Enterprise flash drives (EFDs) are designed for applications requiring high I/O performance (IOPS), reliability, energy efficiency and, more recently, consistent performance. In most cases, an EFD is an SSD with a higher set of specifications, compared with SSDs that would typically be used in notebook computers. The term was first used by EMC in January 2008, to help them identify SSD manufacturers who would provide products meeting these higher standards.[33] There are no standards bodies who control the definition of EFDs, so any SSD manufacturer may claim to produce EFDs when they may not actually meet the requirements. Likewise, there may be other SSD manufacturers that meet the EFD requirements without being called EFDs.[34]
In the fourth quarter of 2012, Intel introduced its SSD DC S3700 drive, which focused on achieving consistent performance, an area that had previously not received much attention but which Intel claimed was important for the enterprise market. In particular, Intel claims that at steady state the S3700 won't vary its IOPS by more than 10–15%, and that 99.9% of all 4kB random IOs are serviced in less than 500µs.[35]