Samsung is the leading provider of data storage products in the world. Young Sohn, Samsung’s chief strategy officer, revealed at the Samsung CEO Summit last month that about 70 percent of the world's data is produced and stored on Samsung's products. “Data is the new oil,” he said, pointing out that this presents a significant opportunity for the company to grow further.
It seems like Samsung wants to become a big data company as well. This can prove crucial for its long-term growth as it seeks a future beyond mobile and semiconductor products.
Samsung's future as a big data company
Big data companies deal in storing significant amounts of data, capturing data, analysis, sharing, search, transfer, visualization and more. That's not something you would associate with Samsung off the top of your head.
However, most of Samsung's recent acquisitions have revolved around data. Companies like Harman, LoopPay, Viv Labs and SmartThings all own important technologies to create and analyze data through platforms like mobile payment, smart home and vehicle communication systems.
Samsung's new data business will be related to its existing memory chip business. “Samsung’s specialty is storage devices, and in the future, connecting those data storage systems will be the key,” said a company official.
The company's ultimate goal is to provide solutions for storing and managing data with a focus on space and power efficiency.