Weeklong summit will mark U.S. debut, feature dual-track programming for enterprise and homelab users, and unveil 45Studio: a bold new offering for creative professionals

SYDNEY, NOVA SCOTIA and WILMINGTON, NC - May 22, 2025 (NEWMEDIAWIRE) - 45Drives, the open-source powerhouse behind some of the world’s most trusted large-scale storage and virtualization solutions, today announced the 2025 Creator Summit, taking place September 8-12, 2025 in Wilmington, North Carolina. In a major milestone for the company’s continued North American expansion, this year’s Summit will be held in the United States for the first time - and will be the most expansive and community-driven edition to date.

Now entering its third year, the Creator Summit has become a cornerstone event for the growing ecosystem of technologists, enterprises, and creators who build, scale, and innovate with open, high-performance infrastructure. The 2025 event will see a significant evolution in scope and ambition: a weeklong program spread across multiple venues, dual-track workshop programming, and the global launch of 45Studio, a bold new product division from 45Drives purpose-built for creative professionals.

“The Creator Summit reflects what 45Drives has always stood for - powerful, open systems designed in partnership with the communities that use them,” said Dr. Doug Milburn, President and Co-Founder of 45Drives. “This year, with the launch of 45Studio and our growing footprint in the U.S., we’re building a platform not just for open hardware, but for the future of creative and enterprise computing itself.”

Wilmington: A Strategic Hub for Growth and Innovation

The decision to host the Summit in Wilmington, NC - where 45Drives is actively expanding its corporate offices, U.S. assembly operations, and manufacturing capacity - underscores the company’s deepening commitment to the region as a strategic hub for innovation, customer success, and talent development.

Throughout the week, events will take place across 45Drives’ new North Carolina facilities, as well as partner venues throughout Wilmington. There will be activation and integration with a host of key community partners and stakeholders such as UNCW and Cape Fear Community College, with faculty and students participating in public programming, workshops, and technology showcases. A full list of event partners will be announced in the coming weeks.

A Program Built for Builders: Enterprise + Creative Artist Tracks

The Summit will feature two parallel workshop and discussion tracks, tailored to the company’s two most dynamic and fast-growing user bases:

Enterprise Track: Exploring Ultra-Performance Storage

The storage sector is experiencing a shift with the rise of next-generation, ultra-high-performance storage servers like the 45Drives Stornado F16. These systems leverage extensive parallel banks of NVMe flash and offer unrestricted PCIe bus connectivity to high-speed compute and networking environments.

As is often the case in this space, the emergence of affordable, practical hardware pushes the boundaries of software capabilities - and even drives the development of new use cases.

This track features deep-dive sessions into open-source storage operating systems and file systems, including a focused look at ZFS, Ceph, and DRBD on high-performance hardware. Sessions will examine real-world use cases and explore what the future holds for enterprise storage.

Creative Artist Track

Technology is evolving rapidly, putting powerful tools into the hands of independent creators and small studios - tools that were once the domain of large enterprises.

This track is dedicated to exploring open technologies that enable direct-from-server editing workflows and support creatives by enhancing, not hindering, their process.

Through hands-on workshops, expert panels, and peer-led sessions, participants will dive into the latest in performance and affordability. Designed for media creators, creative technologists, YouTubers, homelab innovators, and DIY professionals, this track challenges the limits of what's possible in creative production.

Full track agendas, keynotes, and panelist lineups - including creators, analysts, and media figures - will be announced later this summer.

Introducing 45Studio: A New Era for Creative Infrastructure

Anchoring this year’s Summit will be the unveiling of 45Studio, a new division and product suite purpose-built for the unique needs of creative professionals in fields such as film and television, music production, game development, animation, design, and VFX.

Designed to address the growing demand for affordable, high-performance, open-source compute and storage in media production environments, 45Studio will launch with a curated portfolio of systems optimized for everything from RAW 4K video editing to real-time game engine rendering. The offering reflects 45Drives’ belief that creators - not just enterprises - deserve access to scalable, durable, and transparent infrastructure that keeps them in control of their workflows and their data.

“Today’s creators need infrastructure that moves as fast as their ideas,” said Dr. Milburn. “With 45Studio, we’re delivering that performance and flexibility - without the lock-in, black boxes, or bloated pricing models that dominate legacy creative tech.”

Built for the Public

In keeping with 45Drives’ commitment to transparency, education, and community building, much of this year’s Creator Summit will be open to those who are interested, offering expanded access to keynote sessions, demo labs, and panel discussions. Local creators, students, IT professionals, and media are all encouraged to participate. Those interested can register on the 45Drives Creator Summit webpage here: https://www.45drives.com/creators-summit/#form

About 45Drives

45Drives is the industry leader in open-source, high-performance data storage and virtualization solutions built for scale, transparency, and community collaboration. Trusted by organizations in government, research, education, media, and enterprise, 45Drives designs infrastructure that’s big, strong, and fast - without the complexity or cost of legacy proprietary systems. From homelab enthusiasts to data centers, 45Drives powers the future of open computing.

Contact:
Jonathan Phillips
45Drives@phillcomm.global 

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