Lite-On targets SMB growth with SSD launch

With the release of its first SSD, Lite On is anticipating plenty of growth selling to SMBs.

The firm, better known for selling optical storage, is about to launch into the UK market with its first SSD – the E200.

Virginia Arandiga at Lite On told us that this year it is crucial to be among the players for SSDs: “If you are not yet inside then the competition will make it hard in the future,” she told ChannelBiz UK.

According to Arandiga, the product will be aimed at systems integrators and resellers.

“They all supply to customers with the full package, they are also supplying the service to upgrade the computer,” she said. “This is our target customer, because they know the quality.”

While there are a lot of players in the SSD market, she says, such as OCZ and Crucial, “there is a lot of competition, but there is a lot of opportunity”.  Some of them, like Western Digital, are targeting industrial applications so as not to cannibalise their HDD businesses.

“Our end user target is not consumers, it is mainly business because they are not as price sensitive as consumers,” Arandiga said. “They are more interested in better performance and quality.”

SSDs are just developing now, and prices are becoming more attractive for customers: “It has been in the market but the market situation maybe didn’t allow it to grow,” Arandiga said. “Now this year is the year for SSDs for business.”

That is why Lite On decided to be in the market from the beginning.

Lite-On, which is working with distributors Avnet, CCI and Ingram in the UK, will make the SSD available next month.

Further details of specifications can be found on TechEye.