Pure Storage & SK hynix partner on energy-efficient QLC flash

Pure Storage has announced a collaboration with SK hynix to deliver QLC flash storage products designed for hyperscale data centres.

The collaboration seeks to address the increasing demands placed on data centres by workloads that require both high storage density and greater energy efficiency. Many hyperscale data centres face challenges with existing storage technology, particularly hard disk drives (HDDs), which have shown limitations in handling high-capacity, data-intensive workloads typical in the current AI-driven landscape.

According to Pure Storage, future DirectFlash Module products will incorporate SK hynix's QLC NAND flash memory and are intended to support environments where both performance and capacity are critical. The integration is designed to offer sustained high performance, lower latency, energy savings, and high reliability for exascale workloads.

The companies highlight several key benefits of this partnership, including the ability to deliver lower energy consumption, which could assist customers in managing power constraints and reducing operating costs. This is expected to translate into a reduced overall carbon footprint for organisations running large data operations.

The joint solution also emphasises scalability and a competitive total cost of ownership (TCO). By providing highly rack-dense systems, the QLC flash storage aims to improve storage scalability and efficiency, offering advantages over traditional HDD setups in large-scale deployments.

Bill Cerreta, GM, Hyperscale, Pure Storage, commented on the new collaboration: "This collaboration with SK hynix is an exciting step in our mission to deliver superior all-flash storage technology to hyperscalers. By combining SK hynix's advanced QLC products with Pure Storage's host-based flash management architecture, we can deliver an optimized solution for the hyperscale production environment and AI infrastructure. Pure Storage can further elevate performance, scalability, reliability, and energy efficiency, addressing the unique demands facing today's data-centric industries."

Sam Lee, EVP, Head of Global Sales and Marketing, SK hynix, said: "Hyperscalers are constantly searching for data storage technology that doesn't limit their potential innovation, but propels it to unforeseen levels. SK hynix's NAND technology, combined with Pure Storage's robust platform, presents a formidable option for data center operators focused on maximizing performance, efficiency, and scalability. Together, we are empowering hyperscale environments to tackle burgeoning data volumes with cutting-edge, sustainable storage solutions."

Data bottlenecks and energy costs are ongoing concerns for data centre operators, particularly as AI-driven workloads grow. Both partner companies are aiming to help customers confront these issues by offering a platform that unites advances in flash memory and storage management.

The companies point out that wide adoption of QLC flash could ultimately move large-scale environments beyond traditional disk-based storage, by providing mechanisms to support evolving data centre needs with greater energy efficiency and improved scalability.