Cubbit has four co-founders; how did you meet?

We met at the School of Excellence (Collegio Superiore) of the University of Bologna. I was one of the few participants with a business background. The Collegio Superiore is tough to get into; most students later pursue a PhD. We decided to start the company right after university. Our first office was in the apartment of one of the founders’ families. We worked in the living room while renting out the bedrooms on Airbnb. This allowed us to fund Cubbit’s first steps. Interestingly, one of Airbnb’s first employees also invested in Cubbit.

What is the innovation behind Cubbit’s technology?

The core of the technology is called Cubbit DS3 Composer, which gives IT managers a Midas touch. Everything they touch becomes cloud storage, regardless of whether the servers are on-premise, on the public cloud, or at the edge. The advantage is that you can control all storage from one single place, even though the data is distributed. This, in turn, means that a lot less disk space is used because our software ensures the availability of the data without copying it several times in its entirety. It offers flexibility that hyperscalers [big cloud storage providers] cannot provide and enables savings of up to 80%.

Who are Cubbit’s typical customers?

They are businesses for which data is a critical asset and that care about sovereignty, control, security, and costs. Cubbit works like any other S3 system [the standard for cloud storage], but unlike them, every data is encrypted, fragmented, and replicated across a geo-distributed network of the user’s choice. It also lets customers choose in which countries their data is stored to comply with regional regulations.

Alternatively to DS3 Composer — where companies can compose their own S3 cloud storage with complete feature customisation to adapt to their unique IT strategy — businesses can access DS3 Powered, the pre-composed version of Cubbit, which allows them to enjoy the benefits of Cubbit technology, managed by a partner.

You recently raised a new round and announced a partnership with WIIT, a European leader in cloud computing services with a significant presence in the DACH area. So, your expansion plans center on Europe?

Indeed, we plan to grow rapidly in Europe. The DACH area is one of the most digitised areas of Europe, and WIIT, with its 7 EU-based Cloud Regions, is an ideal partner for Cubbit. We want to onboard organisations in every region of Europe, give them back control over their data, and help limit the cost explosion for data storage as the need for data storage will only increase.

Are not only private companies but also public institutions like hospitals and other government organisations keen on software like Cubbit?

Every organisation that needs to be vigilant and manage data for its citizens struggles with data sovereignty. To keep control over their information, they need to rely on on-premise data storage, which does not offer the simplicity of cloud storage. Such organisations are indeed among the earliest adopters of our solution.

Who are your salespeople typically talking to in potential customer companies?

It can be the IT manager, Head of Infrastructure, or Chief Information Officer, but we also see CFOs and CEOs pushing for adoption.

The return on investment of up to 5x compared to traditional S3 solutions is easily understandable by anyone with a business mindset. Additionally, the ability to communicate to stakeholders about the organisation’s data independence and freedom from vendor lock-in is another welcome benefit.

Finally, the adaptability to the growing trend of IT strategies is very appreciated among C-levels: we’re talking about multi-cloud, hybrid cloud, private cloud, on-premises, edge scenarios, cloud-prem, and more.

What is the difference between Cubbit and other companies that try to beat the hyperscalers in terms of cost? There is, for example, Wasabi that is less expensive than those.

Every competitor offering cheap storage delivers on-premise or cloud solutions with the associated problems: On-premise means limited technology, scalability complexities and painful data management. Cloud means cost uncertainty and loss of data control. Companies trying to combine the two offer a solution that reminds me of a Picasso painting. People are usually surprised by how effortless working with Cubbit feels. Just like magic, Cubbit brings the Midas touch to your IT strategy, turning complexity into seamless cloud storage.