"The hard drive is not yet depreciated"

In 2025, innovations such as advanced AI and medical breakthroughs, will depend on a strong IT foundation and data management. Hard drives will remain the backbone of datacenters.

Data storage, essential for datacenters, the cloud, and edge applications, plays a crucial role in numerous innovations—at least according to Western Digital. The company identifies five trends.

AI necessitates more data storage

Increasing data generation and consumption requires efficient storage solutions. Innovations such as NVMe-oF and QLC SSDs optimize performance, power consumption and capacity. These technologies support AI applications by making data accessible faster and more efficiently, Western Digital says. Organizations that embrace AI will further integrate data management into their core strategic processes.

Data storage needs to be more sustainable

IT managers are pursuing sustainable storage solutions to reduce energy and cooling costs. Energy-efficient HDDs and SSDs play an important role in this regard. Data optimization techniques such as compression and deduplication reduce storage requirements and contribute to broader sustainability goals. Sustainability will become a differentiator for companies when designing infrastructure.

Hybrid storage offers flexibility

Organizations combine high-capacity and compute-optimized storage to ensure speed and cost efficiency. Tailoring solutions to specific use cases is increasingly important to optimize performance and efficiency. This hybrid model provides flexibility and scalability in complex data environments.

Edge and cloud storage for smart vehicles

Smart or even autonomous vehicles create large amounts of data, with real-time analysis taking place in vehicles and further processing in the cloud. This requires advanced NAND flash storage and seamless data transfer between vehicle and cloud for continuous learning cycles. The combination of edge and cloud storage accelerates the development of smarter vehicles.