Global Hard Disk Drive (HDD) Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2022 - 2027)

Global Hard Disk Drive (HDD) Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2022 - 2027)

The Hard Disk Drive (HDD) market is expected to grow by registering a CAGR of around 8.8% during the forecast period. The growing need for data storage of data on flash drives and Solid State Drives by enterprises, along with the rising adoption of desktop HDDs, portable HDDs, and network-attached storage HDDs to store software, operating systems, and other programs, are expected to drive the growth of the studied market.

Key Highlights

• Hard disk drives (HDD) are storage devices used in many electronic and consumer products. They are used mainly for storing and retrieving digital information, including computer data. These devices consist of a re-programmable rotating magnetic disk that uses a magnetic writing head.
• The increasing penetration of electric gadgets in the day-to-day life of consumers is driving the demand for HDDs. Additionally, the recent shift in the technological trends of the consumer electronics industry is expected to further support the growth of the studied market, as the adoption of smart, connected technologies is driving the demand for storage drives for storing various types of data.
• According to the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), in 2022, the U.S consumer technology industry is forecasted to generate over USD 505 billion in retail sales revenue. Additionally, the U.S. manufacturer is expected to ship more than 100 consumer tech products and related software and services.
• The increasing investment in data centers is also among the key factors driving the demand for HDDs. Although Solid State Drives (SSDs) have gained popularity in recent years, HDDs are still proving they have superiority for large-scale high-capacity storage installations. However, the advent of alternate storage solutions such as SSDs and cloud, among others, are challenging the growth of the studied market as these storage options provide more flexibility and cost advantage over HDD storage devices.
• The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has had a notable impact on the growth of the studied market. While on the demand side, the demand for storage solutions increased significantly, primarily in the consumer electronics segment. The manufacturers of hard disk drives faced difficulties in fulfilling the demand as various restrictions imposed by the government caused disruption in the supply chain and manufacturing capabilities of the vendors.

Key Market TrendsConsumer Segment to Hold Considerable Market Share

• Technological innovation has significantly increased the demand for innovative consumer electronic products in the last few years. With the devices increasingly becoming affordable, the penetration of these devices is expected to grow further. Growing practical HDD applications in various consumer electronic products, ranging from stationary devices (like HDD recorders) to mobile devices, drive the demand for HDDs.
• As consumers continue to amass large amounts of digital content, significantly since the pandemic outbreak, the requirement for enhanced storage capacity on their consumer electronic products has increased. Considering the trend, hard drive manufacturers have started focusing on increasing storage capacities on smaller form factor hard disk drives (HDDs) to expand their market presence further.
• The increasing penetration of high-speed Internet continues to play an essential role in the growth of the intelligent consumer electronics industry, as people staying, even in remote areas now, can access internet services. According to the International Telecommunication Union, an estimated 4.9 billion people were using the Internet in 2021, or roughly 63% of the world’s population.
• Such trends have significantly driven the demand for smartphones, laptops, and wearables. For instance, according to GSMA, By the end of 2025, about 276 million 5G connections will be there in the European region, with the Nordics and Western Europe recording the highest adoption rates.

Asia Pacific to Hold Significant Market Share

• The Asia Pacific region has witnessed remarkable economic growth in the last few decades. The emergence of countries such as China, South Korea, Taiwan, and India, among others., has significantly changed the global market landscape across various sectors. As the region is witnessing a rapid increase in the adoption of digital technologies, the demand for storage solutions across multiple sectors, including consumer, enterprise, and industrial, is expected to grow further during the forecast period.
• Countries such as India have reported remarkable IT growth. According to India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF), India's IT and business services market is expected to reach USD 19.93 billion by 2025. As many devices such as tablets, laptops, and desktops, among others, are used in the IT sector along with storage devices such as HDDs to store enterprise data, the industry's growth is expected to drive the studied market as well.
• Smartphone subscription is also increasing in the Asia Pacific region, creating a favorable market scenario for the studied market growth. For instance, according to GSMA, smartphone adoption in China is expected to reach 89% by 2025, with the number of connections in mainland China reaching 1.5 billion.
• The consumer electronics industry is also witnessing an upward trend, as the large consumer base with growing disposable income is driving the demand significantly. The increasing use of hard disk drives in consumer electronics products has started to play an essential role in developing new drive technology, with smaller and quieter products, pushing researchers and HDD manufacturers to develop the HDD technology further. Such trends are expected to support the growth of the studied market during the forecast period.

Competitive Landscape

The Global Hard Disk Drive (HDD) market is competitive owing to the presence of several established players. The vendors operating in the market are increasingly focusing on developing HDD technology further to negate the challenges imposed by new storage technologies. Furthermore, the vendors are also adopting strategies such as mergers and acquisitions to expand their technical capabilities and market presence further. Some key vendors operating in the market include Seagate Technology Holdings plc, Western Digital Corporation, Toshiba Memory Corporation, and Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP, among others.

• July 2022 - Western Digital announced that it had started shipping its new 22TB HDDs designed to target three key segments: WD Gold HDDs for IT/data center channel customers; WD Purple Pro for smart video/surveillance, and WD Red Pro for network attached storage (NAS). These drives leverage OptiNAND technology, energy-assisted PMR (ePMR), triple-stage actuator (TSA), and HelioSeal to deliver the density at 2.2TB per platter.
• March 2022 - Toshiba Electronics Europe GmbH (TEE) announced that Toshiba Electronic Devices and Storage Corporation had set out its product development strategy for Nearline Hard Disk Drives (HDDs). The company has taken this initiative to facilitate further engineering innovations in HDD technology to deliver a significant increase in storage capacities.

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