Updated: The world's top disk drive maker reassures customers and distributors that the Maxtor brand will continue and will be supported through all channels.Seagate Technology, the worlds No. 1 computer disk drive maker, will continue to support Maxtors branded products, its customer base, and all warranties in all retail and distribution channels, a company marketing executive told eWEEK Aug. 17.
Seagate also will continue production of Maxtors DiamondMax product line and is preparing to launch a mobile hard drive for notebooks called MobileMax in October, said Marc Jourlait, Seagates vice president for segment marketing.
MobileMax will be a 2.5-inch hard drive with initial capacity of 80GB and speed of 5400 rpm, Jourlait said. It is expected that the MobileMax will eventually hold 160GB and have speeds of up to 7200 rpm. The company will release more information at a later date, he said.
The Scotts Valley, Calif.-based company concluded its acquisition of Maxtor—the worlds No. 4 seller of disk drives—for $1.9 billion in stock on May 22.
Jourlait said that Seagate would continue to offer Seagate and Maxtor-branded products to differing market and distribution segments. Its better for the customers, who are used to seeing these brands, as well as the channel distributors, who will have more to offer, Jourlait said.
"Its not like were going to complete with ourselves," Jourlait said, because the products will be moving onto different retail shelves and aimed at different market segments.
"As we were going through the acquisition," Jourlait said, "we realized that there was relatively little overlap in our product offerings. We were a little surprised that most of our two companies products each fit into niches that the other company did not address."
Product lines dovetail—for the most part
For example, Jourlait said, Maxtor had a dedicated sales force and product line aimed squarely at the video and television production industry—a space where Seagate had not played before.
"Also, in the federal government—including the Department of Homeland Safety—and military segments, Maxtor is very big, and Seagate was not. So these vertical markets are what we are now addressing with our channel strategy," Jourlait said.
Seagate will expand its offerings to create a broader set of products, programs and services around both the Maxtor and Seagate brands, Jourlait said.
"Distributors will find it good to do business with one company that offers two distinct and respected brands," he said.
Generally, Seagate sees its products as being aimed at the "A" and "B" markets—"A" being high-end, techno-knowledgeable and performance-at-any-cost-seeking companies and individuals; and "B" being the general enterprise business market.
Maxtor products generally are targeted at—and have historically sold well in—the "B" and "C" (consumer) market segments. At the time of the acquisition, Maxtor was either the No. 3 and or No. 4 hard drive maker, depending upon which sales numbers were referenced.
Earlier this month Seagate reported its fourth-quarter financials, which showed a plunge (down 98 percent in net profit) in earnings largely caused by charges related to the acquisition.
Editors Note: This story was updated to clarify information about MobileMax.
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