The data storage market is currently a storm of change. Old technologies are being replaced by new innovations, and the Big Data revolution is demanding more from storage than ever before. Now, it’s not just about the size of that big, black box, but also its speed and adaptability.

To bring some insight to the current state of the data storage market, Jeff Frick and Stu Miniman, cohosts of theCUBE, from the SiliconANGLE Media team, joined Scott Sinclair, senior analyst at Enterprise Strategy Group, at the Nimble Storage: The Power of Predictive Analytics event in San Francisco.

The difference that matters

The talk started off with how Nimble Storage’s offerings were different from the usual hybrid or all-flash array. Sinclair explained that Nimble tried to avoid the standard array and instead designed a system that creates a data pool allowing customers to mix and match hybrid flash with all-flash boxes. This simplicity and flexibility, he said, provides so much benefit.

“All-flash is an established market, but it’s not a mature market,” Sinclair said. He continued, stating that about a third of companies have deployed on flash, but that number will increase. It’s the cost, he said, that holds businesses back from buying into flash. Nimble is trying to move down the cost of flash.

Smart data and inertia

Companies are being forced to use their data in smarter ways to stay competitive, Sinclair explained. This puts pressure on storage providers to innovate on their systems. Businesses are discovering they need flash and are deploying as much as they can afford. This new flash capacity often comes on a Cloud model, but budget cycles will determine the details for each organization.

Companies are beginning to understand that the current status quo is unsustainable, Sinclair said. Despite this, he continued, inertia still exists. Businesses sometime see only the cost of flash and not its advantages versus their older infrastructure. The storage industry, he said, is still very conservative.

Watch the full video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE and theCUBE’s coverage of Nimble Storage: The Power of Predictive Analytics event.

Photo by SiliconANGLE