Technology of the year award

Throughout 2008, one technology has stood out as offering IT organisations the most dramatic performance benefits. Along the way, this technology has also offered a route to significant power savings, hinted at entirely new roles for certain classes of hardware and thrown a significant hardware business into turmoil.

There’s no <envelope-rip> or <drum roll, please> tag we can use to make this more exciting, so without any further ado, the technology TechTarget ANZ Editor Simon Sharwood believes is the most significant of the year is solid state disks (SSDs).

No other technology we have seen this year comes anywhere near SSDs’ ability to improve the performance of an existing category of hardware. Nor has any technology been so warmly embraced by so many significant industry players. We have also been impressed by new innovations already being sparked by SSDs, such as new direct-attach SSD devices of such speed that they render SANs less relevant.

Many will point out that SSDs are still expensive and largely untried and therefore represent an indulgence in tough economic times. Yet when the likes of Intel throw billions of dollars into R&D and manufacturing of these devices, it is clear they are a disruptive force. And what IT professional can resist finding a business case to use technology that is so much faster than its predecessor?

Here’s some of TechTarget ANZ’s SSD coverage for 2008:

• IDC on the role of SSDs
• Vendors still uncertain about when to use SSD
• When to use SSDs in the enterprise
• Three SSD usage scenarios
• The details of SSD technology
• SSD review: Samsung's 64GB drive under the microscope
• SSDs to get fiber channel interfaces
• Who wants to quash SSD? And why?
• SSD roadmaps from NetApp, EMC, Intel and HDS
• Gartner's vision for SSD use

Honorable mentions

And honourable mentions goes to virtualisation, a technology now ubiquitous and mushrooming into so many complex permutations we predict adoption will slow in 2009 as users look for best practise.

Green IT also deserves a tip-of-the-hat, if only because power savings are a worthwhile goal. Come 2009, however, more than power savings will surely be required to proclaim a product “green.”

Let us know what you think of these "awards." Email Simon Sharwood with your opinions, or alternative suggestions.