For creatives waiting to buy a new Drobo, there’s good news and there’s bad news. The good news: units are being manufactured and shipped. Drobo’s suppliers are coming out of pandemic-related lockdowns and working hard to fulfill orders.

The bad news: supply is still extremely short for most units, and pent-up demand means inventory is disappearing in a flash. The September batch of units has already come and gone. For the 5C, 5D3, and 5N2, the next estimated availability is now mid-November.

Currently, the only Drobo models available are the eight-bay models: the Drobo 8D ($1,299 diskless; traditional direct-attached Thunderbolt 3) and the Drobo B810i ($1,119 diskless; gigabit Ethernet iSCSI SAN).

If you need a solution sooner than later, you might want to evaluate whether a Network Attached Storage (NAS) server could fit your needs. Modern NASes from Synology are practically as easy to use as a Drobo, and options are available to fit many storage and performance needs.

For other users, a pre-built RAID tower from G-Technology or LaCie might also be a good fit (albeit as an up-front investment).

We’re happy to discuss your needs and point you toward personalized solutions — shoot us an email at hello@panachroma.com or call +1 480.581.9600.