A study by Spectra Logic titled Digital Data Storage Outlook 2020 predicted the increase in flash storage prices this year. Moreover, the supply of such data storage solutions could diminish, bringing the demand higher compared to supply.
Spectra Logic, a company specializing in data storing and management solutions, projected that there will be a 10% to 40% increase in prices due to decreased supplies. This will come after more than a year of oversupply in the market.
When it comes to apportionment and tiering the Spectra report “envisions a logical two-tier architecture comprised of multiple storage types,” which will be composed of solid-state storage (SSD) and magnetic disk and tape.
This will be brought by economic concerns, as per a BusinessWire report on the outlook. According to the highlights, economic issues “will push infrequently accessed data from tier-one storage…to a second tier.”
The first tier is made up of flash such as SSD, while the second tier consisted of spinning disks, objects, cloud, and tape. It is important to note that info movers are needed in order to efficiently transfer info.
However, the report also emphasized that the supply of magnetic disks may be difficult, especially as manufacturers have been experiencing delays in shipments.
Meanwhile, makers took this as an opportunity to “extend the technology roadmap for perpendicular magnetic recording as a means to continue increasing drive capacities.”
Moreover, the resolving of the legal issue between Fujifilm and Sony has allowed the latter to ship LTO-8 media. Now that LTO-8 media is more accessible, the report expects a drop in prices. LTO-8 media shows a 50% better performance in terms of tape capacity compared to LTO-7.
A Year “Like No Other”
Forecasts like the Digital Data Storage Outlook 2020 can vary greatly because of the current issues. Spectra CEO Nathan Thompson noted, “The year 2020 is one like no other due to Covid-10, which makes accurate forecasting especially challenging in these extraordinary times.”
Because of this, organizations that are data-driven have increasing needs to hire IT professionals that understand essential elements that can affect their organization and its data.
This is important “so they can anticipate the trends, technologies, and challenges they will face in order to protect their data and derive maximum value from it for the long-term.”
On the bright side, the Spectra projections only anticipate short-term shortages and price increases.
