Flash storage is utilized in data centers mainly to bolster performance, and is becoming more common as the price tag for flash memory continues to reduce. However, capacity limitation for solid-state devices still challenges data centers, and therefore will continue to use cheaper and more spacious spinning drives. In the data center, flash storage helps to:
Accelerate Application Performance — The main benefit of flash storage is super performance. Flash has faster access over electromechanical drives. Also, because of its capabilities to access data randomly, flash is exceptionally flexible for many applications, and helps to bolster VM creation in the cloud.
Improve Data Center Economics — Overall, adding speed and performance improvements into the data center improves its economics. Flash storage gives IT teams options in architecting storage solutions in the data center, when performance is needed flash can be added, when capacity is needed, storage can be built as hybrid, increasing capacity, and reducing costs.
Future-Proof Infrastructure — Two technologies in flash storage help companies to future-proof their infrastructure. First, hybrid flash storage mixes, in custom ratio, flash storage with traditional HDDs. This allows the use of both, and lets IT teams migrate their older systems easily to flash-based systems. Secondly, flash systems can support cloud integration workflows, which make it more convenient to begin adopting cloud elements, and eventually migrating to the cloud and a VM environment.