Now, here’s someone who really understands the benefits and value of using Enterprise Flash Drives (EFDs) in enterprise IT data centers:  Mark Peters.

Mark covers data center storage and systems for Enterprise Strategy Group.  He was recently interviewed for a SearchStorage.com “FAQ Guide” podcast about the growth in enterprise solid state technology.  (Read the full transcript here)

In the interview, Mark addresses the questions he hears most often from storage administrators about solid state technology, and I have to say that his views are spot-on — particularly regarding the benefits and value of solid state, and the market/business drivers that are making the technology increasingly attractive.

A few of the key points Mark makes are:

1)  I/O performance benefits

“Generically, whatever is most important to a business or enterprise or organization in terms of getting throughput and I/O handled, wherever you need speed, wherever you need a great deal of performance in terms of throughput, then solid state will be great.”

2)  Energy efficiency

“Given that we’re in such challenging economic times, that makes solid state more interesting.  Obviously with my focus on the data center I look at the green aspect of computing as well, and it’s hard to overlook solid state from that perspective.”

3)  Cost-efficiency

“Even in terms of today’s pricing, cost per I/O or the I/O per watt for solid state are already very compelling.”

It’s nice to see Mark (and other industry experts) start to recognize the important and growing role EFDs will play in the future.

Amyl Ahola

PS.  Mark also has a blog with more great info on a variety data center storage issues:  Mark My Words.  I suggest checking it out if you haven’t already.

You don’t need a crystal ball to predict how the global economic slowdown and a prolonged recession will impact IT spending in 2009:  it’s going to be ugly.  Many projects will be delayed, eliminated outright, or at the very least, cut severely in scope. 

This poses a huge problem for enterprise IT managers. Why? 

Quite simply, enterprise information demands continue to increase with no end in sight.  And, data center managers will have to do anything and everything in their power — without making significant new IT capital investments —to keep up with the increasing IT system performance demands. 

Failure to do so will be unacceptable, so what are the options?

Two things come to mind:  1) optimizing existing IT systems for increased performance; and 2) significantly reducing the energy consumption of power-hungry high RPM hard disk racks.  Is this difficult? 

It may be easier than one thinks and requires no change to the existing infrastructure, management software or systems.  By adding Enterprise Flash Drives (EFDs) to handle the performance workload of many spinning hard drives, both goals can be achieved.  The high performance of the EFD enables more I/Operformance and flexibility to meet peak periods and growing demands.  By combining EFDs with high capacity HDDs, today’s storage racks can be reduced to storage shelves saving power (up to 80%), space and money. 

I predict that beginning in 2009, EFDs will be a key tool for enterprise IT managers to survive the economic turmoil while optimizing their existing storage systems.

And, let’s face it, it’s time for a change to the traditional approach to high-performance storage solutions. 

Interested to hear your feedback, so please feel free to comment.

Amyl Ahola