Intel and Hitachi to collaborate on server SSDs

Intel is teaming up with Hitachi Global Storage Technologies (GST) to collaborate on the development and production of a new generation of solid state drives designed for use in servers, workstations and storage systems that require “extremely high” input/output operations per second (IOPS) and power efficiency.

The agreement will see Hitachi incorporate Intel’s NAND flash drive technology in its Serial Attached SCSI and Fiber Channel drives, with the first batch expected to roll out in early 2010. The drives will be branded and exclusively sold and supported by Hitachi GST, marking a strategic shift for the world’s third-largest hard drive maker, which until now had not made a solid commitment to SSD technology.

Hitachi said the new solid state drives would complement its existing enterprise-class hard disk drives, rather than replace them, while Intel stressed that it will continue to develop and sell its product lines of high-performance SATA SSDs.