The three major manufacturers of hard disk drives are Seagate, Western Digital, and Toshiba. These three companies account for the vast majority of hard drive production worldwide. Understanding who they are and their market share can provide insight into the hard drive industry.
Seagate
Seagate Technology PLC is an American data storage company founded in 1979 and headquartered in Dublin, Ireland. Seagate is currently the second largest manufacturer of hard disk drives in the world, behind Western Digital. Some key facts about Seagate:
– Founded in 1979 in Scotts Valley, California.
– Went public in 1981, then in 2000 merged with Maxtor and moved headquarters to Singapore.
– In 2010 Seagate acquired Samsung’s hard drive business, making Seagate the largest hard drive manufacturer.
– In 2011 moved headquarters from Singapore back to the United States in Cupertino, California.
– In 2018 moved headquarters to Dublin, Ireland.
– Seagate ships over 200 million hard drives per year.
– Seagate’s main product lines are hard disk drives for enterprise/data centers, personal computers, DVRs, and external storage devices.
– Seagate also produces solid state drives (SSDs) and solid state hybrid drives.
– Major Seagate innovations include the first 5.25″ hard disk drive in 1980, the first 1GB drive in 1992, and the first 15K rpm drive in 2000.
Western Digital
Western Digital Corporation is an American computer hard disk drive manufacturer founded in 1970 and headquartered in San Jose, California. Western Digital is currently the largest manufacturer of hard drives in the world. Key facts:
– Founded as General Digital in 1970 in Chatsworth, California.
– Changed name to Western Digital in 1971.
– Went public in 1972.
– Acquired several companies over the years including Atari’s disk drive division in 1984 and IBM’s hard drive division in 2002.
– Acquired Hitachi Global Storage Technologies in 2012, making WD the largest hard drive maker.
– Ships over 200 million hard drives per year.
– Main product lines are enterprise/data center drives, drives for personal computers/consumer devices, removable storage (USB), and solid state drives (SSDs).
– Major innovations include the first dual actuator drive in 2005 and first SMR hard drive in 2009.
Toshiba
Toshiba is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation and another major hard drive maker. Some information on Toshiba’s storage division:
– Toshiba Storage Division was created from Toshiba’s acquisition of Fujitsu’s hard drive division in 2009.
– Makes drives for enterprise, personal computers, consumer electronics, and external storage.
– Toshiba invented NAND flash memory technology in the 1980s. This led to the development of solid state drives (SSDs).
– Toshiba ships around 50 million hard disk drives per year.
– Toshiba has a much smaller market share than Seagate or Western Digital.
Market Share
Between Seagate, Western Digital, and Toshiba, these three manufacturers account for virtually the entire market for hard disk drives. Here is a look at their market share:
| Company | Market Share |
|---|---|
| Western Digital | 40% |
| Seagate | 37% |
| Toshiba | 23% |
As the table shows, Western Digital holds the largest share of the hard drive market at 40%. Seagate is a close second at 37%. Toshiba has the smallest share of the top three at 23%.
These market shares can fluctuate from year to year, but this breakdown provides a general overview of how the top hard drive manufacturers compare. The competition between Western Digital and Seagate for the top spot is quite close.
Seagate Market Share
Seagate shipped 37% of the world’s hard drives in 2020. This was down from 40% market share in 2019. Some factors impacting Seagate’s market share:
– Strong enterprise and cloud storage drive sales keep Seagate competitive.
– Seagate’s extensive intellectual property portfolio and deep manufacturing expertise in hard drives helps maintain market positioning.
– But competition from Western Digital and the growth of SSDs limits Seagate’s opportunity for growth in sectors like client PC drives.
– Seagate is focusing on higher capacity drives, improved reliability features, and faster speeds to stay relevant.
Western Digital Market Share
With 40% market share, Western Digital edged out Seagate as the top hard drive maker in 2020. WD has held #1 or #2 position for over a decade. Factors influencing market share:
– WD excels in drives for PCs, external storage, retail, gaming consoles, and surveillance.
– Acquiring Hitachi in 2011 significantly boosted WD’s enterprise drive technology.
– Strong R&D capabilities enables innovations like SMR, helium drives, dual actuator drives.
– WD faces challenges as SSD adoption increases in PCs and servers. But high capacity hard drives remain essential for data centers.
– WD is expanding into SSDs, positioning them well as storage continues transitioning from HDDs to SSDs long-term.
Toshiba Market Share
With about 23% market share, a distant third behind Seagate and WD, some factors impacting Toshiba:
– Toshiba makes high quality drives but smaller production volumes than top vendors.
– Focuses on 2.5″ form factor drives for mobile devices and hardware encrypted drives for security-focused applications.
– Sold a minority stake in its memory business in 2018 to help offset financial issues.
– While smaller than Seagate/WD, Toshiba remains an influential hard drive maker. But its long-term strategy is unknown.
Technology Comparison
While Seagate, Western Digital, and Toshiba all produce a full range of hard drive products, they each have some unique technologies and manufacturing capabilities as well.
Seagate Technology
Some of Seagate’s proprietary hard drive technologies include:
– Heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) – Next-gen recording technology to push drive capacities over 20TB.
– Multi-actuator technology – Uses multiple actuators in a drive to increase performance.
– Mach2 dual-actuator technology – Seagate implementation of multi-actuator for enterprise drives.
– PowerBalance features – For balancing consistent performance in RAID setups.
– AcuTrac servo technology – Advanced servo control for reliable tracking during drive operation.
Western Digital Technology
Key technologies from Western Digital include:
– OptiNAND – Combines hard drive and SSD features by integrating WD iNAND flash memory into the primary hard drive.
– Ultrastar DC HC620 – Enterprise drive filled with helium for higher capacities and low power.
– InfiniBand – Interface technology developed with Intel for high-speed external storage systems.
– PowerDisable – Park the heads during power loss to prevent damage.
– StableTrac – Secures the motor shaft at both ends for better stability and tracking accuracy.
Toshiba Technology
Notable technologies from Toshiba include:
– Laser welding – Uses lasers to seal drive enclosures rather than less reliable epoxy seals.
– All-disk cache architecture – No separate volatile cache memory, uses reserved disk capacity instead.
– Aluminum magnesium alloy base – Improved mechanical stability for drive platters.
– Ramp load/unload technology – Park heads off the disk surface during idle to avoid damage.
– Dual stage actuator positioning – Fine tunes head position with a piezoelectric element.
Financial Comparison
The table below provides a snapshot of key financial metrics for each company’s most recent fiscal year:
| Company | Revenue | Net Income | R&D Spending |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seagate | $10.7 billion | $1.2 billion | $860 million |
| Western Digital | $16.6 billion | $750 million | $1.5 billion |
| Toshiba | $5.7 billion (storage division) | N/A | N/A |
Some takeaways:
– Western Digital generated the most revenue due to its market leading position. Seagate was second.
– Seagate had higher net income than Western Digital.
– Western Digital spent more on R&D than Seagate as it continues to invest heavily in innovation.
– Toshiba financials are for its entire storage division, making direct comparison difficult.
Seagate Financials
Seagate brought in $10.7 billion in revenue for 2020. This was down from 2019, reflecting lower demand and ASPs. However, profits rose to $1.2 billion through tight cost control. Seagate maintains strong gross margins on its products ranging from 23% to 32%. Its product portfolio and high market share provide healthy financial performance.
Western Digital Financials
Western Digital reported $16.6 billion in 2020 revenue. Profits dropped versus 2019 to $750 million due to pandemic impacts. WD targets gross margin above 30% for its HDD segment. The company is highly diversified, both geographically and across product lines, improving financial stability.
Toshiba Financials
Toshiba’s storage division, which includes HDDs and SSDs, delivered an estimated $5.7 billion in FY2020 revenue. Toshiba suffered large losses in recent years following accounting scandals. Asset sales and restructuring improved finances. Hard drives represent a relatively small portion of overall revenue for the conglomerate.
Conclusion
Seagate, Western Digital, and Toshiba produce the vast majority of hard disk drives worldwide. The competitive landscape sees Western Digital and Seagate vying for market leadership as Toshiba takes a smaller share. These companies utilize their significant manufacturing scale and patented technologies to deliver high capacity and reliable hard drives. They continue pushing mechanical design and magnetic recording innovations to maximize hard drive capabilities. Though SSDs are reducing HDD demand in some areas, hard disk drives remain essential for cost-effective bulk data storage and are expected to maintain a prominent role in storage systems for years to come. The ongoing competition between these major hard drive manufacturers ensures continued product advancements.