Managed hosting, cloud computing and flash storage are 'the future'

The uptake of social networking is driving demand for managed hosting services such as cloud computing, as well as flash-based data storage, it has been claimed.

According to Business Week, MySpace and Facebook are insistent that flash-storage is a vital technology to the future of online businesses, which need to transmit data to multiple users.

"In the last 20 years, spinning disk really hasn't gone any faster, and right now we're really on the cusp of a change with flash technologies," said Richard Buckingham, MySpace's vice-president of technical operations.

He was speaking at the GigaOM Network's Structure 09 conference, which was held in San Francisco.

The emphasis on flash-storage in managed hosting and cloud computing data centres is primarily because data access times are far quicker than in facilities using standard storage equipment.

Meanwhile, recent research carried out by Brockade and Eaton showed that web hosting and co location facilities are still being driven by performance issues, such as data transfer rates and bandwidth.

Written by Debra Hastings-Henry