The ever-informative Chris Mellor profiled the 2008 storage startup Avere. Founded by ex-Spinnaker, ex-NetApp execs, their technology applies the same automatic tiering concepts that Compellent has exploited, but for files instead of blocks.
Avere’s approach, like Compellent’s, may be the early killer app for SSD. Because they can easily add just a little, users get access to the powerful value of solid state storage without as much pain from the still-high cost of SSD.
These companies will fare even better once SSD’s durability and reliability become more mature.
Seagate is on track to release its first SSD later this year.
