IBM has a hand in many of the happenings in the field of technology today, but solid state technology is one area where it has yet to make an impact, but that may not last for much longer.
The reason IBM hasn't awed anyone on the solid state flash memory segment is simple: lack of IP and R&D expertise.
This shortcoming will be addressed through the acquisition of Texas Memory Systems, or TMS for short, a privately-held developer of flash storage from Houston.
IBM will work to develop TMS' existing product portfolio while adding its inventions to its PureSystems and other storage, server and software offerings.
Knowing that TMS has been around since 1978, the NAND and RAM-based IP under its belt is considerable.
Also, we have no doubt that IBM's affinity for rackmount servers helped in leading to this acquisition, given TMS's RamSan family of such systems and PCI Express cards. Server sprawl, power consumption, cooling, and floor space requirements should all go down once a TMS RamSan comes into play.
Analysts are already head over heels to figure out what IBM's move means for the future.
“IBM will gain a significant flash storage technical boost with TMS and integrate the technologies across its hardware and software portfolios to further solidify IBM’s reduced TCO, high-ROI messages with faster performance, greater efficiency and improved reliability,” said Krista Macomber, an analyst of computing and storage practice at Technology Business Research.
“Most significantly, IBM will integrate the technology into its PureFlex and PureApplications offerings for truly end-to-end systems differentiated in part by integrated flash technologies to better manage and derive greater business insight from data.”
With the buyout of TSMC, IBM will gain another 100 employees. The deal should close by the end of the year (2012).
“The TMS strategy and solution set align well with our 'smarter computing' approach to information technology by helping clients realize increased performance and efficiencies at lower costs,” said Brian Truskowski, general manager of systems storage and networking at IBM.
