Well this is a personally sad post for me. I have made the difficult decision to move away from my fulltime position here at Division-M. Unfortunately slowing Drive Bender sales and sluggish Cloud Xtender numbers have meant that ongoing development at the current pace is just not financially possible. The slowing Drive Bender sales were anticipated, as Windows Storage Space’s had a big impact on this market, not to mention the cloud is also seeing users move from large local storage to much cheaper cloud solutions. Our strategy was to have Cloud Xtender pick up the slack, however this has not happened. While the initial Cloud Xtender numbers looked good, these have not been sustained.
So what happens next? Well for the most part, not too much… Belinda, our main support person will be staying on and servicing support requests as she has always done. Although I’m no longer working fulltime here, I will be helping with the more technical queries either via support or the forum. As for the future of Drive Bender, PoolHD and Cloud Xtender… at this point in time there has been no long term decisions made, but I’m confident that they will continue on, we just need to work out the details. Having said that, there are a couple of important points I would like to stress to existing users.
1) All valid licenses will continue to work now, and into the future. There are no plans to scrap the products.
2) As it stands we have pending updates for all products. There are a number of bug fixes with Drive Bender and Cloud Xtender, and a Windows 10 compatible version of PoolHD. These will be released over the coming weeks.
Finally I just want to say that this decision has not been an easy one, personally I have invested a huge amount of time and money into building this business, and developing its products… and for the most part, it has been very successful. However, as with any business it must be able to generate a sustainable revenue. I would like to say that from the get go, Drive Bender in particular has had a loyal following, and has chalked up 10’s of thousands of sales… and I thank everyone for their kind words and feedback over the years.
Ahh well, that’s about all I have for the moment. It has been a fun ride, but all good things must come to an end… now where did I put my CV?
Sad news for us happy customers. And for you.. But as you said, if the business is not going where it needs to go you need to go there.
Anyway, with your background and competense you probably will find a new income and project in no time!
Maybe hire some junior dev. Put the business on slow burner/hobby level and get the family income elsewhere.
Good luck whit whatever you find!
/Samy
P.S I hear that Satya is not satisfied with the performance of the Storage Spaces solution. And is looking to find a replacement. Giv him a call 🙂
is there anyway to still buy a license?
This is sad news indeed. Drive Bender has been the only solution to meet all my requirements after Windows Home Server retired it’s drive extender feature. I’ve personally never had any trouble with Drive Bender and it’s performed incredibly well (much better even than Drobo, another solution I used for a while). As you figure out what the future of Drive Bender will be I just wanted to suggest you give the option of moving it to open source a thought. Regardless, whatever you decide to do will be the best, I am sure.
I appreciate all the hard work you and the team put into this product, I wish you best of luck on your next adventure!
So long, and thanks for all the fish.
Sad news for us but your personal goals need to be satisfied. Been there a few times before I retired. I hope my latest trouble report (only 1 I ever encountered in several years using DB!) wasn’t the final straw 🙂
Wishing you success in your next place/venture, your development skills are obviously excellent.
How about a link the page that lets me buy the product. Understood that you’re going out of biz, but if I can give you those few bucks it’s win-win: you get the money, I don’t lose my substantial man-hour investment in getting my trial copy up and running.
How about a link to the “Purchase” page – even though you are going out of biz, seems like a win-win if I can get those few bucks to you:
– You get the money
– I get to not lose my substantial man-hour investment in getting my trial copy of DriveBender up and running….
I’m also want to buy a license!
I’m sorry to here about this. I hope it all works out for you in the end.
A tough call. Drive Bender is a gem that has permitted use to recapture and utilize legacy storage in cost effective manner. Been rock solid over the past 15 months. Cloud Xtender was coming along nicely with just a few lingering issues keeping use from investing further. I do hope the business can recover and support future sales in one form or another. Best wishes to Anthony as he is clearly the inspiration and glue that held everything together.
Sorry to hear this. I just wanted to buy a DriveBender license. Some days ago i did not even know it exists and now it’s already gone. (somehow)
Btw: I think to include “lifetime updates” is never a good idea as it’s not good if you always have to rely on new customers.
I’d also like to buy a license!
Drive Bender has been a solid pooling solution since day one, wonderful interface and excellent performance!
heard of this software some days ago, built a server based on this – i need a license!
I hope you will still sell a license, especially for those of us that have only recently built a NAS and installed this software. I think its a win-win, you still get the cash and we get the product that we have just started with.
how can i purchase a license? my Driver Bender setup is about to expire?
Thank you for Everything! but I need to say something: just 3 Days before your decision, i’ve built a PC as Server with your Software. i’ve been willed to pay for your Software the full Price (what was it? 20 Bucks? 30Bucks?) and now? WHAT? 5Bucks for TWO Licences? i think this is a great – REALLY GREAT offer! but i want to donate more, for a great software, which has convinced me in functionality… tell me, how to donate (personally) you 10? 20? bucks more just for made a great software! (sorry for my bad english, i’m German)
@FeedBagg – you can specify quantity on the donation screen thus increasing the amount of your contribution. Only one license key will be delivered.