This IDC study aggregates removable hard disk drives (R-HDDs) for the purposes of market sizing and provides a 2009-2013 forecast.

"The removable hard disk drive (R-HDD) market continues to grow and mature primarily for server-based backup and data protection. The majority of these solutions are designed as tape replacement products, particularly for customers that would use direct-attached, low-end tape products such as DDS/DAT. The current R-HDD solutions are based on standardized products that allow for data sharing and interchange. In the past year, there has been growing OEM adoption of R-HDD solutions. The challenge for large, tape-centric OEMs will be transitioning their customers to R-HDD solutions without impacting their large, profitable tape portfolios negatively." — Robert Amatruda, research director, and John Rydning, research manager, Storage and Enabling Technologies