As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to evolve, it’s bringing more than just smarter automation and predictive analytics. It’s also triggering a silent but critical revolution in data storage, particularly the growing reliance on high-capacity, high-performance hard drives. Behind every clever algorithm and machine-learned insight lies an ocean of data, and it all needs somewhere to live.
Why AI is a Data-Hungry Beast
From facial recognition and autonomous vehicles to language models and fraud detection, AI applications are built on vast datasets. Training these systems involves crunching through petabytes of information, a task that puts immense pressure on backend infrastructure, especially storage. But it’s not just about size. This data arrives in all shapes and forms: structured databases, raw video feeds, real-time sensor streams, and much more.
And all of it must be retained, accessed, and processed in ways that are both scalable and economical. That’s where the humble hard drive is experiencing something of a renaissance.
The Resurgence of the Hard Drive in the Age of AI
While SSDs grab headlines with their blazing speeds, traditional hard drives remain the workhorses of modern data centres. Their unmatched cost-to-capacity ratio makes them ideal for the bulk of AI-related storage needs, archiving training data, holding vast repositories for model development, and serving as long-term, reliable storage for AI outputs.
But this is no longer the era of yesterday’s spinning platters. Today’s enterprise-grade hard drives, particularly those designed with AI workloads in mind, offer enhanced durability, higher throughput, and smart firmware designed to manage mixed workloads.
Seagate’s Hard Drive Technology: Designed for AI’s Reality
Seagate is leading this charge with a range of innovations purpose-built for the AI age. Its SkyHawk AI drives, for instance, are engineered to handle the stress of surveillance and edge-based inference, able to simultaneously record high-resolution footage and analyse it on the fly. Meanwhile, the Exos series is favoured by hyperscale data centres and cloud providers who require serious bulk storage that can scale.
Then there’s HAMR, Heat-Assisted Magnetic Recording, a breakthrough technology that Seagate is commercialising ahead of rivals. HAMR allows much more data to be stored on the same physical media, pushing capacities over 30TB per drive. Combined with Seagate’s Mozaic 3+ platform, these technologies give enterprises the building blocks for truly next-gen AI infrastructure.
Meeting Tomorrow’s Storage Needs Today
Forecasts suggest that AI storage requirements will more than double in the next few years. Not only are AI models growing larger and more complex, but regulatory and ethical demands are compelling organisations to store data longer, with higher levels of accuracy and integrity.
Businesses need more than just any old storage, they need solutions that are scalable, resilient, and tailored to the unique rhythms of AI. In that context, choosing the right hard drive provider becomes a strategic decision.
Why Seagate is the Smart Choice
There’s no shortage of storage vendors, but few understand the nuances of AI-driven storage quite like Seagate. With decades of expertise, a forward-looking roadmap, and products designed from the ground up for data-intensive workloads, Seagate offers organisations:
- Unmatched capacity per hard drive to reduce rack space and energy usage.
- Proven reliability in always-on, high-vibration environments.
- Smart monitoring and firmware to adapt to real-time data influx.
Whether you’re building an AI-powered surveillance system, training large language models, or simply archiving petabytes of sensor data, Seagate delivers the performance, efficiency, and dependability needed to stay ahead.
To help navigate the options, here’s a side-by-side look at Seagate’s top hard drive offerings for AI environments:
| Model | Target Use Case | Capacity Range | Key Features | Ideal For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SkyHawk AI | Video analytics, surveillance AI | Up to 20TB | 24×7 workload support, NVR optimisation, AI stream support | Edge AI, smart city surveillance |
| Exos X | Enterprise storage, cloud & data centres | Up to 20TB+ | High IOPS, advanced caching, power balance for efficiency | Hyperscale AI training & archival |
| Exos CORVAULT | Petabyte-scale object storage | Multi-drive (PB scale) | Autonomous repair, energy-efficient, secure multi-access | Government, research institutions |
| HAMR-based Drives | Next-gen AI infrastructures | 30TB+ (future-ready) | Heat-Assisted Magnetic Recording, Mozaic 3+ integration | Long-term AI data lake scalability |
Contact our experts today to discuss Seagate Solutions: https://exertisenterprise.com/seagate/
