There is a major performance gap between server and storage I/O in today's data centers. Because of this, many organizations are deploying a large number of hard disk drives (HDD) to compensate for the lack of performance. Unfortunately, this can lead to excessive power consumption and cooling requirements as well as under-utilized storage capacity.

An alternative to HDD is solid state disk (SSD). Using SSD can increase performance, lower costs and reduce power consumption - especially when using Flash-based SSD. Super fast solid state discs allow organizations to manage very high transaction volumes and larger numbers of users using fewer servers. This white paper explores why power consumption is such a pressing issue in today's organizations. It provides an overview of SSD solutions and the benefits they deliver.