We’re nearly half-way through the calendar year, and with that comes something big and exciting on the horizon from VAST. But before I get to that, I’d like to take a moment to introduce something we’ve been looking forward to for some time.

In 2016, VAST founders embarked on an ambitious mission: to build the only data platform that can match the ambition of AI era companies...one they dubbed a “thinking machine”. They believed that by creating a simple solution to make data more meaningful, they could help organizations across the globe unlock radical intelligence and utility. That ambition—on building a new kind of data platform—is part of what motivated VAST’s fresh new look that I am beyond excited to unveil today. 

Where It All Started

2 years ago, we rocked the industry when we introduced Gemini: the industry’s first disaggregated storage consumption model to marry hyperscale economics with enterprise appliance simplicity, thus turning VAST into a software-only company. But this was only the beginning of our evolution as a company. Fast forward to today, and you’ll find we’re still trailblazing industry firsts…earlier this year we gave a business update that showcased the unprecedented market adoption of the VAST Data Platform, making VAST the fastest growing enterprise software infrastructure company in history, going from $1M to $100M in ARR in just three years. 

And while storage is and will always be our foundation, it was always part of a larger ambition we have had as a team of inventors: to build that ‘thinking machine’...one that learns from data and provides a rich set of insights from any part of the globe. To enable customers to leverage this machine to synthesize data and artificial intelligence to provide insight, automation, and value as an altogether new product category.

With those ambitions came self reflection: were we ready to officially embark on this mission beyond storage? Did we have the brand foundation we needed to tell this story? The short answer was no…but the challengers in us quickly asked why not, and immediately got to work on building out a plan. And after 2 years, and thousands of collective hours of hard work, we're incredibly proud to re-introduce ourselves as…VAST. We’re still the same group of inventors—with the same name and logo—and we’re still committed to delivering on the promise of simplicity at scale...but as you may have noticed we look a little different.

Why Do This?

When I first joined VAST there was a mantra we lived by, which we still live by today: assume nothing, challenge everything. And we encourage our customers to do the same. After all, we are in the midst of a renaissance…AI is transforming every industry in front of our very eyes and the most unimaginable possibilities are fast becoming tangible realities. Against this backdrop, we know that the future will belong to the ones who build it. Those who question the limitations to boldly stride across the divide between what we can imagine, and what we can build.

At VAST, we exist to ask those questions. To shatter the tradeoffs that clip the wings of innovation. To build beyond our horizons and enable others to build beyond theirs. Each one of us shaping our role in changing the world as we know it, building beyond the theoretical toward tangible new realities. For business, and for humanity. Because while some are simply racing to reach a new horizon, we’re already building beyond it.

And from there, the challenge we gave ourselves, our customers, partners and investors became clear: to build beyond. 

Beyond complexity. Beyond tradeoffs. Beyond convention. Because together, we can build beyond. 

Watch the film:

Building Beyond

This new slogan helps capture the essence of what it means to go beyond limitations, beyond our current capabilities, and serves as a reminder to not be limited by what we can do today. It also captures the change and the opportunity that the future represents: changing the world, changing the problems we can solve, changing our relationship to data and technology, changing our possibilities - all for the better. 

Our fresh look also captures this concept, using building blocks to create unique visuals that are paired with illumination to emphasize intelligence and insight, resulting in a unique & visually stunning design language:

Blocks can morph into any other shape, reinforcing the endless capabilities with VAST. 

Light is a key but subtle feature of the VAST brand. It is used to create intrigue and a sense of mystery: hinting that something else is out there to find, learn and explore, and we're always questioning and seeking out what it is. Functionally, we use it to highlight visual stories and provide a sense of depth where needed, both in 2D and 3D formats. On the web, the light becomes a dynamic asset that helps accentuate the digital experience:

What’s To Come

With so much hard work put into this, we’re thrilled—and yes, a little anxious—to finally unveil the first step in the next chapter of VAST.

And while we’ve got a new look, the things our customers love about us will still be the same: our relentless focus on simplicity at scale, breaking tradeoffs, and consistently questioning convention to build beyond the point where our industry peers accept.

Join on us August 1st as we reveal the data infrastructure built for the next age of discovery: buildbeyond.ai