Seagate rolls out 32TB CMR drives for AI video surge
Seagate has started shipping 32TB CMR hard drives across its Exos, SkyHawk AI and IronWolf Pro product lines through channel and retail partners worldwide.
The company said the new drives target organisations handling rising volumes of video and analytics data. Seagate is also presenting the products and related storage offerings at Intersec.
32TB range
Seagate said it is shipping what it described as the industry's first 32TB CMR hard drives across the three families.
The company positioned the products for deployments ranging from edge video systems to data centre environments.
Seagate said the drives use its HAMR technology. The company also referenced its Mozaic technology at higher capacities, which it said has seen use in hyperscale cloud environments.
CMR, or conventional magnetic recording, remains a widely used approach in hard drives for workloads that prioritise consistent write behaviour. Seagate framed the 32TB models as part of a push for higher capacity per drive in response to data growth from AI use cases.
Video data growth
Seagate cited research from IDC on expectations of rising video data volumes over the next five years. It said more than 75% of organisations expect their video data to at least double over that period as AI generates summaries, annotations and metadata.
The company linked this growth to increased use of video image analytics. It pointed to applications such as investigations, automated alerts, compliance and operational analysis.
Intersec, which focuses on security and safety technologies, has become a venue for vendors that serve surveillance and related analytics markets. Seagate said it is using the event to showcase storage products aimed at edge deployments and cloud-linked workflows.
"AI applications, like computer vision, are transforming how video is used across industries," said Melyssa Banda, SVP of Edge Storage and Solutions, Seagate.
"From smart city initiatives to retail and critical infrastructure, video is becoming a searchable business intelligence, and it's changing how operations run day-to-day," said Banda.
"This pivot demands a new kind of data backbone: mass-capacity storage at the edge and in the data centre to keep insights flowing and archives searchable," said Banda.
"Without it, the promise of AI-powered video analytics stalls," said Banda.
Product positioning
Seagate's SkyHawk AI line targets network video recorders and edge security systems. The company described the 32TB model as a video-optimised CMR drive for AI-enabled NVRs and edge security applications.
IronWolf Pro addresses network-attached storage systems that run continuously in business settings. Seagate positioned the 32TB model for creative professionals, small and mid-sized businesses, and on-premises AI workloads.
Exos remains Seagate's range for enterprise and cloud data centres. The company described the 32TB Exos model as aimed at cloud and enterprise environments and cited a focus on power efficiency.
Seagate said the drives are intended for "edge-to-cloud" deployments. That phrasing typically refers to architectures where data capture and initial processing happen near where data is generated, with further storage and analysis in centralised data centres or cloud platforms.
Channel availability indicates Seagate expects uptake through distributors, systems integrators and resellers. Retail availability suggests the drives will also reach smaller organisations and specialist buyers that source components directly.
Hard drive vendors have continued to increase maximum capacities in response to the growth of large datasets, including video archives and AI training data. Organisations assessing higher-capacity HDDs also weigh factors such as drive rebuild times, storage density per rack, and procurement costs compared with expanding arrays using lower-capacity models.
Seagate said the SkyHawk AI, Exos and IronWolf Pro 32TB hard drives are available through authorised channel partners worldwide.