All-Flash: Turning Tier 1 apps into real time performers

How much do you know about your business? Not just the big picture, but real nuance? For example, can you pick up a smart device and learn about the immediate status of the company right here and now?

Companies generate a lot of data that can inform on their wellbeing. The modern alphabet was developed for this purpose: the ancient Phoenicians and Carthaginians devised writing to maintain ledgers and contracts. This has evolved considerably over the years.

Yet even though the tools have changed from heavy clay tablets to electronic forms, the traditional means of compiling that data remains incredibly cumbersome and slow. It takes weeks, if not months, to compile an annual report. Even daily reports consume a lot more effort and time, meaning they do not arrive with the regularity that their names suggest.

But what if you could have that information in real time? Right here and now, you could get an overview of the business and drill down to the minutia of ongoing operations. Ridiculous? Not if you combine your Tier 1 application with an all-flash array.

The Tier 1 application is the heart of enterprises. Traditionally the ERP, Tier 1s have evolved to become business platforms, catering specific services to different departments. It supports both operational and line of business roles, ultimately making it the custodian of all the vital data a company generates.

In other words, a modern enterprise already has the goods to get a live look at its operations. What it lacks are the means to make it happen. Tier 1 applications are held back today by one thing: storage bottlenecks. Traditional storage arrays cannot keep up with the demand at the core of systems developed by the likes of SAP and Oracle. No matter how fast spinning disks drives are accelerated, physical limitations will always get in the way.

But not with all-flash arrays. Flash is a new breed of storage. Unlike other systems, it has no moving parts and instead relies on the lightning-fast performance of electrons. It is not an exaggeration to say some companies experience a 30-fold improvement on their Tier 1 app’s performance. Even conservative boosts still sit at five to ten times faster than spinning disk arrays.

Spinning disks simply are not capable to handle the demands of Tier 1 apps anymore, not if you want such features as real-time reporting and predictive analytics. But flash is not only the perfect fit – it is allowing these applications to create entirely new and revolutionary functions. Tier 1 developers are fast adjusting to these new opportunities.

Don’t get left behind. Your core business applications can become much faster and far more effective. You could know right here, right now, what your business is doing and then decide where it should go next. Don’t ever wonder. Know.

About the Author: Dell Technologies