IDEMA, Hitachi GST, Marvell, Seagate, WD and Xyratex Launch Advanced Storage Technology Consortium (ASTC)

SAN JOSE, Calif., Nov. 9, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- IDEMA® (The International Disk Drive Equipment and Materials Association), with founding members Hitachi® Global Storage Technologies (Hitachi GST), Marvell®, Seagate® Technology, Western Digital® (WD) and Xyratex®, today announced the formation of the Advanced Storage Technology Consortium (ASTC). Open to IDEMA members, ASTC's purpose is the formation of collaborative joint research initiatives among and between storage industry participants, customers, suppliers, universities and laboratories to harmonize in a common direction on the future of next generation storage technologies. Through an expansion of fundamental research, ASTC will shorten the time from innovation to productization while maintaining a competitive marketplace. Other founding member companies include: LSI®, Texas Instruments®, Fuji Electric®, Heraeus®, Intevac®, KLA-Tencor® and Veeco®.

"Successfully addressing commercial and consumer storage demand requires continual technology advancements, and ASTC's ambitious agenda underscores the new level of maturity in the storage industry," states Mark Geenen, IDEMA's chairman of its Global Board of Directors. "Significant challenges inherent to future storage technologies have proven too costly, risky, and unmanageable for any single company to pursue alone. The Advanced Storage Technology Consortium will create and direct groundbreaking cooperative research endeavors across the supply chain. These will include (but are not limited to) university level research, common specifications and terminology for new components or manufacturing tools, collaborative working groups on future technologies, and joint development projects," added Geenen.

Utilizing IDEMA's lean operating structure, members of ASTC will give participants the highest possible level of execution, oversight, cost management, and return on investment. ASTC will also seek financial support from governments and associated laboratories. There are several critical advantages to this new approach:

• Expanded funding of university research: ASTC will vastly expand investment in university research projects, focusing its multi-million dollar budget on critical areas of next-generation storage technologies.
• Direct oversight: industry technical executives and experts will provide leadership on how projects are determined, how projects are scoped, scheduled, executed, and measured; and how funds are administered, including to universities, foundations, or organizations.
• Storage industry roadmap: The lack of a storage technology roadmap has resulted in suboptimal supply chain tuning. ASTC will construct and sustain a storage industry roadmap, which will be the property of ASTC member companies.
• IDEMA's global network ensures broad participation: IDEMA's membership spans the entire value chain to include HDD suppliers, equipment companies, component suppliers, storage device customers, and material vendors. This breadth and depth will give immediate and profound scale and commitment to ASTC.

About IDEMA

Founded in 1986 as a U.S.-based standards and education organization, IDEMA has evolved into a global trade group for the data storage industry. In 2005, IDEMA globalized operations, establishing wholly-owned subsidiaries in Asia-Pacific (Singapore), Japan, and the United States. www.idema.org

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