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Non-computing data storage comes to the fore
Does that mean that data storage space too works on some equivalent of Moore’s law? For the uninitiated, Intel’s co-founder Gordon Moore gave a law for semiconductors that the number of transistors per square inch on integrated circuits would double every year since the invention of the integrated circuit and he predicted that this trend would continue for the foreseeable future. In subsequent years, the pace slowed down a bit, but data storage density has doubled approximately every 18 months. There is a projection on the arial density for data storage space that can be compared to this law, Srivastava answers. “A couple of years back, the arial density used to show an increment of 100 per cent every year in data storage, but lately it has gone down by 40-50 per cent,” he explains.
Things might reverse though with the advent of non-computing segment that is expected to give a new thrust to the industry. “This segment has been pegged with the growth of 40 per cent p.a. by IDC and the market is potentially much higher in India, due to the vast unpenetrated base here,” he feels.
Non-computing space has opened a sea of opportunities and market lucre for the data storage industry that was trudging its way to saturation lately. Until yesterday, data storage drives were the prerogative of PCs, enterprise servers, data archives, etc. But today, data storage needs span across every gadget that a tech-savvy customer wields. Drives have replaced tapes in VCRs (video cassette recorders) and PVRs have given a new definition of control to the users. From gaming consoles, MP3 Players, portable music, digital cameras to the yet-to-mature market of mobiles with 3G, storage market suddenly seems to burst at its seams.
It’s not just about fresh segments. The non-computing market has thrown open new dimensions of choice, functionality, costs and user-lifestyles. So, how big is this goldmine?
Srivastava hesitates to peg any numbers here. “It’s vast, very vast. Just imagine if even a new space like conditional access system (CAS) hits the market. Given the Indian C&S market, any figure around 5-6 million STBs (Set Top Boxes) is possible. Even if we go by conservative estimates, there is a huge market for hard drives needed in STBs. It can be 68 million units. It can be anything even if just 5-10 per cent of STB users are from the High/PVR end.”
And India is still on the evolvement phase, he adds. The worldwide market for hard disks is around 345 million units today and Gartner predicts that it can double to over 600 million units by 2008. “A majority of that across-the-roof growth will be due to contribution from the non-computing space,” emphasizes Srivastava.
Besides that, portable drives and pocket drives too have a wide untapped market, he says, “It’s a new world of applications and tremendous power to the user on mobility and security.”
All said and done, the hard disk market seems to be ready for a rollicking birthday party.
(C) CyberMedia News
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