Today marks a pivotal moment in enterprise data management: Ascendx has officially completed its acquisition of GRAX, merging two industry leaders united by one unwavering belief — your data should belong to you, not the platform. Together, GRAX and CapStorm are building the future where enterprises truly own and trust their data for compliance, AI, and more.
The Merger That Revolutionizes Data Strategy for Salesforce Data + AI
Ascendx has officially completed its acquisition of GRAX, uniting the two US-based Salesforce data management leaders, GRAX and CapStorm, to create something powerful: a unified data + AI powerhouse designed specifically to help enterprises break free from platform dependency and reclaim true ownership of their CRM data.
This isn’t just another merger — it’s the strategic union of two data management giants that share an identical vision: you deserve complete control and ownership of your most valuable asset, your data. Both GRAX and CapStorm built their entire infrastructure architectures around a fundamental truth — your data belongs to you, and you should have your entire history and data lineage to power AI and whatever your business demands.
This joint union brings:
- GRAX — Proven track record helping Salesforce customers achieve data independence, with customers reporting 70% pipeline acceleration and Salesforce storage cost savings
- CapStorm — Industry-leading sub-five-minute data recovery and near-real-time replication technology that enables off-platform access and data ownership
- Shared Mission — Both wholeheartedly believe that enterprises should not be renting access to their own data, and together, we make complete data ownership and AI-readiness achievable at any scale
Together, we now serve over 500 customers across 40 countries across multiple industries ranging from healthcare to financial services to retail and manufacturing.
Data Ownership is the Game-Changing Move of 2026
The GRAX and CapStorm unification comes at a critical moment when three forces are converging to make enterprise data ownership not just important, but mission critical:
- AI Governance Regulations Mature — New AI compliance frameworks across the US, EU, and globally require unprecedented data lineage and control capabilities. Enterprises need complete data ownership and control to ensure compliance.
- Enterprise AI Adoption Accelerates — Organizations moving beyond AI pilot programs to a production AI data strategy need unrestricted access to their complete historical datasets. GRAX and CapStorm enable this by moving data off-platform to environments enterprises fully control (in the cloud or on-prem).
- Data Breach Costs Skyrocket — With average breach costs reaching $4.88 million and 54% of cloud-stored data now classified as sensitive, incomplete data ownership has become a business risk. True data ownership off-platform, provides the control needed to protect your most valuable asset.
Purpose-Built Data + AI Platform Driven by a Joint Vision
CapStorm and GRAX merging brings together leadership who’ve dedicated their careers to enterprise data and visionary AI:
Ted Pappas will continue as the CEO of the organization, bringing CapStorm’s near-real-time data replication to an expanded global enterprise customer base.
Joe Gaska, GRAX Founder, will serve as the Chief Product Officer, ensuring product development continues to be laser-focused on true data ownership and accelerating ROI on AI.
“This merger represents everything we’ve worked toward over the years,” said Ted Pappas, CEO. “Both GRAX and CapStorm were founded on the principle that enterprises deserve to own 100% of their data whether deployed on-premises, in their own cloud, or hybrid environments. Together, we’re not just joining forces; we’re establishing the new standard for data independence and empowerment of AI.”
Joe Gaska, CPO, emphasized: “From day one, GRAX believed customers should own their data, not rent access to it. CapStorm shares this exact philosophy. Together, we can now accelerate AI initiatives with complete data ownership solutions at unprecedented scale, giving organizations back the freedom to innovate quickly without traditional constraints or fear.”
Creating the Ultimate Data + AI Platform
Our platform will bring the best of both technologies, designed with you in mind, built specifically to take back ownership of your data destiny.
- Off-Platform and in Your Environment — The platform will seamlessly move Salesforce data to customer-owned environments: AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, Snowflake, or on-premises infrastructure.
- Near-Real-Time Data Availability for AI and Analytics — With data living in customer-owned environments, businesses can easily and quickly train AI models, analyze all history, and experiment without Salesforce SOQL limitations or API restrictions.
- Regulatory Compliance Made Simple — Complete data ownership enables the granular control and data governance that supports your compliance needs for GDPR, CCPA, HIPAA, and other emerging data and AI governance regulations.
The result: faster time-to-value and unlimited potential.
This isn’t just basic Salesforce backup or data replication; it’s complete data liberation that fuels unrestricted innovation without fear.
Why 2026 Will Be the Year of Data Independence
As AI capabilities democratize and regulatory frameworks solidify, 2026 represents the inflection point where full data ownership becomes competitive advantage.
- CDOs and Data Teams — Complete data ownership eliminates the bottlenecks that constrain AI development. With full access to historical datasets, you can build, train, and report in your favorite AI and analytics tools.
- CIOs — Data ownership provides the necessary control to meet evolving global compliance requirements while reducing the risk that comes with incomplete data control.
- CTOs — Off-platform data ownership and control reduces technical debt and integration nightmares, enabling fearless innovation and flexible experimentation at scale.
Don’t Rent, Own Your Data
The completed merger creates a competitive divide in the market, where organizations that achieve complete data ownership off-platform will build sustainable competitive machines. Those that remain platform-dependent will find themselves and their data perpetually held hostage by limitations designed for yesterday’s business requirements.
The technology for complete data ownership exists today through GRAX and CapStorm. As the regulatory pressure is mounting, and AI is accelerating — the only question left is whether your organization will seize control of its data destiny or continue renting access to its own assets.
Take the first step toward complete data ownership
The combined GRAX and CapStorm platform is ready to help your enterprise break free from platform dependency.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is data ownership?
Data ownership means having complete control over your data’s entire lifecycle — from when it was created, how it’s processed, who can access it, and how it’s secured. Unlike data exports, true data ownership means your data exists independently in an environment that you control. This empowers unrestricted AI development, ensures regulatory compliance, and eliminates vendor lock-in.
How do GRAX and CapStorm help enterprises move off-platform?
GRAX and CapStorm provides near-real-time data replication of your Salesforce data to AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, Snowflake, or on-premises environments that are customer-owned. This automated process seamlessly maintains operational continuity, giving you back complete ownership of your data.
What makes this different from other data management solutions?
Unlike platforms that optimize for on-platform Salesforce convenience, both GRAX and CapStorm were built on the principle that enterprises should own their data completely. Our union combines proven enterprise expertise with cutting-edge technology, creating capabilities that enable true data ownership and AI innovation.
How quickly can enterprises achieve complete data ownership?
The platform can begin near-real-time data replication within minutes, providing immediate data ownership and access.
How does off-platform deployment accelerate AI initiatives?
Data ownership eliminates the API and querying restrictions, data export limitations, and processing constraints that slow AI development. With data in the infrastructure you own and control, you can train data models on your full history, experiment with any AI, and iterate at scale.
What’s the ROI timeline for moving off-platform?
Organizations typically see immediate returns through unrestricted access to analytics, AI and ML capabilities powered by their cloud provider(s).
