SSD growth in 2009 set to continue

SSD technology

Solid State Drive (SSD) sales continued to grow in 2009 and the surge is set to keep on going, according to an analyst firm.

IDC has released a report showing SSD shipments broke 11 million last year, a rise of 14 per cent year-on-year, and it has predicted they will reach a compound annual growth rate of 54 per cent for the period of 2008 to 2013.

Jeff Janukowicz, research manager of Hard Disk Drive Components and Solid State Drives at IDC, said in a statement: "Despite lingering uncertainties around the economy, IDC remains positive on the outlook for SSDs and believes the trajectories for shipment and revenue growth are a source of optimism moving forward."

Pricing is still a key point for SSD adoption, according to the report, as the recession over the past 18 months has slowed their reduction in price. However, in the long-term it is believed that the lower price points will come in and, with increasing capacities, SSDs will become an even more attractive option.

The main market opportunity for SSDs will be in PCs, either for traditional laptops that will then offer better performance or in netbooks for a low cost storage alternative.

"SSD adoption will continue to experience tangible growth given the nascent stage for SSD adoption coupled with many of the benefits inherent in SSDs," added Janukowicz.

"We expect SSD vendors to achieve capacity and price points that make SSDs an attractive solution in the PC and enterprise markets where the value proposition of SSDs is compelling."

Jennifer Scott

Jennifer Scott is a former freelance journalist and currently political reporter for Sky News. She has a varied writing history, having started her career at Dennis Publishing, working in various roles across its business technology titles, including ITPro. Jennifer has specialised in a number of areas over the years and has produced a wealth of content for ITPro, focusing largely on data storage, networking, cloud computing, and telecommunications.

Most recently Jennifer has turned her skills to the political sphere and broadcast journalism, where she has worked for the BBC as a political reporter, before moving to Sky News.