History (1991): WW Storage Market at $31.6 Billion in 1990, Up 12% From 1989

Worldwide storage market still had a sustained growth rate in 1990.

Most of the revenues are from HDDs, a segment where Conner is getting closer to Seagate.

WW storage represented $31.6 billion in 1990 compared with $28.2 billion in 1989 when you add the figures released by the market’s analysts who are Disk/Trend Inc. for HDDs and Freeman Associates for tape and optical drives and without counting media sales. The global growth improved around 12% from one year to another.

This ratio is higher than the computer market’s one and is explained by users’ increasing need for continuously larger memory capacities. Sales of magnetic drives have the largest share of the market, over 80% and seem to have no other competitor in the future than eventually optical drives.

WW storage market (in $ million)
Ww Storage Market In 1990 F1

Nothing surprising to see Winchester manufacturers the best seated in the storage market classification on next page. With the acquisition of Imprimis, Seagate is still at its first place if you don’t count IBM who doesn’t give out its sales amount for HDDs and half-inch tape cartridges. Let’s notice Storage Technology’s fine position, over $1 billion sales on account of its automated magnetic cartridge libraries.

The growth rate of these different companies have to be considered carefully because some of them like Seagate or Maxtor have improved their sales by acquiring other companies, Imprimis and Miniscribe respectively. Real success stories here are Conner, Quantum and Exabyte. The following chart doesn’t mention Japanese firms like Sony, Fujitsu, Hitachi or NEC who should figure in it but that don’t publish their storage equipment sales.

Main storage actors

(Sources: company’s reports or spokesman, in million units)
(2) storage business only
NB: When fiscal year ends in the first quarter, annual revenues and profits (losses) are included in the previous year