Providing a reliable and easy-to-use management software for Ceph storage clusters: That is the core motiviation of croit GmbH's founding team, consisting of Martin Verges, Paul Emmerich, and Matthias Grandl.

Already months before finally founding croit on January 31st 2017, first milestones have been accomplished:

Mid 2016 - Being faced with recurring problems in managing Ceph Clusters for his company First Colo GmbH, Martin Verges develops the idea of a management tool for those clusters. An efficient and easy-to-use solution to tackle these issues is possible, Verges is convinced. Due to a lack of ressources and different company priorities, the idea is not further pursued.
September 2016 - A client managed by Verges is once again facing issues with managing ceph. Encouraged that his vision can truely make a difference, Verges starts looking for companions to pursue his idea. Paul Emmerich, freelancer and responsible for managing ceph cluster at First colo, is immediately convinced of the importance and potential. Emmerich agrees to take over technical leadership and backend development. To get started, Verges and Emmerich are now only missing frontend expertise.
October 2016 - Matthias Grandl joins the founding team as frontend developer. Grandl, looking for new challenges and motiviated to explore entrepreneurship is quickly persuaded of the projects' potential.
End 2016 After quite some sleepless nights, a first usuable prototyp is ready: Years of active software development and especially four years of expertise in managing ceph clusters help Verges and Emmerich to create a first usable version in just a few weeks, covering already core aspects of Verges' initial idea.
January 2017 Excited to see his colleauges first approach, Grandl is skipping his already planned trip to the US and Brazil to support the team in this crucial phase with his frontend expertise, so the project gains further momentum.
First the prototype, then the incorporation: On January 31st 2017 the company agreements are signed by Verges, Emmerich, and Grandl. The three founders are excited to start the year 2017 together as croit GmbH. Their mission: Re-defining the management of storage clusters - efficient, secure, and convinient - while spreading Ceph as market leading open source software defined storage tool.

We are looking forward to shaping the market in the next years. Our experience is our greatest motivation: We know that managing storage clusters is possible in an easier more efficient way. Together, we'll find the right solution for you - let's do it!

A short history of croit