Seagate Technology is the leading innovator of mass-capacity data storage solutions. We create breakthrough technology so you can confidently store your data and easily unlock its value. Founded over 45 years ago, Seagate has shipped over four billion terabytes of data capacity and offers a full portfolio of storage devices, systems, and services from edge to cloud. In an interaction with NCN, Mr. Sameer Bhatia, Director of Asia Pacific Consumer Business Group and Country Manager for India & SAARC at Seagate, shares their brand’s productline, brand policy, marketing strategy and future plans.
How did Seagate fare in FY2023-24?
Our recent financial results announcement shows that Seagate is delivering solid financial results in an improving demand environment. While we do not have specific country numbers to share, our recent introduction of Mozaic 3+ platform anchored by industry leading HAMR (Heat Assisted Magnetic Recording) technology, offers compelling economics for our customers and for Seagate. We expect it to drive further our financial leverage over time as we proliferate these new products. We are confident that our product strategy offers customers the most compelling TCO proposition and positions Seagate well to capitalize on long-term demand for cost-effective mass capacity storage.
What are the latest technology and market trends in the data storage? What is Seagate’s latest portfolio? What are Seagate’s target segments for?
We are witnessing a surge in adoption of AI applications, which is driving the demand for storage architectures optimized for AI inference. This presents challenges to the enterprises worldwide in finding sustainable ways to manage the expanding digital footprint while keeping operational cost and carbon footprint under control. Areal density innovation, measured by capacity per disk, provides a compelling solution to these challenges and Seagate leads the way with Mozaic 3+. Mozaic 3+ is a hard drive platform that incorporates Seagate’s unique implementation of HAMR, plus a collection of other breakthrough nanoscale technologies. It heralds unparalleled areal densities of 3TB+ per platter to deliver mass-capacity storage, enables businesses to double storage capacity in the same footprint. It dramatically improves storage TCO with lower acquisition and operational costs and contributes to achieving sustainability goals. There are several scenarios that could benefit significantly from the areal density advancement. One such example is smart city infrastructure. AI and machine learning serve as pivotal tools in the advancement of smart cities by facilitating the efficient analysis of vast datasets. This enables urban planners to make informed decisions regarding resource allocation, infrastructure development and public services optimization. Mozaic 3+ can further amplify the synergy of these technologies, ensuring the seamless storage, retrieval and analysis of the massive datasets essential for smart city operations. Mozaic 3+ drives are currently undergoing qualification for large data centres. Soon, enterprise customers will benefit from the ability to store more data in less space within private or hybrid data centres. Looking ahead, Mozaic 3+ storage technology will also support various applications, spanning enterprise, edge, NAS and VIA markets.”
How does the adoption of AI in businesses impact the demand for data storage?
Data has long been the catalyst for innovation and with the advancement of AI, it has made data more valuable than ever before. Serving as the cornerstone for AI deployment, data is playing a crucial role infueling machine learning processes and enabling accurate forecasts. As businesses embrace AI, vast amounts of data are required for AI applications to function effectively, particularly in the initial stages. AI heavily rely on data for analysis, machine learning algorithms and decision making. The larger and higher quality of the dataset, the more effectively an AI model can be trained, yielding clearer insights and more business benefits. But where should all this data go? IDC estimates that 291ZB of data will be generated in 2027, with AI expected to account for 10% of all data generated in the next two years, a significant increase from less than 1% today. This exponential data surge underscores the urgent need for innovative storage solutions and calls for mass storage deployment at scale. Businesses need to find ways to efficiently scale their data storage infrastructure to accommodate as much data as possible, thereby unlocking the value of data. The best AI deployments are useless without data. AI without data is similar to an electric car without a charged battery – it lacks the essential resource necessary for operations and effectiveness. As AI applications become more sophisticated, there will be more data generated over time. Therefore, a robust mass-capacity storage is indispensable for seamless and continuous AI model training, fuelling innovation and driving business success.
What are the implications increasing number of data centres, demands for lower electricity consumption & sustainability, and dedicated participation in the Circular Drive Initiative?
Sustainability remains a top priority for organisations and stakeholders, especially for large-scale data centres. Data centres operators are finding ways to align with national and corporate goals to reduce environmental footprints, lower emissions and meet the sustainability targets while managing the data explosion. The key to more sustainable storage solutions is to optimise the TCO. By improving storage TCO, organisations can reduce acquisition and operation costs, thereby lower power consumption, preserve natural resources and meet sustainability targets.
Seagate Mozaic 3+ platform’s unprecedented areal density advancement allows for more storage within the same slot or data centre, setting a higher threshold for data capacity, consuming less power and helping achieve sustainability goals. For an example, upgrading from 16TB conventional PMR fleet of drives to 30TB Mozaic-technology drives, you get close to twice storage capacity within the same floor space, 45% lower per terabyte power consumption and 55% reduction in embodied carbon per terabyte. This addresses the greatest challenges of scale, TCO and sustainability.
Seagate helped found the Circular Drive Initiative (CDI) in FY2022. It is a global collaboration aimed at promoting sustainability in data storage by reducing e-waste and enabling the secure reuse of storage hardware. The CDI is guided by the principles of the circular economy, which seeks to eliminate waste and extend the use of resources. In FY2023, we have extended the life of 1.19 million hard drives and solid state drives (SSD) through the circularity program. By refurbishing and redeploying these drives, we have prevented more than 553 metric tons of e-waste from entering landfills.
Circular economy offers a holistic approach to sustainable development, fostering economic prosperity, environmental responsibility and social welfare. By embracing circular principles, businesses are also presented with strategic advantages such as sustainability, reduced costs, innovation and meeting customer expectations. We believe that companies doing good in the world to do even better.
Despite the advancements in AI and the emphasis on sustainability, why is the 3-2-1 backup rule still relevant, and how does it assist organisations in disaster recovery?
The 3-2-1 backup rule remains relevant because it offers a simple yet effective strategy for ensuring data resilience and disaster recovery readiness. The rule dictates that organisations should follows these requirements:
- Keep at least 3 copies of data – this ensures redundancy and reduces the risk of data loss. If one copy becomes inaccessible or corrupted, there are two other copies available for recovery.
- Store the copies on 2 different types of media – using different storage media adds an additional layer of protection. This can help diversify the risk of one specific storage media type failing and compromising all backups.
- Keep 1 copy offsite – keeping one copy offsite safeguards business data against unexpected events or disasters such as fires, flood or theft. If a catastrophic event affects the primary location, the offsite copy remains accessible for recovery.
3-2-1 backup rule assists organisations in disaster recovery by providing a robust framework for backup strategy. While many organisations mandate more than three copies of managed data, some may split the data between one or more production or backup using alternative media and disaster recovery sets, the 3-2-1 backup strategy should be considered as a baseline. It enhances the organisation’s ability to alleviate potential critical data loss, minimize downtime and recover quickly from data loss or disaster.
What are your plans for FY2024-25 in India?
India as one of the fastest adopters of AI, the data environment is thriving with the rapid adoption of AI applications contributing to exponential growth of data generation. We believe that areal density innovation will offer unparalleled opportunities for businesses in India to optimize their storage infrastructure. With the launch of Seagate Mozaic 3+ in India, Seagate continues to empower them to efficiently store and manage large volumes of data for AI model training and other critical operations, thereby driving innovation and business success.
Covered By: NCN MAGAZINE / Seagate Technology
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