With the rise of the client-server model, storage was separated from the compute layer and consolidated into a distinct part of the corporate network to accommodate the rapid growth of digital content. Now, an exceptionally sharper increase in unstructured information is shifting capacity back into the server to create a new paradigm of data center design Wikibon has termed Server SAN, a spin on the traditional storage-attached network that provides better performance with more manageability.

SiliconANGLE theCUBE hosts Dave Frick and Stu Miniman sat down with Wikibon founding CTO David Floyer at the recent HGST Press & Industry Analysts Briefing (full video below) to find out how Western Digital Corp.’s enterprise subsidiary is adjusting for the new reality of enterprise storage. From a product standpoint, they agreed, it’s doing quite well.

Despite drawing only a limited attendance and proportionally tiny partner presence, the one-day event featured a well-rounded roster of product announcements worthy of any full-scale industry conference. To Floyer, three in particular stood out: new helium-filled disk drives pegged as denser and more efficient than alternatives, an upgraded archiving solution HGST said packs five as much capacity into the same space as previous generation solutions and, most notably, a homegrown variation of the Server SAN architecture.

Named Virident Space after the vendor on whose software it’s based, the platform makes it possible to group server-side flash cards into a shared pool that can be accessed from any point in the data center.  It represents Western Digital’s answer to the accelerating adoption of solid-state memory, which is kicking into high gear now that the cost of the technology is low enough for traditional enterpises to afford it.

“For active data, flash is about equivalent [to disk] in price per gigabyte,” Floyer noted. “If you add on compression and deduplication, it actually becomes better. So we’re very much a tipping point where active data is moving very rapidly to flash.” That transition is enabling organizations to address the rapid growth of unstructured data far more effectively than they could with disk.

There are no moving parts to solid-state memory, which Floyer explained means that the density of flash drives should continue to increase unhampered and eventually even surpass mechanical storage, all while the price per gigabyte  keeps going down. Plus, SSDs are fast enough to support data visualization, which eliminates the need to create a dedicated copy of a file for every application that uses it, thereby greatly reducing storage requirements.

HGST is staying on top of trend. The company  is “being very sensible in doing two things:first of all separating flash from the drives, not going down the Seagate route – I think that’s exactly right,” Floyer told Frick and Miniman. “And the other thing is that they’re doubling down to enter the flash market in a big way” with acquisitions such as Virident Inc. and flash drive supplier sTec Inc., he added.

The deals have helped put HGST in a position to directly target the revenue lifeline of its biggest competitor, SeaGate Technology PLC, which rose to a leadership role in the enterprise through a partnership with EMC Corp. to supply the drives for the storage stalwart’s market-leading SAN solutions.  Virident Space takes the fight to their home turf.

The platform is a “straightforward replacement to SAN, so they’re tearing into that marketplace where they’re going to be much more of a provider to a broad marketplace through partners and OEMs,” Floyer explained, noting that HGST is following EMC up the stack in pursuit of  new revenue opportunities. “So they’re gonna have to do a delicate dance between being an OEM supplier and trying to get into some of the higher-end levels. Time will tell how successful that strategy will be.”

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