Fabrik Inc.

Fabrik Inc.
Company type	Private
Industry	Computer storage devices, software
Founded	August 2005; 21 years ago
Founder	Mike Cordano, Keyur Patel
Fate	Acquired by Hitachi Global Storage Technologies
Headquarters	San Mateo, California, United States
Area served	North America
Key people	Keyur Patel (Chairman), Mike Cordano (CEO)
Products	External hard drives (SimpleTech, G-Technology), Joggle, Ultimate Backup software
Number of employees	140
Parent	Hitachi Global Storage Technologies

Fabrik Inc. specialized in manufacturing external hard drives and providing digital content management software and services, ranking as the third largest supplier of external storage devices in North America by 2007. The company was based in San Mateo, California, with additional offices located in Santa Ana and Culver City, California. Fabrik served a diverse clientele including consumers, small enterprises, and professionals working with audio and video content.

Its product range featured external hard drives marketed under the SimpleTech and G-Technology brands, which were bundled with online backup software solutions. Fabrik also managed Joggle, a complimentary online platform designed for digital content organization and sharing. These offerings were developed to meet increasing needs for secure data storage and efficient content management.

Leadership included Chairman Keyur Patel and CEO Mike Cordano. Employing around 140 staff members, Fabrik emphasized combining hardware products with cloud services to improve user experience and sustain a competitive edge within the storage sector.

History

Founded in August 2005 by former Maxtor executives Mike Cordano and Keyur Patel, Fabrik began as a web-based software enterprise. Between 2006 and 2007, the company raised $51.3 million through several funding rounds to support its expansion and product innovation.

In February 2006, Fabrik collaborated with Maxtor (which had been acquired by Seagate in 2005) to create Maxtor Fusion, a network-attached storage (NAS) device designed for digital file organization and sharing. Later that year, the company introduced myfabrik.com, an online service for storing digital media.

Fabrik grew through strategic acquisitions, starting with the purchase of SimpleTech’s consumer division in February 2007, thereby incorporating external hard drives aimed at consumers and small business users into its offerings. In January 2008, Fabrik acquired G-Technology, adding a line of external drives focused on Mac users and creative professionals, featuring interfaces such as FireWire, eSATA, USB, SCSI, and Fibre Channel.

The company’s strategy involved launching Joggle at the DEMO conference in January 2008 while managing four separate brands: SimpleTech, G-Technology, Joggle, and Fabrik Ultimate Backup. Each brand maintained its own identity and web presence to effectively target distinct customer segments.

On February 23, 2009, Hitachi Global Storage Technologies announced plans to acquire Fabrik. At that time, Fabrik’s annual revenue was estimated between $350 million and $400 million with growth around 40% per year. The acquisition finalized on April 6, 2009, resulting in Fabrik’s integration into Hitachi GST’s Branded Business division. Following this transition, the subsidiary was renamed 'G-Technology by Hitachi,' strengthening Hitachi’s worldwide footprint in storage solutions.

Products and services

SimpleTech products cater to mainstream consumers and small businesses with a variety of portable and desktop external hard drives. All models include bundled local backup software along with online backup functionality.

The SimpleTech [re]drive features an enclosure made entirely from recyclable materials combined with an energy-efficient design, making it one of the most environmentally conscious external drives available. Its design drew inspiration from Ferrari’s Pininfarina team to balance aesthetics with practical performance.

In 2008, Fabrik introduced Joggle—a free digital content management platform that aggregates videos, photos, and music from users’ computers, external drives, and social media accounts into one centralized tool for organization and sharing.

Furthermore, Fabrik provided Ultimate Backup, a fully online backup service securing user data on remote servers using 128-bit SSL encryption alongside Blowfish technology—targeted at customers requiring robust data protection measures.

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