Drobo

Lore & Background

Data Robotics was founded in San Jose, California, in 2005. The company changed its name to Drobo in 2011 because familiarity with the Drobo name, which had only been the name of their product line until then, far exceeded the Data Robotics name. Drobo, Inc. merged with Connected Data, Inc. in June 2013, with the new company taking the Connected Data name. In May 2015, the storage appliance business was spun off as Drobo, Inc. and acquired by an investment group composed of seasoned tech executives. Drobo was later acquired by StorCentric in August 2018.

All Drobo products had been out of stock or severely inventory constrained in both the Drobo Store and retail channels since the beginning of 2020. Drobo initially blamed this on supply chain issues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. In November 2021, Drobo stated that more devices would be available in 'the next few months'. In June 2022, StorCentric filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. After failing to find a buyer or reorganize the company, it shifted to Chapter 7 bankruptcy in April 2023.

From the Drobo website: As of January 27th, 2023, Drobo support and products are no longer available. Drobo support transitioned to a self-service model. The knowledge base, documentation repository, and legacy documentation library remained accessible. As of February 8, 2024, the Drobo website at www.drobo.com was no longer accessible.

Reader's Guide

Drobo's significance lies in its pioneering approach to consumer and small-business storage, offering a user-friendly experience that abstracted away the complexities of RAID configuration. Its devices allowed users to mix drive sizes and types, and to add or remove drives on the fly without manual data migration or downtime, while still providing data protection against drive failure. This made Drobo a notable brand in the external storage market from its founding in 2005 through the early 2010s. However, the company's legacy is also marked by its eventual decline. After a series of corporate transactions—including a merger with Connected Data in 2013, a spin-off and acquisition in 2015, and acquisition by StorCentric in 2018—the brand faced severe inventory constraints starting in 2020, initially attributed to COVID-19 supply chain issues. StorCentric's Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in June 2022, followed by a conversion to Chapter 7 in April 2023, effectively ended the company. Drobo support and products were discontinued as of January 27, 2023, and the company's website went offline in February 2024. The brand's legacy is thus one of innovative storage convenience that ultimately could not sustain its business.

Did You Know?

• Drobo was originally named Data Robotics when founded in 2005.
• Drobo devices could house up to four, five, eight, or twelve hard disk drives.
• As of February 8, 2024, the Drobo website was no longer accessible.