IoSafe

ioSafe, Inc.
Company type	Private
Industry	Computer storage
Founded	2004; 22 years ago
Founder	Robb Moore
Defunct	2018
Fate	Acquired by CRU Data Security Group
Headquarters	Roseville, California, United States
Products	Disaster-resistant hard drives and network attached storage (NAS) devices
Parent	CRU Data Security Group (since 2018)

ioSafe, Inc. was a producer of disaster-resistant hard drives and network attached storage (NAS) devices, established in 2004 and headquartered in Roseville, California. Its storage solutions were designed to endure extreme fire temperatures and complete immersion in both fresh and saltwater, guaranteeing data retrieval from the enclosed drives.

History

Founded in 2005 by inventor and CEO Robb Moore, ioSafe introduced its initial product, the ioSafe S1, as a solution derived from studies on data destruction caused by fire, flooding, and other natural calamities. The S1 marked the industry's first external hard drive to combine both fire and flood protection. This model was subsequently updated into a dual-drive RAID configuration known as the S2.

Responding to enterprise needs for disaster-resilient network storage, ioSafe released the R4 NAS appliance in 2006. Shortly thereafter, the company obtained patents in May 2007 for its proprietary FloSafe (fire-resistant) and HydroSafe (water-resistant) technologies.

In July 2018, ioSafe became part of CRU Data Security Group, based in Vancouver, Washington. This acquisition strategically merged ioSafe's hardware protection innovations with CRU's product portfolio, broadening their access to overlapping customer markets.

Company Milestones

2004 — Debut of the first external hard drive with combined fire and flood protection
2005 — Official incorporation in California
April 2006 — Awarded Golden Mousetrap by Design News
November 2006 — Launch of NAS devices featuring shock, fire, and water resistance
May 2007 — Patents awarded for safeguarding active electronics within fireproof safes
November 2007 — Patents secured for water protection of active electronic components
July 2008 — Introduction of 3.5” internal hard drives with built-in disaster protection
January 2009 — Release of a 1.5 TB external hard drive with disaster-proof features
January 2010 — Launch of an external solid state drive (SSD) designed for disaster resilience
January 2011 — Introduction of a portable hard drive with disaster protection
January 2012 — Partnership with Intel to produce rugged Thunderbolt portable SSDs
January 2013 — NAS product honored with PC Magazine Editor's Choice award
July 2018 — Acquisition by CRU Acquisition Group, LLC (now CRU Data Security Group, LLC)

Products and product characteristics

ioSafe’s expertise lies in manufacturing storage servers and NAS units that are resistant to fire and water damage. Their offerings comply with or surpass the ASTM E119 standard for heat endurance, rated to withstand temperatures of at least 1,550 °F. Some designs are developed through external partnerships, including collaboration with Taiwanese firm Synology.

The company holds multiple patents covering protective innovations: a durable enclosure design alongside three internal hard drive safeguards—FloSafe (air circulation for thermal protection), HydroSafe (heat management plus immersion defense against salt and freshwater), and DataCast (endothermic insulation utilizing trapped water molecules to resist heat).

In July 2008, ioSafe joined forces with Fujitsu to incorporate their 2.5-inch hard disk drives into the ioSafe 3.5 series—the first internal SATA HDDs equipped with disaster-proof features—fortified by ioSafe’s patented rugged casing compatible with standard hardware bays.

The Solo model was launched in 2009 as a rugged external hard drive employing an internal HDD for storage, further establishing ioSafe’s leadership in the market for disaster-proof external storage devices.

External links

Reviews

Wall Street Journal Review