SSD shipments leap 66% in Q3, revenue doubles

Shipments of solid-state drives (SSDs) jumped more than 66% in the third quarter of 2011 compared with the same period last year.

According to data released by market research firm IDC, SSD shipments rose from 4 million in the year-ago quarter to 6.66 million in the same quarter this year.

Revenue from SSD sales rose from $673 million to $1.29 billion over the same period.

IDC separates SSD sales into three market segments: commercial, enterprise and client. Enterprise refers to data center systems, including storage arrays and servers; client refers to the PC market, including notebooks and netbooks; and commercial refers to industrial equipment, including factory automation, medical equipment, military systems and aerospace.

Revenues from commercial sales of SSDs actually dipped over the past year, to $59.7 million from $70.7 million a year ago. Revenues from enterprise sales, however, more than doubled from $247.8 million to $522 million.

The biggest segment winner was client-side SSDs, where revenues more than doubled from $354 million to $716 million.

2010 was a record year for the worldwide SSD market, with revenue increasing 103.4% from 2009 levels due to strong SSD shipment growth in the enterprise and client segments.

IDC cautioned that the SSD market is still early in its business life cycle and is only now really reaching mainstream markets.