Hitachi Global Storage Technologies

Not to be confused with Hitachi Data Systems.

Hitachi Global Storage Technologies (HGST) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd. that provides hard disk drives, enterprise-class solid state drives, and external storage solutions and services used to store, preserve and manage the world’s most valued data. HGST services a broad range of market segments, including Enterprise, Desktop, Mobile Computing, Consumer Electronics and Personal Storage.

It was founded in 2003 as a merger of the hard drive businesses of IBM and Hitachi , Hitachi paid IBM $2.05 billion USD for its HDD business.

In March 2011, Western Digital announced it would acquire HGST, for $4.3 billion. The transaction is not expected to close until March 2012, due to the need to comply with remedy conditions set by the European Union.

Brands

Hard Drives and Solid State Drives

• Ultrastar – Enterprise-class line of 3.5-inch and 2.5-inch HDDs with SCSI, Fibre Channel, SAS, and SATA interfaces; and a line of 3.5-inch and 2.5-inch Fiber Channel and SAS SSDs.
• Deskstar – Desktop-class line in 3.5-inch form factor with PATA and SATA interfaces.
• Travelstar – Mobile-class line in 2.5-inch form factor with PATA and SATA interfaces.
• Endurastar – Ruggedized line in 2.5-inch form factor with PATA interface, primarily for automotive applications.
• Cinemastar – 3.5-inch and 2.5-inch form factors, optimized for consumer electronics applications requiring quiet operation and streaming support.

External Storage Solutions

• LifeStudio - The first external hard drives that combine photo organization software, a 3D Wall for displaying content, a connected USB Flash key, and both local and cloud storage [1], [2]
• G-Technology - G-Technology drives are engineered to meet the needs of the content creation and Apple Mac communities, including heavy users of multimedia content, Final Cut Pro digital audio/video specialists and other pre/post production professionals. From portable drives to rack-mount arrays, G-Technology’s USB, FireWire, eSATA, SAS and Fibre Channel storage solutions support virtually all levels of Audio/Video production.

Acquisitions

• Fabrik

See also

• Hitachi-LG Data Storage (HLDS) – manufacturer of DVD drives.
• Hitachi Data Systems (HDS) – manufacturer of enterprise disk arrays.

External links

• Hitachi Global Storage Technologies (English)
• 日立グローバルストレージテクノロジーズ (Japanese)
• "Hitachi Establishes 'Hitachi Global Storage Technologies,' Taking A Bold New Step for Storage Innovation" (Hitachi, Ltd. press release)