Personal and entry level storage mkt sees continued shipment growth

FRAMINGHAM, USA:The worldwide personal and entry-level storage (PELS) market grew 2.9 per cent year over year with 18.6 million units shipped in the third quarter of 2013 (3Q13), according to the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Personal and Entry Level Storage Tracker. Shipment values were flat year over year, declining -0.9 per cent to $1.7 billion.

Said Liz Conner, research manager, Storage Systems. "The third quarter of 2013 brought continued shipment growth for the personal and entry-level storage market despite comparison with the strong quarter a year ago. In 2012 the third quarter showed very strong growth as the PELS market went into recovery mode after the Thailand floods and resulting hard disk drive (HDD) shortage. The fact that the PELS market was able to build upon this, and show year-over-year growth points to the demand for PELS storage and the success vendors have had with newer products, such as higher speed interfaces, home NAS, portable drives, and business class products."

HDD vendors continue to increase share in PELS units shipped, gaining 1.8 points year over year to grow to 74.5 per cent market share. However the entry-level storage market continues to be dominated by the mainstream non-HDD vendors with 69.0 per cent unit shipment market share, down 5.7 points year over year.

Market Highlights

• The entry-level storage market experienced a decline in unit shipments, falling -6.8 per cent year over year, based primarily on the 4-bay market. However, the entry-level market saw strong growth in the higher bay devices (6, 8, and 12 bays), which saw units shipped grow 11.1 per cent year over year.

• In 3Q13 the personal storage market saw flat growth in dual-bay products, where unit shipments were down -0.2 per cent year over year. Single-bay personal storage devices remain the most popular choice, representing 97.1 per cent of the personal storage units shipped in 3Q13.

• Personal storage represents 98.9 per cent of the PELS units shipped and 88.0 per cent of the shipment value in 3Q13.

Technology Highlights

Form Factor - The 3.5" form factor saw a decline of -12.3 per cent year over year in units shipped, while the 2.5" form factor saw units shipped increase 8.2 per cent year over year. The 3.5" form factor continues to give way to the more portable 2.5" form factor, with 3.5" losing 3.8 percentage points year over year.

Capacity Range - End users continue to migrate to higher capacity points to meet storage needs. In the 3.5" personal storage market, 2 terabyte (TB) devices represented 50.6 per cent of unit shipments in the quarter. For the 2.5" personal storage market, 1TB devices captured 55.9 per cent market share. For the entry-level market, capacity ranges are more varied due to multiple bays and vendors' ability to partially populate devices. However, 4TB devices hold the most market share with 28.1 per cent of units shipped.

Interface - USB continues to be the interface of choice for the PELS market, growing units shipped 3.0 per cent year over year. Ethernet remains the interface of choice for the entry-level market, capturing 84.0 per cent market share. Thunderbolt continues to ramp up, posting a year-over-year shipment growth rate of 308.2 per cent, albeit off a very small base.