Choosing the right storage drive
With the influence of so many factors affecting data storage today, from big data-derived analytics to regulatory and business requirements, IT organizations are faced with the challenge of selecting the right type of storage drive for their needs. Are hard disk drives (HDDs) sufficient? Or does it make sense to invest in solid-state drives (SSDs)?
The answer is that it depends on the types of workloads you’re running, and what they require. To learn about storage drive practices, Spiceworks surveyed over 160 IT professionals to determine the challenges they’re facing and the key considerations they make when choosing their storage drives.
Nearly all respondents (99%) had installed HDDs, primarily for their computing devices, servers and enterprise storage appliances. Even so, IT professionals reported that HDDs present challenges around drive performance/speed (65%), reliability (38%) and durability (29%).
Many of those surveyed (63%) said that they are also using SSDs, mostly for computing devices. In fact, more than half plan to expand their SSD usage for these devices. And for those who plan to expand SSD usage for server and enterprise storage appliances, top reasons cited are speed, performance and reliability. However, the biggest challenges surveyed IT professionals cited around SSDs in general are cost (73%) followed by storage capacity (65%).
Weighing SSDs vs HDDs
When evaluating storage drives, IT professionals base their considerations on the same things they face in their day-to-day storage challenges: Price (83%), reliability (79%), drive performance/ speed (75%) and storage capacity (74%).
So which type of storage drive is best? IT professionals said both SSDs and HDDs have their benefits. While HDDs are rated highest for storage capacity, affordability and easy management, top HDD challenges include drive performance/speed, reliability and durability. Alternately, SSDs rate higher on certain factors lacking in HDDs, like performance/speed, power consumption and durability.
When SSDs are right for you?
When it comes to selecting the right type of storage drive, understanding your workloads and what they demand is key. For critical workloads in which performance, speed, power consumption and durability are non-negotiable, IT professionals agree that SSDs are the better choice – making them well worth the investment.
Learn more about your ssd choices
Source: Spiceworks survey of 169 IT professionals in the United States and EMEA on behalf of Kingston Technology, May 2015.