IBM Leader in Flash Storage Solid State Arrays

IBM (News - Alert) is the current global leader, based on revenue in 2013, in flash storage solid state array sales. IBM points to a new report from tech industry research firm Gartner (News - Alert). The report titled Market Share Analysis: SSDs and Solid-State Arrays, Worldwide, 2013, shows the overall solid state drive (SSD) market growing by leaps and bounds while internal competition between established entities and newcomers remains fierce.

In a statement, IBM declared its leadership position, as it held 25 percent of the global market share. Last year, the top two market leaders were Violin Memory and EMC (News - Alert). The big draw to SSDs is that they contain no moving parts, and therefore, businesses can use the devices to achieve high performance at a minimum of costs. IBM, specifically, says that its FlashSystem contains no spinning disks, and that allows it to offer “ultra high performance, extremely low latency, and lower costs from energy savings” In addition, the announcement states that Memorial Hermann Health Systems has “cut power consumption by 96 percent, cooling requirements by 95 percent and physical storage space usage by 98 percent,” as a result of using the IBM hardware.

Last year, Memorial Hermann reportedly switched its medical records from a physical to electronic system, and it made that switch by taking on the IBM FlashSystem 840, SAN Volume Controller storage virtualization software, and the IBM Flex System x240.

The use of SSDs can also help businesses take advantage of big data. The drives can be faster and more efficient than spinning disks, and as such, they can provide businesses with the leverage they need to sift through piles of data to gain actionable insights. IBM's General Manager of Storage and Software Defined Systems Jamie Thomas spoke about this idea in his company's announcement.

"Big Data provides tremendous opportunity for our global clients," Thomas said. "As organizations look to gain business insight out of the building digital tsunami, more are turning to IBM flash storage as a key accelerator."

It may be that IBM's broad portfolio that includes the IBM FlashSystem 840 and IBM FlashSystem V840 all-flash arrays in addition to its all-flash (SSD) and hybrid systems, is what is drawing in customers. Businesses are flocking to manufacturers that create quality products that can help them analyze big data effectively and efficiently, and it appears that IBM is fitting the bill for businesses making that call.