Shanghai Securities released a research report indicating that IDC projects China's enterprise solid-state drive (eSSD) market will reach $9.1 billion by 2029. As eSSD capacities increase and unit costs decline, adoption is expected to accelerate, replacing traditional HDDs. Policy-driven localization efforts are helping domestic storage firms narrow the gap with international brands through innovations in high-capacity products, controller chips, and localized supply chains. The report highlights sustained growth potential in enterprise storage, with domestic eSSD-focused companies likely to benefit.

**Key Insights:** 1. **Enterprise SSD Applications:** Enterprise SSDs are designed for high-performance computing, edge computing, data centers, and other mission-critical scenarios requiring uninterrupted operation, high-speed I/O processing (e.g., databases, analytics), and superior reliability compared to consumer-grade SSDs.

2. **Market Growth:** China’s eSSD market surged 187.9% YoY to $6.25 billion in 2024, with IDC forecasting expansion to $9.1 billion by 2029.

3. **HDD Replacement Trend:** SSDs outperform HDDs in speed and latency due to their lack of mechanical components. Enterprise QLC SSDs, with high capacity and energy efficiency, are becoming the primary HDD alternative. However, HDDs still dominate cost-sensitive cold/warm data storage. - Global HDD supply shortages (lead times extended to 52+ weeks) and AI-driven demand are pushing North American clients toward eSSDs.

4. **AI Server Demand:** - AI servers typically use 3x more eSSDs by value than general servers. IDC predicts the global AI server market will hit $34.71 billion by 2026 (17.3% CAGR). - During AI inference, larger-capacity SSDs (16TB+ TLC/QLC) are preferred to handle video/image data, versus 4TB–8TB SSDs for training.

5. **Competitive Landscape:** Solidigm and Samsung lead China’s eSSD market, but domestic firms are gaining share through localized innovation and policy support.