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the SSD software market is getting ready for a world in which all
enterprise data touches SSDs by Zsolt Kerekes,
editor - StorageSearch.com
- January 8, 2014 |
A year ago it was rare
for me to complete a day in which I didn't have several conversations with
leading banks, investors
or VCs about the SSD market. I discussed the rationale for that in my
article -
hostage to the
fortunes of SSD (which among other things explained why there was a ramp up
in the frequency and size of
SSD company
acquisitions and investments
in 2013).
Moving
on from that - in recent months - it's been rare for a day to go by - without
me talking to an SSD software company. And that in itself is an interesting
indication of how much the SSD market has changed.
In one of those
conversations with a co-founder of one of the early pioneers of enterprise SSD
system software I said how strange it felt that as recently as 5 years ago
it would be difficult to name more than a handful of companies whose prime
business output was enterprise SSD software. Whereas today - new SSD software
companies are popping out of stealth mode or launching their first real
products every week.
Today it would be easy to compile a list of 50
enterprise SSD ISVs. And that's just the start. When you add in the SSD drive
and systems companies who are also doing their own significant things with SSD
software - that list (depending on your judgement of "what's significant?")
could easily exceed 100 companies.
That scale of transformation is
similar to the expansion we saw in the number of SSD companies in the 10 years
leading up to 2007
- (the year of SSD Revolutions).
Why this ramp up in SSD software
activity? And what does the VC community think about it? Aren't they
disillusioned by the flatlining and collapse in revenue they've seen in some
noteworthy enterprise SSD companies recently? (Some of which now seems
inevitable in retrospect and was discussed in my blog -
meet Ken - and the
enterprise SSD software horizon.)
As to why the activity?...
Sure - a lot of good things have been done in the field of SSD
software - to make using SSDs and getting the
benefits
more easily. But as more investment goes into SSD infrastructure - the economic
arguments for doing even more become more compelling. The shift from SSDs living
in a world created around HDDs
- and moving towards
SSDs in an apps environment where all the server and storage
architecture is
predicated around SSD - requires a lot of work.
Which companies are
going to be the leaders in the SSD platform and SSD architecture market?
Although there are some contenders - more than half of those have yet to launch
their first product. That's why in my
2013
transitions blog - I said that 2014 looks like it could be an exciting time
for SSD software.
Going back to - who's going to fund these companies?
and why?
The SSD platform represents a bigger market opportunity
in the next 5 years than any other type of enterprise software. The winners in
SSD software could be as important for infrastructure as Microsoft was for PCs,
or Oracle was for databases, or Google was for online search.
With
any of the current leading SSD software companies being capable of being
displaced by new startups (or so the founders of new software companies
would have you believe) - this is a subject which will attract a lot of
attention in the next few years.
It's about more than changing
software to use SSDs. It's about changing the architecture of everything that
touches data. SSDs are an essential part of that. But it's the software which
will take the revolution to the next level.
Until there are established
leaders in the market - who set the roadmap and agenda for most enterprise
SSD software architecture and who can't be displaced due to their market
dominance (something which may not happen until 2017 or 2018 at the
earliest) there will be no shortage of investment in, and resources for -
the SSD software platform market.
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SSD software news
the Top SSD Companies
SSD endurance - the
forever war
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Being late to market
doesn't count as a mortal sin in the SSD marketing lexicon right now because
first mover advantage assumptions aren't valid in this phase of the market's
development.
Let's remember that when LSI entered the SSD market in
January 2010 - I said "LSI is the 163rd company to enter the SSD market".
And look where they are now. |
| who's who in SSD? - VMware
(March 6, 2014) | | |
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