Seagate Feels the Pressure of NAND, Reacts Accordingly

Implications: NAND SSD's will replace traditional rotating HDD's in various environments due to several performance factors. Hard drive manufacturers such as Seagate are recognizing this and reacting accordingly.

Analysis: Recent comments by Seagate CEO Bill Watkins indicate Seagate is beginning  a transition, at least partial, to NAND based SSD's. Seagate seems to be interested in "enhancing" the technology utilizing their years of hard drive design/manufacturing experience.

Most HDD manufacturers are realizing that they will need to shift strategies to survive as the price of NAND continues to drop and more advances are made in technology required for SSD (controllers, ECC, wear leveling, etc). The first thing these companies should be doing is adding a solid state drive product line to their offerings, then observing the market and adoption rates. NAND pricing will come down, and SSD will become more attractive.