I recently reviewed Synology’s DiskStation DS220+ backup device, where I was able to use a beta version of the DSM7.0 software. The company has now announced the imminent release of DiskStation Manager (DSM) 7.0 and a massive expansion of the Synology C2 platform with four new cloud services.

DSM 7.0, the next leap forward for the platform, was released on June 29. This release focuses on enhancing security, system management capabilities, and improving data collaboration, DSM 7.0 is an enormous step forward for Synology’s NAS and SAN product lines.

Building upon the success of C2 Storage, Synology is rolling out both hybrid and cloud-only products, including a new password manager, directory as a service, cloud backup, and secure file transferring solutions. Synology is heavily invested in expanding the availability of its cloud platform by starting work on opening a new data center location to expand its services to the Asia Pacific region.

“Large amounts of unstructured data is constantly being generated at exponential rates, Traditional centralized storage deployments can no longer keep up with ever-increasing bandwidth and performance demands. Edge cloud products, like Synology’s storage management lineup, are one of the fastest-growing solutions in the market today because they uniquely address the challenges that modern businesses meet.”

Philip Wong, Synology CEO, and Founder.

Data management challenges

Over eight million of Synology’s data management solutions have been deployed worldwide, each powered by the DSM operating system. As the world’s largest NAS OS, DSM uniquely combines storage interoperability, backup and data protection capabilities, and robust synchronization and collaboration solutions together to address increasingly distributed workplaces and sources of data. Synology-developed add-ons, such as Synology Drive, Active Backup suite, and more, feature more than six million monthly downloads.

Launching together with the massive new update includes brand new hybrid-cloud services, such as Active Insight, a large-scale device monitoring and diagnostics solution, Hybrid Share, which combines C2 storage flexibility and synchronization capabilities with on-premises solutions, and C2 Identity, a hybrid cloud directory as a service to simplify cross-site domain management.

Together with platform improvements such as supporting up to 1 PB volumes for super-large tasks, DSM 7.0 also introduces security improvements in the form of Secure SignIn. This brand-new authentication system makes two-factor effortless and straightforward to use.

C2 new solutions & data center

Launching immediately afterward, C2 Password, C2 Transfer, and C2 Backup are standalone solutions that address modern needs to protect passwords, share sensitive files, and back up any endpoints and common SaaS cloud services. 

“Four years of rolling out and operating our cloud service has allowed us to integrate our expertise in data management with new technologies, enabling innovative optimizations that allow us to deliver a reliable but extremely cost-competitive solution,” said Wong. “We’re now looking at a path of rapid expansion into additional locations to address potential customers.” 

Already in the works is a new data center in Taiwan, which lies in the middle of all key markets in the Asia Pacific region. The expansion enables the entire C2 portfolio to be closer to customers, reducing latency and improving the end user experience in a manner similar to how Synology on-premises NAS and SAN solutions are doing for edge deployments. 

“DSM 7.0 and the new C2 expansion bring forward Synology’s new outlook on data management,” Wong stated. “We will continue pushing the boundaries even further with closer integration, bringing out the best of both on-premises and cloud architectures together.”

Availability

New C2 solutions and DSM 7.0, which has concluded over 7 months of public testing, will be available soon.

1. Source: Synology sales metrics across all markets.
2. For select Plus, value, and J series products. XS, SA, and FS series devices will receive updates later in Q4 2021.
3. New C2 services will gradually roll out starting from July 13.