Seagate And Micron Sign SSD Deal
Firms join forces to strengthen positions in next-generation SAS SSDs and NAND flash memory
Seagate Technology has announced it will be partnering with US semiconductor manufacturer Micron Technology.
The firms said that the strategic agreement will combine the “innovation and expertise” of both companies. Micron is the third largest flash chip supplier in the world, behind Samsung and Toshiba.
Micron said: “The relationship provides Micron access to enterprise drive technology and platforms, expanding our portfolio and accelerating our push into the enterprise market segment.”
SAS SSDs
The partnership will at first focus on next-gen SAS SSDs and NAND supply, but the companies said that as the multy-year agreement plays out, they hope to collaborate on enterprise storage solutions featuring Micron NAND flash memory.
The press release for the announcement included comments from both HP and EMC, showing strong enterprise support for the development of flash memory.
Mike Kerouac, product president for EMC, said: “As two of our key partners, we look forward to the benefits of this Micron and Seagate collaboration in future NAND flash-based storage technologies.”
HP also seemed optimistic. Trevor Schick, a SVP for HP’s enterprise supply chain, said: The strategic agreement between Micron and Seagate promises to deliver new and innovative flash-based storage solutions.”
Growing SSD and flash memory market
The move comes as Seagate, one of the world’s largest HDD firms, attempt to consolidate its position in the growing SSD and flash memory market as profit margins for hard drives 
decrease. In 2014, Seagate completed its acquisition of LSI’s flash business.
“The collaboration will assure both Seagate and Micron target the growing enterprise flash market with industry-leading offerings across both of our product portfolios,” said Darren Thomas, storage VP at Micron.
“The relationship provides Micron access to enterprise drive technology and platforms, expanding our portfolio and accelerating our push into the enterprise market segment.”
