In early September, KARL was presented for the first time in Ljubljana to technology journalists from around the world at the 69th IT Press Tour. Alex Zaharov-Reutt of iTWire attended. His account examines the claims and notes what convinced him as well as what still needs to be proved.
The article's starting point is the question KARL sets out to answer: can you still explain a decision made under a state of the world that no longer exists? The example used, a supplier access renewal approved under a risk assessment that became outdated weeks later, illustrates the problem StratoFoundry’s memory layer is intended to solve.
What drew the most attention from the reporter is the absence of a database: a file's context is rebuilt directly from S3 storage, with no cache and no separate metadata server, a 34MB binary, and a reported response time of around 12 milliseconds regardless of which version is queried. The session's standout demo remains restoring a 3.7TB, 6-million-file filesystem in about 3 seconds, which StratoFoundry prefers to call 'temporal re-anchoring' rather than backup or snapshot.
The account also notes that KARL Core pricing is still undefined and that several parts of the portfolio shown remain demos or prototypes. By noting the limits as well as the promises, it gives readers a fuller picture.
Which perimeter's history would you regret not having in 12 months? Answer that honestly, and you'll know whether a temporal memory layer is a product category or just a very good slide.