Fusion-IO, Inc. (NYSE:FIO) Executive Vice President Ian Whiting talked to Bloomberg Television in a recent interview about how flash storage can transform the data center of the 21st century and his company being acquired by SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ:SNDK).
The discussion comes from the Global Field Operations executive vice president as Fusion-IO, Inc. (NYSE:FIO) recently unveiled its Atomic Series flash memory platform. The EVP also spoke after SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ:SNDK) recently revealed that it is buying Fusion-IO, Inc. for $1.1 billion.
According to Whiting, the launch of the Atomic Series platform is indicative of the company’s recognition that there is a major change going on in the field of data centers. Speaking from Singapore, the Fusion-IO, Inc. (NYSE:FIO) executive said that the change is more apparent in Asia.
Whiting said there is a tremendous need to discover how to build newer and better data centers in this day and age to get the best possible return on investment specifically power and cost of running a data center. This is very important because data is growing at a staggering pace, he noted. He added that people also want to have their data instantly. The executive believes that flash memory in data centers is one key to improving data centers.
When it came to his company being acquired by SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ:SNDK), the executive said that the deal presents a great opportunity for both entities. Asked how the acquisition by SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ:SNDK) shifts Fusion-IO, Inc. (NYSE:FIO) culture, he said:
“SanDisk has been a leader in the flash memory marketplace for many years and has really evolved from both the retail consumer space into the mobile and the compute environment in the last few years. I think the acquisition of Fusion-IO, and we are going through that process as we speak, will create a company with the broadest range of flash memory solutions: everything from retail through to the most performance-demanding data center applications where performance and needing access to data really at the speed of now, where there really is no patience or time, [makes or breaks] companies…That’s the company that I think will emerge from the acquisition.”
Watch the video below where Whiting also talked about privacy and how their company’s solutions addresses this issue.
Fusion-IO, Inc. (NYSE:FIO) shareholders includes Mike Masters’ Masters Capital Management which held, by the end of the first quarter of the year, 700,000 shares in the company. Gregory A. Weaver’s Invicta Capital Management also reported 615,000 shares in the flash memory solutions company in the same period.
SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ:SNDK) shareholders includes Dmitry Balyasny’s Balyasny Asset Management which had, by the end of March, 574,622 shares in the company. Another hedge fund with a position on SanDisk is Renaissance Technologies managed by Jim Simons. The firm held, by the same period, a stake comprised of 471,925 stocks in SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ:SNDK).
Disclosure: None
