DCIG is updating its research into primary storage systems. Having published the 2023-24 DCIG TOP 5 High-End Storage Arrays report, it will focus on the all-flash array (AFA) marketplace. DCIG intends to publish multiple reports based on the AFA research.
Once DCIG finalizes the results, DCIG will make each report available for download either on its website or through licensee websites.
ALL-FLASH ARRAYS ARE CREATING A NEW WORLD OF POSSIBILITIES
The data storage landscape has changed dramatically over the last several years. For any business looking to refresh its storage infrastructure, these changes are creating a new world of possibilities for those who take a systemic viewpoint.
Take a Systemic Point of View
The storage array purchase should be approached from a systemic point of view to maximize business benefits. Doing so will uncover opportunities to reduce data center costs significantly and to create new revenue. The order of magnitude (10x) improvements in latency, capacity, and density provided by this new generation of all-flash arrays creates significant opportunity for reductions in overall data
center costs in at least the following ways:
- Fewer servers are required to accomplish the same amount of work. This reduces server hardware acquisition, rack space, and software licensing costs.
- Consolidating many workloads on to an all-flash array means fewer storage systems to acquire and manage.
- Zero-overhead snapshots eliminate time-consuming copy data processes and give developers access to fast storage and a complete set of data to use in testing their software.
- Reduced storage footprint reduces rack space, power, and cooling costs; and may even create an opportunity to eliminate entire data centers.
Beyond Performance Claims
Beyond performance claims, storage vendors are transforming the storage ownership experience along several vectors. These include:
- Advances in using analytics (AIOps) to maximize availability and application performance
- Automation of provisioning and ongoing storage management tasks
- Cyber resilience features to protect data from threat actors.
- New acquisition and deployment options, including storage-as-a-service
- Public cloud integrations
- Support for file and object access protocols to serve a broader range of applications and use cases
- Sustainability enhancements and reporting
INCLUSION CRITERIA FOR ALL-FLASH ARRAYS
DCIG’s current criteria for inclusion in the all-flash storage array research include:
- The product is available as an all-flash appliance (it may also be available in other configurations)
- The product is intended for the storage of production data (as opposed to archive or backup data)
- The product is formally announced or generally available for purchase as of March 31, 2023
ALL-FLASH ARRAYS DCIG IDENTIFIED IN A PRELIMINARY SCAN OF THE MARKETPLACE
DCIG has identified the following vendors as offering arrays that meet the DCIG criteria and is in the process of updating its research database to capture the latest feature data:
- DDN IntelliFlash
- Dell Technologies PowerMax
- Dell Technologies PowerStore
- Dell Technologies Unity XT
- Hitachi Vantara VSP
- HPE Alletra
- HPE Nimble Storage
- HPE Primera
- Huawei OceanStor
- IBM DS8000
- IBM FlashSystem
- Infinidat InfiniBox
- iXsystems TrueNAS
- Lenovo ThinkSystem
- NetApp AFF
- Pure Storage FlashArray and FlashBlade
- StorONE S1
- Tintri VMstore
- VAST Data
- Zadara zStorage
HOW TO BE INCLUDED IN DCIG’S STORAGE ARRAY RESEARCH
DCIG will be reaching out to the all-flash array providers listed above with the opportunity to complete a product survey and provide a briefing.
If your organization offers an array that meets DCIG’s inclusion criteria and wants to be sure your product is included in DCIG’s research, please let us know by completing DCIG’s contact us or request a briefing form. You may also reach out to me directly.
Ken Clipperton | DCIG Lead Analyst, Storage | 844.324.4552 x906 | ken.clipperton@dcig.com
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Technology providers interested in licensing DCIG TOP 5 reports or having DCIG produce custom reports, please contact DCIG for more information.