SSD sees traction

ComputerWorld reports.

In the report, Forrester contends that while enterprise-class SSDs are vastly more expensive than hard disk drives (HDDs), deduplication can reduce capacity requirements, making flash a cost-effective, better-performing alternative.

TechWorld says that, according to Forrester, SSDs can be up to 10 times more expensive than HDDs.

Other research firms peg the costs far higher. Market research from other firms such as iSuppli and Objective-Analysis shows SSD pricing averages around £11 per gigabyte today. It's expected to drop to £8 a gigabyte next year, and to £3 per gigabyte by 2015.

The Forrester advice comes amid growing concern over the potential shortage of HDDs, following the flooding in Thailand. This, in turn, is threatening to impact the entire PC, laptop and chip supply segments during 2012, eWeek states.

This is because Thailand is responsible for around 40% to 45% of the world's HDD production, and the business disruption has already led to price rises. However, the analyst suspects a side effect will include a boost in SSD production.