Seagate, LSI unveil new PCIe SSD drives

Seagate is utilizing a partnership with LSI to begin offering PCIe-connected solid state drives to consumers.

The partnership will help create SSDs that Seagate and LSI will market towards the cloud computing and data storage industries. Seagate will be responsible for the SSD drives, while LSI will enhance board-level technology.

“IT professionals want server and storage solutions that can deliver the performance and efficiency benefits of solid-state technology without impacting system resources or further complicating already complex enterprise storage environments,” said David Mosely, Seagate VP of Sales and Marketing, in a statement.

Seagate and LSI haven’t announced a release date or pricing for their new PCIe SSD products.  Product sampling available to OEMs is expected to take place during the second quarter this year, which means the product should be available before the end of the year.

Seagate already has a Pulsar SSD product that can fit into a 2.5-inch HDD slot using a custom disk drive enclosure.  New SATA and USB 3.0 SSDs are in the works by various tech manufacturers, but PCIe has a slight advantage because it’s faster and can be integrated into current PC systems more easily.

It’s good to see Seagate finally outlining its plans for SSDs, as it first entered the SSD market by announcing a 200GB SSD aimed solely at the enterprise.  Prior to that launch, Seagate said it would wait for the SSD industry to develop on its own before making any advancements.