IDEMA Concludes "Are You Ready?" Campaign After Successful Industry Adoption of Hard Disk Drive Sector Format Change

SAN JOSE, Calif., Sept. 15, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- IDEMA (The International Disk Drive Equipment and Materials Association) today announced the successful conclusion of the "Are You Ready?" campaign, an effort which focused on helping the computer industry prepare for the transition of hard disk drives (HDD) to long data sectors using a technology referred to as Advanced Format (AF).  IDEMA is the data-storage industry's trade association dedicated to driving technology standards that support the advancement of data storage.  Working in collaboration with the leading HDD suppliers, the IDEMA "Are You Ready?" campaign launched in July 2010 to facilitate adoption of HDD processing changes from the historical sector lengths of 512 to increments of 4,096 bytes per sector based on Advanced Format standards.  Today, all major PC manufacturers are shipping systems that employ Advanced Format HDDs and every OS supplier has integrated the technology into multiple, currently available OS platforms.  

The "Are You Ready?" campaign officially concludes with the 2011 Storage Developer Conference from September 19 to 22 at the Hyatt Regency in Santa Clara, Calif., where the IDEMA Advanced Format Marketing Work Group will discuss the role of Advanced Format in future storage technology breakthroughs.  The Group will also meet with industry partners to place Developer Kits and launch the latest addition to the AF logo program, which will help customers recognize HDDs with Advanced Format capabilities.  

Advanced Format enables increases in hard drive storage capacities while maintaining the integrity of the data stored on and processed by the drive. The presence of 4,096 byte sectors, or 4K, affects all software and hardware components that interact with the HDD.  "IDEMA recognized the significance of this technology and began working with the hard drive community in 2000 to define the standards necessary for widespread adoption of the technology," stated Mark Geenen, Chairman of IDEMA. "Definition of the supporting standards naturally led to market-based initiatives to implement the technology.  With industry adoption achieved, IDEMA is turning its attention to how the Advanced Format methods of drive interaction form the basis for future innovations."  

"The AF education work is leading us towards more productive partner discussions as the HDD industry embraces Shingle Magnetic Recording and other future technologies that involve methods by which logical blocks of storage are used," said Curtis Stevens, chairperson of the IDEMA Shingled Magnetic Recording Work Group and lead standards engineer at Western Digital.  "The Advanced Format working group, and specifically the 'Are You Ready' campaign, have been key in raising awareness that the old 512 bytes per sectors are giving way to a larger physical sector sizes," concluded Stevens.

Where to Find More About Advanced Format

As part of the "Are You Ready?" campaign, IDEMA and HDD suppliers authored two Wikipedia entries; Advanced Format and Disk Sector, which describe and explain Advanced Format technology with background and illustrations.  The IDEMA web site provides further information on the technology as well as presentations, logo explanations and a library of documents from a wide variety of industry leaders and component suppliers.  

Following the Storage Developers Conference, IDEMA will continue to work with hard disk drive manufacturers to support Advanced Format technology.  "IDEMA is committed to serving the industry by supplying information necessary to maintain a high level of understanding about Advanced Format and enhance industry familiarity with the technology.  We have now established a solid baseline off which future advancements that utilize Advanced Format can be established and used to benefit the storage community," continued Geenen.

About IDEMA

The International Disk Drive Equipment and Materials Association, founded in 1986, is the global trade group for the $45 Billion storage device industry. With offices in San Jose, Tokyo, and Singapore, IDEMA hosts premier trade shows, conferences, and symposia on storage technologies and markets and is the mainstay of industry technical standards and marketing initiatives. www.idema.org

About Hitachi Global Storage Technologies
Hitachi Global Storage Technologies (Hitachi GST) develops advanced hard disk drives, enterprise-class solid state drives, and innovative external storage solutions and services used to store, preserve and manage the world's most valued data. Founded by the pioneers of hard drives, Hitachi GST provides high-value storage for a broad range of market segments, including Enterprise, Desktop, Mobile Computing, Consumer Electronics and Personal Storage. For more information, visit the company's website at www.hitachigst.com.

About Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. is a global leader in semiconductor, telecommunication, digital media and digital convergence technologies with 2008 consolidated sales of US$96 billion from seven independently operated business units; Visual Display, Mobile Communications, Telecommunication Systems, Digital Appliances; IT Solutions, Semiconductor and LCD. Recognized as one of the fastest growing global brands, more details about the company are available at www.samsung.com.

About Seagate

Seagate is the worldwide leader in the design, manufacture and marketing of hard disc drives, providing products for a wide-range of applications, including Enterprise, Desktop, Mobile Computing, Consumer Electronics and Branded Solutions. Seagate's business model leverages technology leadership and world-class manufacturing to deliver industry-leading innovation and quality to its global customers.

About Toshiba Storage Device Division

Toshiba is a one-of-a-kind global storage company, offering hard disk drives (HDDs), optical disk drives (ODDs), solid state drives (SSDs) and NAND flash memories – technologies that drive a wide range of consumer electronics, computer and automotive applications as well as enterprise solutions for the global marketplace. Inherent in the Toshiba storage family are the high-quality engineering and manufacturing capabilities that have established Toshiba products as innovation leaders worldwide. For more information, visit www.toshibastorage.com.

About Western Digital

WD, one of the storage industry's pioneers and long-time leaders, provides products and services for people and organizations that collect, manage, and use digital information. WD applies its storage expertise to consumer products for external, portable and shared storage applications.  Further information about WD is available at www.westerndigital.com.

© 2010 IDEMA. All rights reserved.  All product, service and company names are trademarks, registered trademarks or service marks of their respective owners. Information including without limitation product prices, specifications, availability, content of services, and contact information is subject to change without notice.

SOURCE IDEMA

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