Storage Surge: Seagate Post Unexpected Growth
Storage Surge: Seagate Post Unexpected Growth
Month Date, 2007: Fueled by its success in the magnetic hard disk market, Seagate Technology has posted an updated projected revenue boost of more then $US 215 million.
Seagate has announced its quarterly income projection was up to $US 3.15 - $US 3.25 Billion, a major increase on the original projected $US 2.9 - $US 3 Billion. The unexpected boon has been attributed to higher industry unit demand, favourable pricing and an improved product mix.
The revenue boost comes at an interesting time for Seagate who had been resisting the move into the flash based Solid State Drive (SSD) market. Other major hard drive storage players have been rushing hand over foot to industry firsts in the SSD market while Seagate were solidifying their position in the magnetic based hard disk market, as well as developing hybrid magnetic/SSD drives which use the SSD component for faster memory access.
When IDM reported on Seagates plans to release SSD’s by 2008, the hesitation to move into the emerging market seemed to finally come to a close. Seagate's CEO Bill Watkins said the move “will augment what is already the broadest product line in the drive industry”.
Despite initial criticisms about how late they were in coming to the SSD foray, Seagate are now entering with a solid position in the magnetic drive market and strong growth postings, ready to handle any problems with an emerging market.