Data is exploding. We say it all the time, but the reality becomes more pressing by the day. AI models get larger, streaming content gets sharper, and just about everything, from smartwatches to city grids, is producing more data than ever before.
What’s less often talked about is where all that data goes. And more importantly, how we can store it without wrecking the planet. That’s where Seagate steps in, with a series of smart moves around areal density and the classic workhorse: the hard disk drive.
Areal Density: Not Just a Tech Spec
You might not have heard much about areal density unless you’re deep into storage tech. But it’s quietly doing the heavy lifting behind modern data centres. Essentially, it’s the number of bits you can cram into a square inch of a drive platter. More bits = more storage without needing more space.
That might sound like a niche concern, but for data centres chasing sustainability targets and cost savings, it’s huge. Fewer drives doing more work means smaller physical footprints, lower energy bills, and less cooling kit.
Seagate’s Take: HAMR and Mozaic 3+
Seagate has been investing in this space for years, and it’s now paying off. Their Heat-Assisted Magnetic Recording (HAMR) tech pushes areal density far beyond what was previously possible. We’re talking about drives that can pack in over 30 terabytes, without needing more bays or power draw.
Then there’s Mozaic 3+, their platform that integrates this tech with high-reliability design, making it viable not just for test labs or edge cases but for real, gritty, 24/7 data centre workloads. Together, they push the humble hard disk drive into a new category entirely, ultra-high-capacity and built for sustainability.
Why the Hard Disk Drive Isn’t Going Anywhere
Look, SSDs are brilliant for speed. But when it comes to bulk data, cold storage, archival, video libraries, AI training datasets, it’s the hard disk drive that still wins on price, durability, and power efficiency.
And Seagate hasn’t been resting on legacy tech. Their newer HDDs are purpose-built with better firmware, smarter caching, and more resilient construction. They’ve made sure these drives aren’t just bigger, they’re smarter, greener, and more dependable.
| Seagate Sustainability Benefit | What It Means in Practice |
|---|---|
| Higher areal density | Store more, using fewer physical drives |
| Reduced power use | Less electricity per terabyte = smaller energy bills |
| Smaller carbon footprint | Less hardware and material needed to scale capacity |
| Longer lifespan | Lower replacement rate = less e-waste and downtime |
Beyond the Drive: Seagate’s Sustainability Ethos
It’s not just about clever engineering. Seagate’s taking wider responsibility seriously too. They’re making their manufacturing greener, pushing circular design for components, and being transparent about emissions and supply chain impacts. It’s a storage company that actually thinks about storage as part of a system, not just a product.
A Smart Partner for the Long Haul
When you’re building infrastructure that’s supposed to last, you need gear you can trust. Seagate’s approach, combining performance, sustainability, and sheer capacity, makes them an obvious partner for any data-first organisation trying to do things properly.
They’re not just making the hard disk drive even more relevant, they’re making it better. More efficient. Less wasteful. Fit for the future.
Contact our experts today to discuss Seagate Solutions: https://exertisenterprise.com/seagate/
