If someone wants to have good integration with the GUI used to manage NAS it matters a lot because although these devices run Linux or BSD they usually have their own framework for writing, distributing and installing extensions. See for example App Center - QNAP | QNAP, Packages | Synology Inc. and 12. Plugins — FreeNAS® User Guide 9.10.2-U2 Table of Contents. Having said this I suspect that going the NAS is just a computer route is the best long term approach as you are not constrained with above mentioned frameworks and you can leverage your knowledge of common tools.