are gunning for Dell EMC with their new partnership. “If you are looking at Tier 1, enterprise primary storage, the only other competitor would be the Dell EMC ScaleIO product,” Churchward said. “The combination of Datera and HPE clearly goes after that.”

Founded in 2013, Datera’s software-defined storage platform lets customers quickly scale as needed, essentially giving enterprises a cloud-storage experience in their on-premises data centers. Gartner forecasts that more than 80 percent of enterprise data will be stored in these types of scale-out storage systems by 2021, up from 30 percent in 2017.

The software also uses automation and data orchestration to place data by location, node, and media type, and continuously tunes performance for each application, eliminating the need for manual intervention. And it uses machine learning to assess companies’ data environment and automatically take actions needed to optimize it.

It supports virtual machines, containers, and bare metal. And while the platform currently does block and object storage, the company plans to add file storage in the future.

Combining HPE Proliant DL and Apollo servers with Datera’s software provides higher input/output operations per second (IOPS) and lower latency across flash-media server nodes compared to other scale-out, all-flash offerings, the companies claim.

“We can definitely give ScaleIO a run for its money,” said Marty Lans, general manager of storage connectivity engineering and global interoperability for HPE.

Under the new partnership, Datera also joined the HPE Complete resellers program under which HPE validates third-party products.

“Datera specializes in scale-out,” Lans said. “They bring scalability and performance.”

And, he added, HPE customers had been asking for Datera’s software-defined storage platform. “This is a real customer-driven relationship, which is a real testament to the technology.”