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Flash storage is the biggest thing in the industry, and rightfully so. With the advances in solid-state drive (SSD) technology and the emergence of all flash storage arrays boasting drastic increases in performance, it’s becoming increasingly difficult for decision makers to choose the proper storage solution for their business.

For years, businesses looking into flash-based environments have turned to hybrid flash storage solutions. Hybrid flash blends SSD speed with the capacity of hard disk drives (HDDs). And while the industry indicates that all flash is the way of the future, businesses are hesitant to leave behind the low cost and storage capacity of HDDs that have been around for so long.

Hybrid & All Flash Arrays: Benefits & Uses

The performance benefits of flash are undeniable as indicated by the growing sales of flash-based solutions in 2014. With hybrid and all flash arrays combining to form a market worth $11.3 billion, decision makers are ultimately tasked with evaluating the two types against each other.

Choosing which flash storage solution is right for your company is completely dependent upon your business needs. All flash arrays completely leverage the capabilities of SSDs, resulting in unmatched speeds with high IOPS and low latency. High-performance computing, financials, databases, and any other applications where performance and speed are critical will significantly benefit from all flash arrays.

Even though the all-flash market is continuing to grow, many businesses are still opting to go with hybrid flash arrays. With flash on the front-end and spinning disks on the backside, your environment gets flash performance while still maintaining a high storage capacity. And while hybrid flash arrays fall short when dealing with applications like Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) and Online Transaction Processing (OLTP), they provide a significant advantage when it comes to easily expanding storage capacity (a current limitation of going all flash).

Choosing the Right Flash-Based Array

The choice between hybrid flash and all flash arrays depends on your business needs and applications being used. If performance is the most crucial element to your environment, then an all flash array will suit you well. If your business requires a large amount of storage and the ability to expand its capacity in the future, then you’re most likely better off with a hybrid flash array.

For more information on the hybrid flash and all flash array solutions that JetStor offers (including the new StorTrends 3600i All Flash Array), please contact us we’ll reach out to you shortly