What is DSM and why its new generation should interest you

DiskStation Manager, or DSM for short, is the operating system that powers all Synology NAS devices. Think of it as the nervous system of your home or business storage — it manages files, backups, multimedia, and security. But while previous versions of DSM were more like passive data managers, the new generation announced on June 4, 2026 goes much further: it becomes an active player that works with data using AI.

Synology presented several key innovations at COMPUTEX. The most fundamental one is DSM Agent — an intelligent orchestrator that automates workflows across the entire system. In practice, this means your NAS won't just be a file warehouse, but will become an autonomous assistant capable of sorting documents, analyzing data, triggering backups based on anomalies, or automatically translating and transcribing meetings — all of it fully locally, without an internet connection.

Agentic AI that never leaves your server

How is this different from ChatGPT or Gemini? When you use cloud AI, your data — emails, contracts, invoices — travels to third-party servers. For many companies, especially in Europe under strict GDPR oversight, this is unacceptable. Synology takes the opposite approach: it brings AI to the data, not data to the AI.

The new DSM supports GPU NAS and AI appliance devices that enable fully on-premises AI inference. This means language models run directly on your hardware, in your server room or office. Synology adds to this the Private AI Console — a central interface for managing AI policies, which defines which models can work with which data, and sets protective guardrails for safe AI usage across the organization.

This approach directly builds on the vision of "digital sovereignty," which Mike Chen, Managing Director of Synology, emphasized at COMPUTEX. According to him, companies face three pressures simultaneously: "shadow AI" (employees using unapproved AI tools), geopolitical instability, and increasingly strict regulations. Private AI on your own infrastructure is the answer to all three.

Synology AI Advisor: a year of development, now in production

Synology isn't starting from scratch with private AI. As early as the beginning of May 2026, the company officially launched AI Advisor — an intelligent assistant integrated directly on the Synology website, helping customers with technical questions, product selection, and configuration. What makes it interesting? It runs on its own, self-hosted language model, completely independent of third parties like OpenAI or Google.

AI Advisor uses an "agent-as-tool" design, dynamic knowledge injection, and a continuous evaluation pipeline, which in plain language means it constantly learns and refines its answers. By the end of 2026, it will transition to dedicated Synology infrastructure, guaranteeing 100% data residency — all communication will remain within the secured Synology ecosystem.

More than just AI: a complete ecosystem for businesses

COMPUTEX 2026 wasn't just about AI. Synology showcased a comprehensive vision that connects several areas:

ActiveProtect Manager 2.0 extends backup to AWS EC2, Azure VM, Proxmox, Nutanix AHV, and Google Workspace with integrated AI anomaly and malware detection. The new DP5200 device adds further deployment options for enterprise customers.

Synology Office Suite expands with ChatPlus and Meet — a corporate communicator and video conferencing with AI transcription and translation, with all data stored locally on the company NAS. Cluster Manager in turn enables managing multiple NAS devices from a single console, including workload migration between them.

For home users, Synology prepared the Bee Series — a private cloud solution for individuals and families. The new Synology Deep Search brings AI-powered search in personal files on macOS and Windows, while BeeCamera turns BeeStation Plus into a home camera system.

What this means for Czech businesses and users

Synology has a strong position in the Czech Republic — its NAS devices are used by many small and medium-sized businesses, IT professionals, and home enthusiasts. The new generation of DSM with private AI arrives at a time when European companies are looking for alternatives to American cloud services precisely because of concerns about data sovereignty and GDPR compliance.

It's not yet clear exactly when the new DSM will arrive in production — Synology currently speaks of "upcoming solutions" and is demonstrating a technology preview. Experience from past years, however, shows that major DSM updates usually follow 6–12 months after the initial announcement at COMPUTEX.

One thing is certain: with this move, Synology is showing that private agentic AI doesn't have to be the privilege of giant corporations with their own data centers. It can easily run on a device tucked away in your office cabinet.