SandForce SSD Controllers Gets Nod from IBM

SandForce is not a house-hold name yet, but that could soon change after getting positive comments from IBM. The company developed controller chips for managing the less-expensive flash chips in SSDs, and this WSJ Blog reports that future IBM systems will include the SandForce technology.

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"SandForce, of Saratoga, Calif., developed controller chips for managing the less-expensive flash chips in SSDs–and help match the reliability and endurance of more costly varieties, says Thad Omura, the company’s vice president of marketing. Others have been doing the same thing, including Stec and Fusion-io, but they sell complete SSDs that include internally designed controller chips, notes Jim Handy, an analyst at the market research firm Objective Analysis.

"SandForce, by contrast, has been selling controllers that allow lots of companies to make SSDs using the least expensive flash chips. 'Sandforce has been bringing it to the public at large,' says Handy, who recently completed a study of SSDs in the enterprise market."

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