SSD sales to grow 7x by 2017

The divergent outlook for the two products will allow SSDs to climb and claim 36% of the PC storage market in 2017, up from just 6% in 2012, IHS said. At the same time, HDDs will see their long-term dominance in PCs erode, with their share falling to 64% in 2017, down from a commanding 94% in 2012.

For SSDs, the major factors driving growth in 2013 will be ultrabooks and other ultrathin notebook PCs, especially as Intel's upcoming Haswell processors bring about a robust combination of performance and efficiency for the superthin computers, said Fang Zhang, analyst for storage systems at IHS, in a statement. "In the coming years, ultrabooks and ultrathins - combined with appealing touch-screen displays and convertible form factors - are likely to become more compelling as the machines attempt to lure consumers away from smartphones and tablets, boosting demand for SSDs used in these systems," Zhang continued.