Seagate 2014 Annual Report Download - page 12

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TableofContents
interfacessuchasserialadvancedtechnologyarchitecture(SATA);smallcomputersysteminterface(SCSI);serialattachedSCSI(SAS);orFibreChannel(FC)to
communicatetothehostsystems.WeoutsourcetothirdpartiesthemanufactureandassemblyofthePCBAsusedinourdiskdrives.Wedonotmanufactureany
ASICs,butweparticipateintheirproprietarydesign.
HeadDiskAssembly.Theheaddiskassemblyconsistsofoneormoredisksattachedtoaspindleassemblypoweredbyaspindlemotorthatrotatesthedisks
atahighconstantspeedaroundahub.Read/writeheads,mountedonanarmassembly,similarinconcepttothatofarecordplayer,flyextremelyclosetoeachdisk
surfaceandrecorddataonandretrieveitfromconcentrictracksinthemagneticlayersoftherotatingdisks.Theread/writeheadsaremountedverticallyonanE-
shapedassembly(E-block)thatisactuatedbyavoice-coilmotortoallowtheheadstomovefromtracktotrack.TheE-blockandtherecordingmediaaremounted
insidetheheaddiskassembly.Wepurchasespindlemotorsfromoutsidevendorsandfromtimetotimeparticipateinthedesignofthemotorsthatgointoour
products.Weuseacombinationofinternallymanufacturedandexternallysourcedheaddiskassemblies.
DiskDriveAssembly.Followingthecompletionoftheheaddiskassembly,itismatedtothePCBA,andthecompletedunitgoesthroughextensivedefect
mappingandtestingpriortopackagingandshipment.DiskdriveassemblyandtestoperationsoccurprimarilyatfacilitieslocatedinChinaandThailand.We
performsubassemblyandcomponentmanufacturingoperationsatourfacilitiesinChina,Malaysia,NorthernIreland,Singapore,ThailandandintheUnitedStates.
Inaddition,thirdpartiesmanufactureandassemblecomponentsanddiskdriveassembliesforusinvariouscountriesworldwide.
SuppliersofComponentsandIndustryConstraints.Therearealimitednumberofindependentsuppliersofcomponents,suchasrecordingheadsandmedia,
availabletodiskdrivemanufacturers.Verticallyintegrateddiskdrivemanufacturers,whomanufacturetheirowncomponents,arelessdependentonexternal
componentsuppliersthanlessverticallyintegrateddiskdrivemanufacturers.
CommodityandOtherManufacturingCosts.Theproductionofdiskdrivesrequiresrareearthelements,preciousmetals,scarcealloysandindustrial
commodities,whicharesubjecttofluctuationsinpricesandthesupplyofwhichhasattimesbeenconstrained.Inadditiontoincreasedcostsofcomponentsand
commodities,volatilityinfuelcostsmayalsoincreaseourcostsrelatedtocommodities,manufacturingandfreight.Asaresult,wemayincreaseouruseofocean
shipmentstohelpoffsetanyincreaseinfreightcosts.
Products
Weofferabroadrangeofstoragesolutionsfortheenterprise,datacenter,clientcomputeandclientnon-computeapplications.Weoffermorethanone
productwithineachproductcategoryanddifferentiateproductsonthebasisofprice,performance,formfactor,capacity,interface,powerconsumptionefficiency,
securityfeatures,andothercustomerintegrationrequirements.Ourindustryischaracterizedbycontinuousandsignificantadvancesintechnologywhichcontribute
torapidproductlifecycles.Welistourmaincurrentproductofferingsbelow.
EnterpriseStorage
EnterprisePerformanceHDDs.Our10,000and15,000RPMEnterprisePerformancediskdrivesfeatureincreasedthroughputandimprovedenergy
efficiency,targetedathighrandomperformanceserverapplicationneeds.Performance10,000RPMHDDsshipinstoragecapacitiesrangingfrom300GBto
1.8TB,andour15,000RPMHDDsshipinstoragecapacitiesrangingfrom146GBto600GB.
EnterpriseCapacityandArchiveHDDs.OurEnterpriseCapacitydiskdrivesshipin2.5-inchand3.5-inchformfactorsandinstoragecapacitiesofupto
6TBthatrotateat7,200RPMspeeds.Theseproductsaredesignedforbulkdatastorageandserverenvironmentsthatrequirehighcapacity,enterprisereliability,
energyefficiency,integratedsecurity,andSATAandSASinterfaces.OurArchiveHDDs
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