Gaining recognition as a startup in an industry as advanced as storage can be difficult. Finding the funding and people and developing the technology can be a race against time and a race against other vendors, some of which are new and some of which have a long history of technical innovation and the deep pockets to stay competitive.

Despite the barriers, the storage industry remains a true startup engine where someone with an idea for a new way to bring value to customers’ data--or find value in that data--has a chance to make a huge difference.

Here we highlight 10 startups, all of which have come to market with their first products in only the past couple of years. These companies look to grab attention by tackling customers’ mission-critical business data issues as they build the momentum to take them to new levels of success.