Storage Effect

There are 3 ways to integrate flash in your customers’ solutions today

Option 3: Build your own hybrid solutions

Today hybrid HDD-SSD flash drives are on the market for notebook applications.  Future versions are in the works for other applications. 

While the world waits, system builders can add the value themselves by combining flash and disk drives in their solutions.  In particular, business applications can benefit from flash and disk tiers within a server or storage system.  It’s not that difficult, now that SSDs that look just like disks to your OS are generally available. Mark Ferelli at InfoStor wrote on this a while ago.

Just a little flash goes a long way to juice your system’s performance, without adding exhorbitant costs.  Not to mention adding some serious differentiation for the right customer.

Anybody out there doing this today?  What’s your application?

Using flash storage today, part 2

Using flash storage today, part 1

An innovative business model for enterprise data retention

So let me get this straight…you want me to download my enterprise archives into a box full of disk drives, then ship them to Iceland?

Exactly!  And it’s a compelling business proposition.  Data Islandia’s new business packs as much as a petabyte into an air-shippable container, sends it to Iceland, and plugs it into an enterprise-class data management facility. 

Leveraging Iceland’s natural strengths

The benefits are refreshingly business- and process-focused.  Some of the world’s cheapest energy, streamlined Customs processes, data encryption in transit, faster time-to-data than tape-based archives.  Their technology even adjusts for changes in pressure in flight. 

Plus, they’ve partnered with experienced enablers to their idea: Hitachi Data Systems and Telehouse Europe.

Old School ideas with a new twist can bring big business benefits

If you look past the seemingly old-fashioned idea of physical transport of data, this is a truly innovative concept.

To read Jon Toigo’s thoughts on the Data Scooter, go here.

The ultimate example of the ubiquity of content: the Starry Night Bed, complete with 1.5 TB of storage.  If a bed has that much content, what’s next?

Easy add-on sell for secure data on the go

Seagate announced its new Maxtor BlackArmor secure portable drive today.  160GB, full AES encryption.  Everything stored on this puppy is automatically encrypted and virtually hack-proof. 

Seagate’s taken a leading position in truly secure storage devices.  This drive follows the already-released Momentus FDE secure notebook drive.

This is an easy add-on solution for desktop or notebook customers.  Worry-free mobile storage!