Which Will You Choose? The Debate Between Flash and Hybrid Storage Continues…

Which Will You Choose? The Debate Between Flash and Hybrid Storage Continues…

New developments in recent years have led to a host of new data storage solutions, and it looks like the jury is still out on which option provides the greatest coverage at the most economical price.

Two options that are hot topics of debate for IT professionals today are all Flash, Solid State Drives (SSD) or new Hybrid models of storage that combine Hard Disk Drive (HDD) storage with the powerful new Flash storage to create an entirely new beast, with unique system characteristics.

To help the conversation, we’ve outlined below some of the advantages or disadvantages relative to the two technologies to help you make the decision that’s right for your business.

First, a brief refresher on HDD Storage. HDD Storage utilizes actual disks to store data. The disks are capable of holding large amounts of data, but it can’t store or retrieve data very quickly. What it lacks in speed, the HDD makes up for by being a highly economical, affordable option.

SSD Storage, on the other hand, requires very little hardware and is, in a word, FAST. Much faster than HDD, Flash Storage can store and retrieve data at levels HDD only ever dreamed about.

The downside for Flash lies in its price tag. For the same amount of data storage as an HDD, Flash can be prohibitively expensive for many businesses. But, depending on your data needs, these may be the solutions you are looking for.

Enter Hybrid Data Storage. Hybrid storage offers the best of both worlds by combining the speed of Flash with the price and storage levels of Hard Disk Drive storage. Hybrid data storage may cost you more than HDD, but will still be much less expensive than Flash alone. And, with excellent choices now available like Nimble Storage, these hybrid storage solutions now frequently include greatly improved performance in the form of instant backups, cache management for faster data access, and software like the Nimble InfoSight, which proactively monitors and analyzes your data to ensure your system never experiences downtimes.

Don’t get us wrong–Flash Storage is amazing. But it still may not be the best option for many businesses who need to balance a desire for rapid storage with business budgets. For many, hybrid solutions offer the speed and reliability they require, without a lot of extra capacity that they don’t need and especially not at Flash prices.

Which will you choose? Learn more about Nimble Storage and find out which data solution is right for you.