IBM’s new FlashSystem 9100 is an NVMe, all-flash, software-defined storage solution, and it’s as powerful as you think it is. Not only is this IBM’s first storage system to feature the fast and high-performing NVMe storage capacity, it also comes with tons of IBM storage software including IBM Spectrum Virtualize, IBM FlashCore, IBM Storage Insights and new storage “blueprints” to help clients design multi-cloud solutions. IBM believes their NVMe architecture coupled with intelligent software, will place this solution at the center of hybrid cloud infrastructure.

FS9110 and FS9150

As of now the product is divided into two offers, the FS9110 and the FS9150. They both share NVMe 2.5 inch FlashCore modules and dual-active controllers. The FS9150 offers a higher level of performance with dual 14-core processors, while the FS9110 operates with dual 8-core processors. FlashSystems also support standard SSDs, which allows partners to mix FlashCore modules with SSDs in the array. Another big leap for IBM is these systems feature the lowest latencies in the industry, with ultra-low-latency at 100 microseconds. IBM is also advancing into the space of compression and data deduplication, with the one of the best compression functions available in the industry today.

IBM Spectrum Virtualize

FlashSystem 9100 comes with IBM Spectrum Virtualize, which provides storage management through a mixture of technologies with functions including thin provisioning, snapshots, automatic and dynamic data tiering, encryption, storage virtualization and remote data replication. IBM Spectrum Virtualize enables FlashSystem 9100 to provide an expansive set of capabilities that deliver the highest levels of storage efficiency when integrated together.

IBM Storage Insights

Storage Insights contributes the intelligence necessary to manage a modern software-defined datacenter. Through one dashboard, you are able to view performance trends and storage health information to better influence administrative decisions. Creating fluidity and flexibility through virtualization and dynamic reconfiguration in an infrastructure is critical to preparing your environment for future cloud services and cloud needs.

Speaking of cloud, FlashSystem 9100 comes with a collection of software to develop a cloud strategy from your data. These multicloud plans are basically blueprints. They are NVMe-ready, cloud-ready software solutions to help you migrate data to a multicloud architecture.

I think it’s safe to say that IBM is seriously flexing on its competitors with FlashSystem 9100. For enterprise storage, look no further than the powerhouse systems of IBM.