IBM has been recognized as a Leader for Flash Storage in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Solid-State Arrays (SSA).¹

According to Gartner, "Vendors in the Leaders quadrant have the highest scores for their Ability to Execute and Completeness of Vision. A vendor in the Leaders quadrant has the market share, credibility, and marketing and sales capabilities needed to drive the acceptance of new technologies. These vendors demonstrate a clear understanding of market needs; they are innovators and thought leaders; and they have well-articulated plans that customers and prospects can use when designing their storage infrastructures and strategies. In addition, they have a presence in the five major geographical regions, consistent financial performance and broad platform support."

IBM's position as a leader comes after it announced the expansion of its FlashSystem portfolio, including DeepFlash and Storwize products, to help clients more quickly extract value from data for competitive advantage. Among the 380 patents that differentiate IBM's flash products and services are its FlashCore and MicroLatency technologies. Clients rely on these technologies to quickly access the mounting volumes.

For example, Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital (Henry Mayo), a not-for-profit community hospital and trauma center in Valencia, California, needed to implement a storage solution that would deliver faster access to patient data for their electronic health records (EHRs) system. Henry Mayo required a solution for its medical teams who perform a wide range of healthcare and outpatient surgical services.

After thorough testing of information systems software, MEDITECH, Henry Mayo selected a combination of IBM flash technologies. To quickly access EHRs, the hospital selected IBM's FlashSystem® V9000 all-flash array. The solution also includes the VersaStack™ converged infrastructure platform by IBM and Cisco using IBM's Storwize® V7000 hybrid storage array. Key to its decision was that the IBM arrays would provide security through hardware level encryption and deliver the hospital's database administrators a single dashboard into its storage assets.

"From arrival to aftercare, our medical teams are constantly viewing and updating EHRs, so delays or interruptions to retrieving data can directly affect their care, which is why we were committed to MEDITECH and wanted to deploy its latest release," said Cindy Peterson, vice president/CIO, Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital. "It was therefore particularly important to implement IBM's FlashSystem V9000, which our testing proved could be relied upon for quick access of patient information."

Physicians at Henry Mayo are now able to access patient records more quickly, which helps them make faster, high-quality clinical decisions without delay. As a result, they may be able to spend more time with patients, leading to enriched patient care and improved outcomes.

"Whether it's a hospital or retail organization, organizations across the globe understand the value that fast and reliable access to data will provide," said Michael Kuhn, vice president of offering management, Storage Solutions. "Achieving this requires technology found in IBM's FlashSystem portfolio, which is proven to dramatically accelerate the movement of data when and where it is needed, while delivering the reliability and availability to keep data always accessible." We believe client testimonials like this help support the Gartner recognition.

1. Gartner, Magic Quadrant for Solid-State Arrays, August 22, 2016