White. Paper. IBM's Collaborative Integration of Micron FortisFlashTechnology Delivers Business Value via Enhanced Flash Optimization.

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1 White Paper IBM's Collaborative Integration of Micron FortisFlashTechnology Delivers Business Value via Enhanced Flash Optimization By Mark Peters, Senior Analyst February 2015 This ESG White Paper was commissioned by Micron. and is distributed under license from ESG.

2 White Paper: IBM s Integration of Micron Delivers Business Value 2 Contents Flash Storage Continues to be Disruptive... 3 A New Spin on Flash-optimized... 3 Micron FortisFlash Technology: The Storage Value... 4 IBM FlashSystem Then and Now... 4 Delivering Value Through Integration... 5 The Bigger Truth... 6 All trademark names are property of their respective companies. Information contained in this publication has been obtained by sources The Enterprise Strategy Group (ESG) considers to be reliable but is not warranted by ESG. This publication may contain opinions of ESG, which are subject to change from time to time. This publication is copyrighted by The Enterprise Strategy Group, Inc. Any reproduction or redistribution of this publication, in whole or in part, whether in hard-copy format, electronically, or otherwise to persons not authorized to receive it, without the express consent of The Enterprise Strategy Group, Inc., is in violation of U.S. copyright law and will be subject to an action for civil damages and, if applicable, criminal prosecution. Should you have any questions, please contact ESG Client Relations at

3 White Paper: IBM s Integration of Micron Delivers Business Value 3 Flash Storage Continues to be Disruptive Flash entered the contemporary portfolio picture for enterprise storage about 7 years ago when storage vendors began to add it to their spinning disk-based systems to create hybrid arrays. Flash (initially packaged as an SSD.in other words, to appear like an HDD in terms of form-factor and deployment) could be added with little or no change to storage architectures, and the improvement in access times was, and is, dramatic. 1 The physical restrictions of disk specifically, IOPS in the low hundreds per drive lead to inefficiency and waste because more and more disk has to be added to keep up with access demands. Each head and spindle can do only a set amount of work; in order to gain I/O, users give up capacity, essentially throwing it and money away (this is the infamous phenomenon of short stroking ). Hybrid disk-and-flash solutions led to all-flash arrays, and the rest is history.although it is still in the making as flash in some form or fashion is becoming a norm across storage infrastructures. Initially the price of flash (at least when viewed from a traditional capacity perspective) was high, but organizations with low-latency requirements paid gladly for the performance. Now the price of flash is coming down, in part because raw FAB technology, versions (often card-based these days rather than the SSD approach) and volumes have all improved. Also, storage management tools such as deduplication and compression are improving the effective capacity, and this drives down both per GB and per I/O costs further. More than two-thirds of organizations surveyed in a recent ESG study have deployed flash storage somewhere in their organizations. 2 According to one respondent: The tipping point is price-driven: It needs to be close to spinning disk prices, although a percentage over spinning disk is okay. Another respondent commented, "We view solidstate storage as a technology with widespread applicability today if we could afford more of it, we'd deploy more of it." Putting this colloquially, the battle over the value and need for flash is won now it is just a matter of the rate of progress. Organizations want flash. It's a matter of when, not if, and the only obstacle is price. And this is where a new strategic customer-focused technology collaboration between IBM and Micron comes in. It benefits all the parties involved (IBM, Micron, and end-users) but specifically delivers compelling financial and operational advantages to users. A New Spin on Flash-optimized Lots of companies purchase flash devices (packaged in many different forms and for different industries); and indeed most any storage vendor can purchase flash from Micron Technology, Inc. Instead of engaging in just that simple vanilla transaction, however, IBM and Micron have now taken their collaborative relationship further. Micron has opened up APIs and connections that allow IBM to do multiple additional things that result in improved performance, lower latency, and better endurance, all of which help to not only speed up ROI but also lower TCO. Essentially, the two vendors are putting a new spin (pun intended!) on the overused phrase, flash-optimized. It's a bit like automobile engineers working together with the spark-plug manufacturer to genuinely improve fuel efficiency, acceleration, and cost compared to an automobile manufacturer just buying a set of spark plugs that adhere to industry standards. It s not that the latter, traditional, approach is bad.but simply that it leaves system optimization (and hence end-user money and business value) unrealized. A typical conversation about flash-optimized has to date focused on a particular application or environment, such as VMware. In other words, it is optimization "up" to the management software and applications; but the conversation rarely extends "down" into the integration of the flash itself. Yet both these elements are needed, and this is precisely what the strategic collaboration between IBM and Micron delivers; IBM was already optimizing up, but now Micron enables IBM to optimize down as well. 1 The exact improvement will depend on how much flash of what sort is deployed in what manner, and whether users consider just certain workloads or the overall system, and indeed whether just latency is the focus or whether I/O bandwidth is also a driver; so, while an average impact is impossible to provide, nonetheless the impact can range from single to double orders of magnitude of improvement in I/O. 2 Source: ESG Research Report, Next-generation Storage Architectures, December 2014.

4 White Paper: IBM s Integration of Micron Delivers Business Value 4 Micron FortisFlash Technology: The Storage Value Micron is a 35-year-old semiconductor manufacturer with operations in more than 20 countries and an annual revenue of over US$16 billion in The company holds more than 20,000 patents, and it has earned numerous industry awards. Its portfolio includes DRAM, NAND, and NOR flash memory technologies. Micron developed its FortisFlash Technology as a part of its natural progress in better serving an ever-moredemanding market. But it also recognized that storage integrators like IBM need more specific and customized abilities to adequately serve the needs of the enterprise storage market. One good example is in error management. Historically, Micron (and others) used hard-decode error correction; but with the newer NAND flash media, the multi-level cells can be in one of multiple states, meaning that more subtle and complex soft data is needed. Micron FortisFlash Technology and its special modes provide the ability to get soft data from the NAND and thus an advanced soft decode can replace a blunt hard decode. The value to users is not just better error correction, but also better utilization of the media, allowing them to get more and more good data from their NAND investment. Over recent years, the interim emlc technology has similarly been targeted at enhancing the endurance of MLC to make it more suitable for enterprise use, but it was achieved at the cost of a performance impact. Micron FortisFlash Technology maximizes endurance without such a performance hit. Using Micron FortisFlash and the Enhanced Read Optimization features, combined with IBM's error management techniques, can greatly increase the program and erase cycles, extend the longevity, and elevate reliability. Indeed, Micron FortisFlash Technology gives IBM top-to-bottom control of its flash stack, so it can tune the NAND for a system offering or even for individual customers. This would not all be possible with plain old regular MLC, nor with a plain old systems integrator. Very few entities in the world have the ability to manipulate NAND and optimize it. But between IBM (it really knows what it needs for its users) and Micron (it can actually do the hard NAND engineering), a secret sauce has been produced that advances flash optimization. IBM FlashSystem Then and Now IBM recognized flash storage as a disruptive technology that could improve its customers' environments. To pursue this opportunity it introduced some early hybrid offerings (like many other vendors), and then it also acquired Texas Memory Systems and over time introduced the resulting IBM FlashSystem all-flash arrays and the initial version of FlashSystem softwaredefined flash (which wrapped in extensive and sophisticated software-based data services). IBM also committed to a $1 billion investment in the FlashSystem portfolio. It was this investment, in part, that led IBM to have discussions with Micron. IBM has now updated its portfolio with the FlashSystem 900 and FlashSystem V9000. Both systems build on mature foundations of reliability, efficiency, IBM's MicroLatency and performance. IBM also is announcing its Flash Core Technology, which optimizes the system use of flash. The other element in this flash-optimization quest is IBM s use of Micron FortishFlash Technology, together with the advanced integration that it has worked on in concert with Micron. IBM FlashSystem 900 This all-flash appliance delivers up to 57 TB (of useable RAID 5 capacity) and 1.1 million IOPS and offers: The relationship with Micron lets IBM integrate the NAND flash device into its system design more deeply than would have been possible with just standard flash (however good such flash might be, and including the new Micron management console Field upgradability FortisFlash Technology). What does this really mean for IBM and its end-users? IBM can differentiate its flash portfolio with an improved cost/performance value proposition. Users can experience that value proposition in the Improved reliability, availability, and serviceability (RAS) compared to the previous generation Front-load hot swap modules Concurrent code load Full redundancy throughout GUI-based

5 White Paper: IBM s Integration of Micron Delivers Business Value 5 form of both improved ROI and TCO thanks to the improved write cycles, latency, capacity, and endurance cycles that are the progeny of the IBM/Micron collaboration. Delivering Value Through Integration Optimized integration is the phrase that unlocks value for all three parties to this strategic customer technology collaboration. The market differentiation and therefore potential business advantage to Micron and IBM is very apparent. Better flash deployments at a better price (which is ultimately what all this boils down to, however it is actually achieved) can drive market share since, as mentioned previously, this is what users want. IBM FlashSystem V9000 This integrates FlashSystem 900 with IBM's software-defined storage capabilities, and offers full-featured storage virtualization (a form of software-defined storage), including: Thin provisioning Snapshots Real-time compression Disk mirroring Synchronous and asynchronous replication High availability Tiering External virtualization to extend the services listed above to other IBM and third-party storage Users receive endurance without a performance hit but they can even switch to SLC mode if it's needed for an extra performance boost. They also receive improved management and control capabilities with Micron FortishFlash Technology in the IBM mix. Ultimately, it's the payoff in the form of operational and financial outcomes that lines up nicely with the number two most-cited enterprise priority 3 when it comes to 2015 IT spending, which is cost reduction initiatives (see Figure 1). 4 The same research also asked respondents Which of the following considerations do you believe will be most important in justifying IT investments to your organization s business management team over the next 12 months? After security/risk management (again, a predictable #1) the following three considerations most often cited by respondents were: ROI, business process improvement, and reduced OpEx 5 these are all areas where the Micron/IBM collaboration can direct significant value, targeted as it will be into the heart of IBM s global-reachsoftware-defined storage efforts that are focused on such things as private clouds and analytics places where reliable and economically viable I/O performance really matters. Micron FortisFlash Technology is non-exclusive technology, but the combination of Micron FortisFlash Storage and the extra API hooks and custom enhancements are exclusively the result of the Micron and IBM collaboration and only available to IBM FlashSystem users. IBM takes advantage of the technically nuanced capabilities of, and hooks into, Micron FortisFlash Technology (some are generic to all users, and some are the specific result of the IBM/Micron collaboration) so as to maintain the combination of endurance and performance and improved economics for its users. 3 In the current news media environment and in the light of highly publicized security breaches, it is no surprise that security tops the IT priorities poll, but cost reduction remains key, as it has for years prior. 4 Source: ESG Research Report, 2015 IT Spending Intentions Survey, to be published February Ibid.

6 White Paper: IBM s Integration of Micron Delivers Business Value 6 Figure Business Initiatives with the Greatest Impact on IT Spending Decisions Which of the following business initiatives do you believe will drive the most technology spending in your organization over the next 12 months? (Percent of respondents, N=601, five responses accepted) Security/risk management initiatives 46% Cost reduction initiatives 37% Improved data analytics for real-time business intelligence and customer insight Providing our employees with the mobile devices and applications they need Regulatory compliance Improved internal collaboration capabilities Developing strategies to ensure we interact with our customers on their mobile devices Increased use of social media technology for marketing, customer outreach, etc. Business growth via mergers, acquisitions, or organic expansion Research and development innovation/improvement Sales force enablement International expansion 30% 27% 26% 25% 23% 19% 17% 16% 15% 13% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% Source: Enterprise Strategy Group, The Bigger Truth Flash storage is a rapidly growing market area. As the price of flash comes down and its economic benefits rise, it will be implemented more broadly. IBM already is doing well, but the strategic customer technology collaboration between two US Fortune 500 companies adds up to more than the sum of the parts. This integration is far more than a custom-off-the-shelf packaging exercise. All parties to the collaboration users, IBM and Micron can accrue business value. The achievement of lower latency and higher performance at a reasonable cost both down the stack as well as up is going to be a tough act for others to replicate, and it gives new, and real, meaning to the term flash-optimized.

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