Seagate 2014 Annual Report Download - page 70

TableofContents
SEAGATETECHNOLOGYPLC
NOTESTOCONSOLIDATEDFINANCIALSTATEMENTS
1.BasisofPresentationandSummaryofSignificantAccountingPolicies
Organization
SeagateTechnologyplc(the"Company")isaleadingproviderofelectronicdatastoragetechnologyandsolutions.Itsprincipalproductsareharddiskdrives,
commonlyreferredtoasdiskdrives,harddrivesorHDDs.InadditiontoHDDs,itproducesabroadrangeofelectronicdatastorageproductsincludingsolidstate
hybriddrives("SSHD"),solidstatedrives("SSD"),PCIecardsandSATAcontrollers.Itsstoragetechnologyportfolioalsoincludesstoragesubsystems,high
performancecomputing(HPC)solutions,anddatastorageservices.
Harddiskdrivesaredevicesthatstoredigitallyencodeddataonrapidlyrotatingdiskswithmagneticsurfaces.Diskdrivescontinuetobetheprimarymedium
ofmassdatastorageduetotheirperformanceattributes,highqualityandcosteffectiveness.Complementingexistingdatacenterstoragearchitecture,solid-state
storagedevicesuseintegratedcircuitassembliesasmemorytostoredata,andmostSSDsuseNAND-basedflashmemory.InadditiontoHDDsandSSDs,Solid-
statehybriddrives(SSHDs)combinethefeaturesofSSDsandHDDsinthesameunit,containingalargeharddiskdriveandanSSDcachetoimprove
performanceoffrequentlyaccesseddata.
TheCompany'sproductsaredesignedforenterpriseserversandstoragesystemsinmissioncriticalandnearlineapplications;clientcomputeapplications,
whereitsproductsaredesignedprimarilyfordesktopandmobilecomputing;andclientnon-computeapplications,whereitsproductsaredesignedforawide
varietyofenduserdevicessuchasdigitalvideorecorders("DVRs"),personaldatabackupsystems,portableexternalstoragesystems,digitalmediasystemsand
surveillancesystems.
TheCompany'sproductandsolutionportfoliofortheenterprisedatastorageindustryincludesstorageenclosures,integratedapplicationplatformsandhigh
performancecomputing("HPC")datastoragesolutions.Itsstoragesubsystemssupportarangeofhigh-speedinterconnecttechnologiestomeetdemandingcost
andperformancespecifications.Itsmodularsubsystemarchitectureallowsittosupportmanysegmentswithinthenetworkedstoragemarketbyenablingdifferent
specificationsofstoragesubsystemdesignstobecreatedfromastandardsetofinterlockingtechnologymodules.
TheCompany'sdatastorageservicesprovideonlinebackup,dataprotectionandrecoverysolutionsforsmalltomedium-sizedbusinesses.
BasisofPresentationandConsolidation
TheconsolidatedfinancialstatementsincludetheaccountsoftheCompanyandallitswholly-ownedandmajority-ownedsubsidiaries,aftereliminationof
intercompanytransactionsandbalances.
ThepreparationoffinancialstatementsinaccordancewithU.S.generallyacceptedaccountingprinciplesalsorequiresmanagementtomakeestimatesand
assumptionsthataffecttheamountsreportedintheCompany'sconsolidatedfinancialstatementsandaccompanyingnotes.Actualresultscoulddiffermaterially
fromthoseestimates.Themethods,estimatesandjudgmentstheCompanyusesinapplyingitsmostcriticalaccountingpolicieshaveasignificantimpactonthe
resultstheCompanyreportsinitsconsolidatedfinancialstatements.
TheCompanyoperatesandreportsfinancialresultsonafiscalyearof52or53weeksendingontheFridayclosesttoJune30.Accordingly,fiscalyear2015
comprised53weeksandendedonJuly3,2015.Fiscalyears2014and2013werecomprisedof52weeksandendedonJune27,2014,andJune28,2013,
respectively.AllreferencestoyearsintheseNotestoConsolidatedFinancialStatementsrepresentfiscalyearsunlessotherwisenoted.Fiscalyear2016willbe
52weeksandwillendonJuly1,2016.
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