CMR vs. SMR and ePMR vs. HAMR: Making Sense of the HDD Alphabet Soup
ITProToday, Monday, April 7th, 2025
With data generation surging past 200 zettabytes this year, cutting-edge HDD technologies like CMR, SMR, EAMR, ePMR, HAMR, and MAMR are redefining capacity, density, and efficiency.
It's no secret that we're witnessing a data explosion around the world. According to IDC, more than 201 zettabytes of data will be created in 2025. Yes, you heard that correctly. That's zettabytes with a "z." From the acceleration of digital transformation and business analytics to the rise of internet of things (IoT) and generative AI (genAI), the world is awash in data, and there's no sign of slowing growth.