Factors hindering storage decisions identified through a survey of 460 video experts
The corporate challenge is to balance the three requirements of performance, capacity, and cost.

Quantum released 'Current Status of Flash Storage Utilization in the Media and Video Industry,' which surveyed video professionals at companies worldwide regarding the current status of flash storage adoption and potential challenges for expansion.

Quantum surveyed 460 people from various organizations, ranging from post-production to sports video teams, to identify factors that can influence storage decisions. The results revealed: increased adoption of flash storage; focus on performance strengths such as the fast processing speeds provided by flash storage; plans to expand adoption to match budget increases despite the high cost of flash storage; and hesitation regarding the adoption of flash storage due to the relatively small capacity offered relative to the price.



Widespread Adoption of Flash Storage : An increasing number of organizations are moving to flash. In fact, more than half of respondents (53%) are using flash storage in some form within their storage environments. Additionally, 20% planned to adopt flash in the future. Only 27% of respondents stated that they do not use flash and have no related plans.

Focus on performance strengths such as the fast processing speeds provided by flash storage : The need for processing speed is accelerating the flash trend. Most respondents (67%) cited 'performance' as the biggest benefit Flash can offer. Organizations require high performance to process high-resolution files at fast frame rates. Approximately 64% of survey respondents produce content completed in at least HD, while 42% produce content in 4K or higher. Many respondents stated that Flash provides efficient and fast responsiveness and experiences to team members working in HD or 4K.

Plans to Expand Adoption in Line with Budget Increases Despite High Flash Storage Adoption Costs : 'Cost' is the primary concern. Deciding whether to invest in flash is by no means an easy decision for any organization. Approximately 60% of respondents were concerned about the high investment costs associated with adopting flash technology. Even if flash system costs decrease, flash drives are generally more expensive than traditional hard disk drives (HDDs).

However, according to a survey, 40% of respondents stated that their IT budgets increased over the past year, which acts as a factor accelerating the adoption of flash technology. On the other hand, 47% of respondents reported no change in their budget, while 12% stated that their budgets were cut. Under tight budgets, organizations must develop thorough plans to deploy flash into their storage environments.

Hesitation to adopt flash storage due to relatively small capacity relative to price: 'Capacity' is a key consideration among storage challenges. Along with cost, capacity can be another potential obstacle to flash adoption. Approximately 25% of survey respondents cited 'capacity' as the biggest challenge to storage adoption. This is the same ratio as the answer 'cost'.

It is not surprising that 'capacity' is considered the biggest challenge. As organizations proceed with high-resolution projects, many need to expand 'capacity' to store larger 4K files. However, flash drives generally do not 'yet' offer the same capacity as HDDs. Furthermore, expanding flash systems is prohibitively expensive.

"The challenge facing enterprises is to balance the three essential requirements of performance, capacity, and cost," said Kang-Wook Lee, General Manager of Quantum Korea. "To maintain this balance, many organizations must reliably establish a multi-tiered environment that integrates flash into economical, high-capacity solutions tailored to the business environment, including HDDs, digital tapes, and cloud storage."