As digital entertainment streams into consumers' lives, they are amassing valuable troves of stored data. A recent survey conducted by KRC Research and Hitachi Global Storage Technologies found that U.S. adults have an average of $1,135 worth of entertainment stored on devices such as laptops/PCs, MP3 players, DVRs, mobile phones, PDAs, digital cameras or portable movie players, and that their appetite for more storage is growing as our lives become more mobile. In particular, "Generation Y" (18-24 years) consumers, a group known for their technology savvy, have an even higher average of $2,199 worth of entertainment stored on devices. The survey results also point to a larger belief within the hard drive industry: As the cost of digital storage becomes less than 10 percent of the content value, it is affordable enough for that content to be permanently retained -- increasing the pervasiveness of hard disk drives. Hitachi believes high-capacity hard drives -- unlike any other form of portable storage today -- have now achieved that level of affordability for consumers.
Artificial intelligence (AI) has rapidly become the defining force in business technology development, but integrating AI into applications remains a formidable challenge. According to a recent Gartner survey, 77 percent of engineering leaders identify AI integration in apps as a major hurdle for their organizations. As demand for AI-powered solutions accelerates across every industry, understanding the tools, the barriers, and the opportunities is essential for business and technology leaders seeking to evolve. The Gartner survey highlights a key trend: while AI’s potential is widely recognized, the path to useful integration is anything but straightforward. IT leaders cite complexities in embedding AI models into existing software, managing data pipelines, ensuring security, and maintaining compliance as persistent obstacles. These challenges are compounded by a shortage of skilled AI engineers and the rapid evolution of AI technologies, which can outpace organizational readiness and...