By Lourens Sanders, Solution Architect at Infinidat

Financial institutions are faced with the challenge of extremely dense workloads that need to be consolidated across multiple siloes that each have their own management touch points. This introduces both complexity and risk, which in a risk-averse industry is significantly problematic. Workload consolidation is the key to reducing cost, complexity and ultimately risk, but while All Flash Arrays (AFA) are touted as the ideal storage to support this, the latency of AFA is unpredictable and not low enough to guarantee the performance required. Solid State Arrays (SSA) address this challenge by using innovative deep learning software algorithms and extensive Dynamic Random-Access Memory (DRAM) cache, giving banks a competitive edge. 

All flash is not everything

AFA promises to address many technology challenges currently faced by banks, including scalability, performance, reliability, availability, support, serviceability and consolidation of segregated or siloed deployments. However, the media itself reduces the benefits of AFA, because it can cause performance bottlenecks due to physical read and write speed limitations. This in turn can make latency unpredictable, and while it is still low, these fluctuations can be problematic in mission-critical workload scenarios, particularly with banks’ tier 0/1 application requirements. 

SSA solves the issue

The DRAM media and superior caching algorithms with SSA deliver sub-millisecond overall latency compared to millisecond latency from AFA, and the triple redundant architecture within a single rack guarantees 100% availability. In addition, SSA maximises higher usable capacity, providing more bang for your buck. 

Another important issue is the fact that storage performance is not one dimensional; it is very much driven by IOPS, bandwidth and latency. SSA consolidates disparate high-performance workloads and eliminates storage bottlenecks while consolidated workloads lower the overall cost by reducing the number of systems in place, as well as the cost and complexity of their subsequent upgrades. SSA supports this as it is fully scalable and irrespective of the workload, all performance expectations can be met. In addition, it provides unified protocols for a smoother consolidation experience.

Consolidation is key

Workload consolidation powered by SSA lowers the total cost of ownership of storage by reducing the cost of power and cooling and the cost of upgrades, and by decreasing both the physical and carbon footprint associated. It also brings data protection under one roof for enhanced manageability and ease of use, reduced complexity and therefore reduced risk. 

The consolidated SSA architecture supports the evolving app ecosystem and provides self-optimised, self-balancing storage for banks, without the cumbersome administrative overhead or complexities that come with tiering. This improves control and eases data management. 

A better customer experience and more

The Customer Experience (CX) delivered by deploying SSA is a significant benefit as well as the cost efficiencies of consolidated workloads. The predictability of SSA is a significant step in risk mitigation, with the peace of mind that goes along with 100% availability. In financial services, performance, availability and reliability are key, and this is where SSA shines. The result is a better CX, but more than that it also delivers a positive business impact – consistent, predictable performance which keeps a business moving forward, with a lower total cost of ownership in the long run.