Areal density advancements will play a pivotal role in bridging the massive gap between data creation and storage. According to McKinsey’s Global Survey on AI, the adoption of AI technology is expected to continue growing substantially worldwide, with 72% of organizations globally having integrated AI into at least one business function by 2024. This exponential growth in data creation is driving an unprecedented surge in demand for even larger datasets to improve training and performance. As AI applications are deployed at scale, data growth skyrockets, creating an insatiable demand for data storage capacity. The world’s ability to store data is growing faster than ever, but the storage install base is forecasted to grow at a slower pace than the exponential growth in data creation. This is where areal density advancements come into play.

1. Advancements in areal density enable greater storage capacity within the same data centre footprint, increasing data capacity while reducing power consumption and contributing to sustainability goals.
2. The average capacity of a hard drive in large-scale data centres is 16TB, with areal density advancements resulting in nearly double the capacity in the same footprint.
3. Upgrading from 16TB conventional perpendicular magnetic recording (PMR) drives to 30TB drives with 3TB/disk areal density nearly doubles the capacity in the same footprint, delivering 45% power savings and a 55% reduction in embodied carbon per TB.

The current focus of enterprises, cloud and data centres has been on acquiring the right data and scaling computing power to support AI usage and data demands. However, the urgent challenge lies in storing the massive exabytes of data and upgrading the data infrastructure to address the challenges of scale, TCO and sustainability. Building, operating and growing data centres is a significant challenge due to the high cost of construction, resource limitations around available space, electricity, and budgetary constraints. The cost of building a data centre ranges from US$1 to 1.5 billion, making it a substantial investment for organizations.

“The cost of building a data centre is a major challenge for organizations. With resource limitations and budgetary constraints, it’s essential to find innovative solutions to address these challenges.”

Advanced areal density is the solution to this challenge. While adding more drives can help scale data centre capacity, each additional drive required larger capital investments and increases operational cost and natural resources. Advancing areal density with HAMR technology allows more data to be stored on a single disk platter, addressing the demands of ever-growing cloud ecosystems and the vast amounts of data it will inevitably generate. The benefits of advanced areal density are numerous, including:
* Increased storage capacity within the same data centre footprint
* Reduced power consumption
* Contributed to sustainability goals
* Significant TCO savings, including both acquisition and operational costs
The advantages of areal density advancements will extend across a wide range of applications, from multi-cloud and hybrid cloud environments to high-capacity and mid-range capacity storage needs. Data-intensive applications will increasingly rely on the efficient, high-capacity solutions.

1. Data-hungry applications, such as machine learning models that require vast datasets for training, video streaming services that need to store and deliver 4K and 8K content, and medical research databases that accumulate large-scale genomic sequences, will greatly benefit from advancements in areal density.
2. Multi-cloud and hybrid cloud environments will rely on the efficient, high-capacity solutions to address the demands of ever-growing cloud ecosystems.
3. Data-intensive applications will increasingly rely on the efficient, high-capacity solutions to address the challenges of scale, TCO and sustainability.

The future for all data-hungry applications will greatly benefit from advancements in areal density. The ability to store, access, and leverage vast quantities of data will be pivotal in driving innovation, creating new opportunities, and unlocking the full potential of the digital age. Advances in areal density technologies will be fundamental to bridging the massive gap between data created and data stored in the most efficient manner, allowing organizations to scale for emerging data-intensive applications and explosive data growth.

Areal Density Revolution: Bridging the Gap between Data Creation and Storage

As data continues to grow at an exponential rate, the demand for efficient data storage solutions is becoming increasingly important. According to IDC estimates, data will be generated at a rate of 394ZB by 2028, with AI expected to account for 10% of all data generated by 2025 – a significant increase from under 1% today. However, the storage install base is forecasted to grow at a CAGR of just 17%, a much slower pace than the exponential growth in data creation.

Advanced areal density technologies, such as HAMR, are poised to address the massive gap between data creation and storage. These technologies enable more data to be stored on a single disk platter, increasing storage capacity within the same data centre footprint while reducing power consumption and contributing to sustainability goals.

Benefits of Advanced Areal Density

Some of the benefits of advanced areal density include:

• Increased storage capacity within the same data centre footprint
• Reduced power consumption
• Contributed to sustainability goals
• Significant TCO savings, including both acquisition and operational costs

The advantages of advanced areal density will extend across a wide range of applications, from multi-cloud and hybrid cloud environments to high-capacity and mid-range capacity storage needs. Data-intensive applications will increasingly rely on the efficient, high-capacity solutions to address the challenges of scale, TCO and sustainability.

The Future of Data Storage

As data storage continues to grow, the need for efficient and sustainable solutions will become increasingly important. Advances in areal density technologies will be fundamental to bridging the massive gap between data created and data stored in the most efficient manner, allowing organizations to scale for emerging data-intensive applications and explosive data growth.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the areal density revolution will play a pivotal role in bridging the gap between data creation and storage. As data continues to grow at an exponential rate, the demand for efficient and sustainable data storage solutions will become increasingly important.