Synology has long been more than just NAS servers and hard drives. It positions itself as a ‘single vendor’ for digital and physical security, and with the Synology Office Suite, it’s also entering Microsoft and Google’s territory.
A cinema hall is typically not the usual setting for servers, drives, and security cameras. The Eye Film Museum in Amsterdam exceptionally serves as a red carpet for Synology. In this cinematic setting, Synology showcases what it’s working on. This edition is even more special, as the Taiwanese company celebrates its twenty-fifth anniversary this year.
Synology is in the midst of a complete course change. The company today is much more than a storage technology manufacturer. Synology is gradually moving away from its original target group of ‘prosumers’, consumers with above-average IT knowledge and needs, and now speaks the language of businesses. During the Synology Solution Day, it positions itself as a ‘one-stop shop’ for data management in the hybrid cloud.
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Efficiency is key
Evgeniya Paliy, Regional Sales Manager for the Benelux region, explains the new vision in her opening remarks. “We have systematically expanded into a complete ecosystem for data security. All elements in our solutions work together, so customers don’t have to integrate themselves. Hybrid (multi-)cloud makes IT management more complex, while C-levels want to cut IT budgets. Efficiency is the key to business success.”
Paliy mentions four pillars that, in Synology’s vision, lead to efficiency:
- Integrated platforms
- Built-in resilience
- Operational simplicity
- Scalability
Last Line of Defense
When you say Synology, you automatically think of one or more compact NAS devices hanging around somewhere at home or in the office. Storage forms Synology’s DNA and unsurprisingly, this is how it opens the Solution Day. But the business focus is clearly audible again: with the ActiveProtect and Enterprise Storage portfolio, Synology wants to claim a role in companies’ security strategy.
“I assume you have multiple backups, but can you also quickly restore them when needed?” asks Danlin Ou, Presales Manager Benelux, to the audience. “This is exactly where things often go wrong in practice. During cyberattacks, you can lose months to years of data. Rebuilding data costs time and money. Backups and recovery are your last line of defense.”
For Synology, a backup solution must meet at least three criteria. Ou explains the ‘checklist’:
- Isolated: Backups may not be modified by unauthorized persons
- Visible: Backups must be able to be monitored
- Auditable: Backups must comply with legal guidelines such as NIS2.
This way, Synology wants to appeal to both small and large companies with a ‘single-vendor model’. Ou explains: “Each type of workload has different requirements. Companies need solutions that deploy resources efficiently. Not putting all your eggs in the same basket isn’t bad, but integrating multiple vendors can cause costs and confusion. Our model saves costs and guarantees security.”
Louvre
Synology carefully guards your digital treasures, but sometimes burglars target your physical possessions. The manufacturer’s security cameras must prevent your organization from experiencing ‘the next Louvre heist’. Céline Romijn, Key Enterprise Account Manager at Synology Benelux, warns that randomly hanging some cameras only provides a false sense of security.
“Traditional surveillance runs into limitations: it’s labor-intensive and outdated interfaces cause complex integration. You can only view recordings after an incident has already occurred,” says Romijn.
Synology counters this with what it calls ‘smart surveillance’. AI also finds its way into security cameras, in the form of object detection, license plate recognition, or smart search functions in recording history. Romijn: “This makes physical security proactive. We can send you instant alerts of incidents or emergency situations the moment they happen. You see everything without being glued to your chair.”
Miléna Laurent, Channel Sales Manager Synology Benelux, again emphasizes simplicity when she takes the floor. The manufacturer’s cameras work closely with the NAS servers, but Synology recently also introduced C2 Surveillance that brings camera management to the cloud.
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“This solution requires no on-prem setup and servers. Up to thousands of cameras across multiple sites can be managed from one central CMS. At the pace of your own needs, more cameras and storage can be added, without upfront costs and with minimal impact on your network,” says Laurent. “The built-in failover guarantee, where a peer-to-peer connection temporarily takes over from the cloud, keeps your cameras always online and encryption protects you against leaks.”
Office on your NAS
The final part is for Key Account Manager Benelux Sertac Ardogan. He presents the latest additions to the Office Suite: Synology’s lesser-known counterpart to Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace. Where Microsoft and Google increasingly push you toward the public cloud, Synology wants to offer an alternative to build your own virtual work environment on-premises.
That promise sounds more attractive than ever today, according to Ardogan. For cost or geopolitical reasons, companies are beginning to reconsider their cloud strategy. “The cost of public cloud is increasing. Subscriptions become more expensive year after year, while legacy software disappears. Every organization faces a choice: pay more for cloud licenses or migrate to a private cloud.”
The cost of public cloud is increasing. You face a choice: pay more or migrate.
Sertac Ardogan, Key Account Manager Synology Benelux
The Synology Office Suite offers an alternative for every Microsoft or Google application, from Synology Drive and ShareSync for storing and sharing files, to Spreadsheets and Docs for document editing and a dedicated mail server. The big difference is that they don’t run from the public cloud, but on your own NAS servers. “You maintain full control over your data, without subscription costs,” says Ardogan.
Synology jumps on the AI bandwagon, but does so cautiously. Don’t expect an intrusive Synology Copilot that wants to assist you with every mouse click. “Next year we want to enable private AI integration in Office Suite and MailPlus. This will enable more AI functions on local servers,” Ardogan gives a glimpse of what’s to come.
During the Synology Solution Day, Synology shows how it has evolved in 25 years. From a NAS specialist that was mainly visible in hobby rooms to a business supplier that fulfills multiple business needs. In storage, security, and productivity, Synology’s strengths come together. Efficiency is the keyword. Whether the general public will actually look to Synology as an alternative to Microsoft is an open question. The company certainly wants to highlight that it’s ready with its own solutions.