Interview with Erik Frieberg from MinIO

MinIO recently launched AIStor, the fastest and relatively cost-efficient object store. What are the unique advantages of this solution against traditional public cloud solutions, especially regarding AI and ML workloads?

Rapid AI adoption has significantly increased the scale of data and this is driving a shift in tech infrastructure. MinIO stands alone miles ahead of the competition because this is exactly what it was designed for – storing massive volumes of structured and unstructured data and providing performance at scale.

Specific features aside, data storage requirements for AI are reaching exascale and no model supports keeping that data in the public cloud with its data access and egress charges. Everything you do in the public cloud, you can do in private cloud/on-prem, but at a savings of 60%-70%. Additionally, more and more business leaders have concluded that the importance of AI to their organizations is existential.

Therefore, more are opting for control over the convenience of the public cloud. This point of control—over their data, the computing needed for model training, and the models themselves—is quickly becoming imperative.

While MinIO was already designed to manage exascale data, AIStor offers features that make it easier to extend the power of AI to introduce new functionality across applications without needing to manage separate tools for analysis. One such feature includes the new S3 API, promptObject. PromptObject enables users to “talk” to unstructured objects like they would engage an LLM. This moves the storage world from a PUT and GET paradigm to a PUT and PROMPT paradigm, which aligns with modern AI-driven operating environments.

Applications can use promptObject through function calling with additional logic. This can be combined with chained functions with multiple objects addressed simultaneously, allowing developers to expand the capabilities of their applications without requiring domain-specific knowledge of RAG models or vector databases.

This will dramatically simplify AI application development while simultaneously making it more powerful.

In the ever-growing cloud-native and IT landscape, how has your team ensured AIStor’s messaging maintains its uniqueness? Additionally, how do you ensure every nitty-gritty in your marketing blueprint resonates with both the technical and non-technical audiences?

With the launch of AIStor, as with any other product launch, it’s important to highlight both the technical nitty-gritty aspects of the product as well as the business impact it is delivering so that technical and business audiences alike understand the value.

When it comes to ensuring our messaging maintains its uniqueness, it really comes down to the product itself. We highlight how MinIO AIStor is both different—the most chip/vendor agnostic platform, which is a critical differentiator in the broader AI ecosystem—and focused—leads in storage because it is solely focused on solving exascale data challenges driven by AI.

AIStor is solving AI-scale issues in private cloud environments like no other company and we show that value through impact. This sets MinIO apart and that’s what we try to highlight for potential customers – if you’re working with massive amounts of data to drive AI innovation, we’re here for you.

It’s common knowledge – the crucial role developer communities play in adopting cloud-native technologies. How do MinIO’s marketing efforts build a strong and engaged community?

We aim to be a resource to our open-source community and support innovation on all fronts. This takes the form of various practices and efforts, one of the most impactful being the MinIO open-source community Slack channel.

We engage with the community and provide an open forum for them to discuss any questions or topics related to MinIO. This channel has grown to over 32K members.

Given the collaboration in open-source development, how does MinIO ensure its open-source projects align with the necessary compliance regulations and take a proactive security stance?

Security and compliance are high priorities as MinIO aims to deliver the most secure, durable, and scalable storage options. MinIO’s solutions are built for both performance and security and our partnerships reflect this.

For example, MinIO partnered with F5 last year to address the unique challenges of large-scale AI deployments by providing optimized data flow, robust security, and seamless hybrid and multi-cloud networking.

At its nucleus, how does your brand ensure its product strategy is consistent with the demands and prerequisites of a cloud-native ecosystem?

There are two main storage-specific questions that determine a storage system’s Cloud Native credibility:

1. Is it purpose-built for Kubernetes?
2. Is it compatible with Amazon’s S3 API?

MinIO was created with the vision that data would continue to grow exponentially, Kubernetes would be the main form of orchestration, and the AWS S3 API would be standardized as the need for high-performance, scalable object storage grows. This has proven true and now MinIO is the only player in the object storage space challenging AWS S3 (77% of the Fortune 500 run MinIO) and has set itself up to capitalize on the exabyte scale demands of the “AI boom”.

As far as the product strategy moving forward, we are focused on enhancing our platform to offer the most scalable, cost-effective, and user-friendly solutions.

The market continues to witness a significant rise in cybersecurity threats as AI continues to become rampant. What proactive measures is MinIO undertaking to ensure its storage solutions remain compliant with industry standards, especially for clients present across highly regulated industries?

All data requires protection but the level of security required hinges on the sensitivity of the information. As a storage provider, it’s crucial to ensure that our systems not only protect sensitive data but also prioritize the security of all data types handled by the system. Some features to ensure effective security and privacy include:

• HTTPS: Enable HTTPS helps to encrypt data during the delivery process. The data delivery process is vulnerable to attacks from the outside so it’s crucial to prevent an attacker from intercepting data during the process.
• Bucket versioning: While bucket versioning does not directly impact security, it guards against the possibility of accidental data deletion or modification by retaining or storing multiple versions of each object. Bucket versioning also protects against ransomware attacks, since these attacks typically involve encrypting or deleting data to extort victims.
• Access management: MinIO uses a system called Policy-Based Access Control (PBAC) to decide what a user can and can’t do with objects and the conditions when they can do certain things. These access keys in MinIO are used for authentication purposes and can be restricted.
• Server-side encryption (SSE): MinIO’s Server-Side Encryption (SSE) keeps your objects safe when they’re stored by encrypting them right at the storage place. This means when you put something in MinIO, it’s automatically protected. SSE also helps with rules and laws about making sure data stays private and can be safely deleted.

You hold comprehensive expertise in IT infrastructure and databases. Where are these technologies headed – especially in the age of emerging tech such as AI and automation – in your opinion?

As artificial intelligence (AI) and automation redefine the technology landscape, IT infrastructure and database technologies are evolving to meet new challenges and opportunities.

I see many fundamental shifts including storage needs for AI-driven workloads, the need for sustainability, and heightened security concerns are shaping the next generation of enterprise data solutions

AI-driven workloads demand unprecedented data storage and processing capabilities. Traditional IT infrastructure was not designed for the 100s of petabytes and exascale data volumes required by modern AI applications, prompting organizations to rethink their storage strategies. The public cloud, while initially a preferred choice for scalability, is increasingly seen as costly and restrictive due to high egress fees and data access limitations. Instead, many enterprises are shifting toward hybrid and private cloud models that provide greater control and cost savings.

For the last decade, cloud storage has been the heart of innovation in storage but given the requirements of AI, organizations are looking to leverage the cloud storage model and manage workloads seamlessly across multiple environments, whether in on-premises data centers, public clouds, or at the edge.

In addition, as AI reshapes industries, the security risks associated with vast AI-generated datasets are increasing. Enterprises, particularly in regulated industries, must ensure that AI models and data remain secure, compliant, and resilient against cyber threats.

To safeguard critical data, next-generation IT infrastructure and database technologies will emphasize end-to-end encryption, zero-trust security models, and automated compliance monitoring.

As the CMO of MinIO, how has your role evolved in alignment with the objectives of the company? And how do you strike the right balance between technical and business asks?

As MinIO continues to grow as a leader in cloud-native object storage, my role as CMO needs to focus on our digital and community marketing strategy, Account-Based Marketing (ABM), and data-driven execution. These strategies ensure that our marketing efforts align with MinIO’s mission to support AI, machine learning, and cloud-native applications at exascale.

A key shift has been the development of a demand-driven digital marketing engine that reaches both technical and enterprise audiences. By leveraging SEO, high-value content, and performance-driven advertising, we’ve built a strong presence among AI developers, IT leaders, and enterprises seeking cost-effective, scalable storage solutions.

Additionally, community engagement through open-source forums and social media has become a critical part of our digital-first strategy, fostering a strong developer ecosystem around MinIO.

To target high-value enterprise clients, we’ve implemented a high-touch ABM approach that integrates personalized content, intent-based advertising, and executive outreach. By aligning sales and marketing, we ensure our messaging directly addresses the challenges of Fortune 500 companies and AI-driven enterprises, positioning MinIO as their ideal storage partner.

Lastly, data-driven marketing is at the core of our strategy. We use real-time analytics, AI-driven lead scoring, and multi-channel attribution models to optimize performance and maximize ROI. This allows us to continuously refine targeting, improve conversion rates, and align marketing investments with business growth.

What role will MinIO play in reshaping the future of a cloud-native economy?

As we enter the exabyte era, organizations need storage options that can manage massive amounts of data and MinIO is currently the only provider comfortable with that scale in both private and public cloud environments.

Cloud is no longer a destination; it’s an operating model. That is why you will find MinIO everywhere on the public and private cloud, at the edge. We don’t differentiate because we are cloud-native and we are cloud (location) agnostic.

The public cloud has mindshare and gravity, however, in ways that cannot be denied. It is the place to learn about the cloud, and it offers the allure of instant infrastructure, a bevy of services, and minimal friction.

That said, it also has a dark side.

Cloud lock-in is a real thing, and massive enterprise software companies are seeing its dark side firsthand as they try to re-engineer their economics within highly constrained parameters. Our customers will never have this issue because we are the most chip—and vendor-agnostic platform available and will continue to be.