Testing Service Solutions Program for SSDs

The adoption of solid state drives (SSD) is rapidly accelerating, and for good reason. With no moving parts, an SSD eliminates seek time, latency and other electro-mechanical delays and failures associated with a conventional hard disk drive (HDD). SSDs offer high reliability and performance, are designed to conserve power, improve data retention, and operate silently. All of these advantages, combined with the fact that they are relatively simple and inexpensive to produce, have led to a surge of innovative new storage companies looking to capitalize on all SSDs have to offer.

As the industry embraces SSDs, opportunities for these smaller storage companies abound. Due to the fact that some of these companies are often in the startup stage, working capital can be in short supply – often making essential processes, including testing, difficult to afford. Additionally, these companies may not have the knowledge and expertise required to perform the tests themselves, and generally may not have a test engineer on staff. This issue cannot simply be ignored, as SSDs need to be tested to ensure that the drives meet requirements for performance and reliability. With the costs of traditional testing equipment often eclipsing a quarter of a million dollars per unit, clearly, a new approach that can help to nurture these new, innovative companies is needed.

Flexstar Technology, in storage test systems for digital storage devices, believes that the solution to this problem is the outsourcing of the testing process, and is now offering testing services. By enabling SSD manufacturers to test the end product storage device and not just its component pieces, Flexstar’s approach brings storage testing to new levels.

"Flexstar has been providing the storage industry with standardized, repeatable, turnkey testing solutions for close to 30 years," noted Anthony Lavia, Flexstar’s president and CEO. "In today’s economic environment, flexible options to avoid or postpone large outlays of capital can be attractive solutions – to start ups and established companies alike."

QA testing in early stages of product development can also provide a competitive advantage to SSD manufacturers. Flexstar’s Testing Service Solutions program is software-driven and flexible, allowing SSD manufacturers to tailor the tests to support their own unique value propositions and gain an edge on the competition. By giving SSD manufacturers the ability to test the things that will make a difference to their competitive position, Flexstar is giving these companies an opportunity to differentiate themselves in a crowded market.

Additionally, changes in technology necessitate changes in the way drives are tested. Thus, when technological advances are made and product is updated, a new test is needed. The Flexstar Testing Service Solutions program gives SSD manufacturers the flexibility required to continue to test their drives as advancements are made – without having to outlay additional capital for a new test system each time.

The Flexstar Testing Service Solutions program combines Flexstar’s many years of industry knowledge with the company’s test systems to provide a complete and affordable testing solution for SSD customers. "Testing requirements don’t just go away, and Flexstar has come up with a solution that allows smaller companies to test their products using the same Flexstar systems that the major HDD and SSD manufacturers are using," continued Lavia. "By outsourcing testing to Flexstar, companies can ensure the long term reliability of their drives – for a comparatively minimal investment."