PCIe flash memory can be used to eliminate the need for SAN or network-attached storage (NAS) infrastructure or to augment existing array infrastructure. With significant performance improvements in both cases, Cisco customers can reduce the amount of physical infrastructure they need to deploy, increase the number of virtual machines that they can place on a single physical server, and further improve overall system efficiency. These improvements provide savings in capital expenditures (CapEx) and operating expenses (OpEx), including reduced application licensing fees and savings related to space, cooling, and energy use.