Komprise unveils Flash Stretch to cut flash storage costs

Komprise has launched Flash Stretch, an assessment service designed to help organisations reclaim capacity on existing flash and other primary storage systems as DRAM and solid-state drive prices rise.

The service is aimed at enterprise IT teams that want to analyse network-attached storage (NAS) environments and identify data that can move from high-cost primary platforms to lower-cost storage tiers. Komprise estimates the assessment can show how to free up more than 70% of primary capacity, based on typical unstructured data usage patterns.

Flash and memory pricing has become a growing concern for infrastructure teams. Gartner estimates combined DRAM and SSD prices will rise 130% by the end of 2026. Procurement teams are also facing longer lead times for some components, complicating hardware refresh cycles and capacity planning.

In many large organisations, unstructured data makes up a substantial share of the storage estate. This includes office files, research data, media assets, log files and other content outside structured databases. Komprise argues much of this information stays inactive for long periods but remains on high-cost flash or other hot storage systems.

Assessment focus

Flash Stretch provides a granular assessment of NAS environments. It examines data growth and file usage across multi-vendor NAS platforms and cloud storage, identifying candidate data for tiering based on factors such as file type, age and recent access patterns.

The assessment also produces policy recommendations by department or use case, reflecting that retention and performance requirements can vary across teams such as engineering, research, finance and legal.

It models the capacity that could be freed and estimates savings across a range of destinations, including cloud and object storage options. It also analyses potential backup savings from reducing the footprint of primary file systems after tiering.

Tiering mechanics

The basic concept is familiar in storage management: cold files move from primary NAS to a lower-cost tier, while users and applications retain access through stubs or transparent links. This reduces demand for flash capacity while keeping file paths stable.

Komprise also highlights vendor lock-in as a risk for organisations that rely on tiering features built into a specific storage array or NAS platform. These approaches can make later migrations more complex, because tiered data may need to be "rehydrated" back onto the original platform before moving to a new supplier.

According to Komprise, Flash Stretch estimates the cost of that rehydration effect based on an organisation's data mix and tiering approach. The assessment also outlines how standards-based tiering can reduce reliance on a single storage vendor.

"As IT seeks to fit more data into existing storage capacity given surging costs, they need to be careful not to unwittingly commit to undesirable limitations," said Randy Hopkins, VP of Global Systems Engineering at Komprise.

"The Komprise assessment helps enterprises quantify how to optimize and squeeze more from current storage through standards-based tiering to maximize savings without lock-in," Hopkins said.

Budget pressures

Storage spending is competing with new investment priorities in many enterprises. AI projects can require upgraded infrastructure and more data preparation work, increasing demand for high-performance storage in some environments. At the same time, IT teams still need to manage the growing volume of unstructured content created by day-to-day operations.

Komprise's modelling suggests that, at current prices, reclaimed capacity could represent savings of $350,000 or more per petabyte of flash storage. The company did not disclose the price of the assessment.

Pfizer example

Komprise pointed to Pfizer as an example of an organisation managing petabyte-scale unstructured data on on-premises storage. Pfizer analysed files on high-performance storage to identify what could move to cloud storage while maintaining access for users and applications.

Komprise says Pfizer cut storage costs by 75% using its tools to analyse, then continuously tier and migrate cold data to Amazon S3 over time. It also reports operational benefits, including no user disruption during tiering and migration.

Flash Stretch is available immediately for enterprise IT infrastructure teams evaluating ways to reduce storage costs and improve primary storage utilisation.