October 27, 2004
To:
IDEMA Membership
From:
IDEMA
IDEMA
IDEMA
IDEMA
USA Board of Directors
Executive Advisory Council
Asia-Pacific Board of Directors
Japan Board of Directors
Dear Member:
Storage demand is growing in every corner of the world. Millions of families in India and China are
buying their first computers. PC builders in Eastern Europe and Asia are establishing their brands
and growing market share. Enterprises are building new data centers in each country of operation.
Consumers are listening to music on MP-3 players; families are watching TV on digital video
recorders; and digital photographers are consuming gigabytes of drive space. After years of
struggling with stagnant growth, eroding revenues and unattainable profits, the HDD industry will
see double-digit expansion in 2004 and even more demand in 2005 thanks to new applications and
the global growth of the internet and IT infrastructure.
As a global industry we are facing global challenges. But your trade group IDEMA is not global. It is
segmented into three separate domestic organizations each focused on a local market. This makes
IDEMA inefficient at promoting new storage applications, ineffective at encouraging HDD adoption in
growth markets, and unproductive addressing worldwide commercial challenges. Most importantly,
speaking as a unified voice for our industry is impossible under our current structure.
Consequently, IDEMA needs to align itself with global realities. It needs to organize into one,
seamless worldwide trade organization that can efficiently promote its members’ interests, promote
new HDD and ODD storage applications and continue to provide a world forum for technical standard
adoptions. So, we need our member companies to support merging the three IDEMA organizations
into a single trade organization.
Our ballots for a “single” IDEMA organization and Board of Directors will be sent to your company in
the coming weeks. We want your support to unify IDEMA’s disparate corporate makeup, simplify our
dues structure, organize global discounts, and streamline our operations. Our commitment is to
create a more efficient IDEMA that is more effective in addressing the challenges of our global
industry.
Here are some of the key advantages of a unified IDEMA:
Formation of a Global IDEMA Structure: IDEMA has been operating as three distinct
organizations: USA, Japan, and Asia-Pacific. These groups, while using the same name, use
redundant operations, have different objectives and do not reflect the global structure of the disk
drive industry. The ballots you will receive propose to unify IDEMA under a single global Board of
Directors with regional operating boards and a single mission. A unified IDEMA will have
synchronization strategies, set common goals, align programs and report to its members from a
global as well as regional perspective.
Advance Commercial Standards: Our industry is not just about technology advancement. It is
about commercial advancement too. Often our commercial issues are more critical to our industry’s
health. As an example, IDEMA has entered into collaboration with the Anti-Gray Market Alliance
(AGMA) to examine standards to give our HDD companies better visibility and control of the
distribution channel. Commercial issues are international in scope. Addressing the “Gray Market” in
the US without Europe will fail. Promoting inventory practices in Asia without also addressing them in
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the US is ineffective. Only a global IDEMA can tackle the complexities of international commercial
standards.
Invest in Communications: A new, global IDEMA web site has been introduced which will be a
“must visit” site for our hundreds of member companies worldwide. Look for additional services such
as IDEMA Daily Industry News, a suite of new White Papers and Position Statements that will provide
leadership and best-in-class services for our important industry.
Technical Standards to Advance HDD integration in Consumer Electronics: We are working
globally to encourage wider adoption of HDDs through standards focused on new applications
including consumer electronics. IDEMA is also working aggressively to standardize ESD benchmarks,
new disk sizes, and other critical technology points. Of course, our excellent Technical Standards
Program will continue to grow and focus on member company issues.
Produce compelling events including DISKCON USA, DISKCON Asia-Pacific, and
Information Storage Week Japan: A global IDEMA will more effectively promote our events to
provide industry participants networking and educational opportunities. Our shows and conferences
are the cornerstones of our programs, as are our symposia, education, and networking events.
IDEMA will host its first Financial Conference on November 4 th, 2004 in Santa Clara focusing on
improving the financial community’s visibility and understanding of the disk drive industry.
Changing dues structure: It takes money to operate a trade association, and we are grateful to
our members for their support. IDEMA will institute a simpler global member fee structure. A member
company will pay a single fee, giving its employees worldwide access and benefits. Some members
will see their dues increase to support the new programs and deliverables. It is never easy to ask for
higher fees, but we plan to make IDEMA much more valuable to you and your industry colleagues.
Starting in November 2004, IDEMA will send two ballots by email to your company’s corporate
contact for approval. The first will be to approve our global structure and to make adjustments to
IDEMA’s policies. The second will seek your vote and support for IDEMA’s first Global Board of
Directors. Your prompt reply to both ballots will speed our progress toward the launch of the “new”
IDEMA in January 2005
Members of IDEMA’s US Board of Directors, Japan Board of Directors, Executive Advisory Council,
and Asia-Pacific Board of Directors kindly request your support of these initiatives, as they seek to
provide greater benefits to you and your company.
Sincerely,
Mark Geenen
President, IDEMA
The Board of Directors of IDEMA USA
Saburo Adachi, Executive Vice President, Fujitsu Computer Products of America
Dr. Alan Armstrong, Vice President, Marvell
Mike Cordano, Executive Vice President, Maxtor
Jeff Donnelly, Vice President, General Manager, KLA-Tencor
Mark Geenen, President, IDEMA
Dr. Ed Grochowski
Bob Holleran, Senior Vice President, General Manager, Hitachi GST
Rick Penn, Vice President, Operations, Hutchinson Technology
Dr. Mike Russak, President and CTO, Komag
Richard Rutledge, Vice President, Western Digital
Dave Wickersham, Executive Vice President, Seagate Technology
Adam Wray, Executive Vice President, Xyratex
Advisor: Oz Fundingsland
Executive Advisory Council
Ed Braun, Chairman, President, CEO, Veeco Instruments
Wayne Fortun, President and CEO, Hutchinson Technology
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Ichiro Komura, Group President, Fujitsu, Ltd.
Matt Massengill, Chairman & CEO, Western Digital
Dr. Jun Naruse, President, Hitachi GST
Paul Tufano, President & CEO, Maxtor
Bill Watkins, President & COO, Seagate Technology
The Board of Directors of IDEMA Asia Pacific
John Coyne, Chair, Sr. Vice President and Managing Director, Western Digital (M)
James M. Chirico, Sr. Vice President, Seagate Technology International
TEH Bong Lim, Vice Chair, Managing Director, MMI Holdings Ltd.
Masamitsu Horike, Managing Director, Hitachi Global Storage Technologies, Thailand
Adam Giandomenico, President, Lighthouse Solutions
Raymond Leung, President, SAE Magnetics
TAM Man Chi, President, Kaifa
Chackchai Panichapat, Chairman, Executive Board, Amata City Co. Ltd. (Thailand)
Gary Davis, Executive Director, IDEMA Asia Pacific and Davis Consultants Asia Sdn. Bhd.,
CHAN Leng Wai, Executive Director, IDEMA Asia Pacific and PeopleNet Associates
The Board of Directors of IDEMA Japan
Hideki Harada, President, High Tech Association
Ryuji Higuchi. Sr. Engineer, Hitachi Electronics Engineering
Yuichi Hyakusoku, President, Mediken, Inc.
Akira Kakehi, Co-Chair, Director, Fujitsu Ltd.
Shun Kaneko, Executive Director, IDEMA Japan
Seiji Kawagoe, Sr. Manager, Toshiba Corporation
Kazuo Kobayashi, Director, Fujitsu Laboratories Ltd
Noboru Kubokawa, Co-Chair, Chief Analyst, Institute of Information Technology, Ltd.
Mikio Matsuzaki, Director, TDK Corporation
Norio Ota, Executive Officer, Hitachi Maxell, Ltd.
Takayoshi Otsu, Engineering Manager, Hitachi GST Japan
Ryosuke Shimizu, Project Leader/Manager, Matsushita Electric Industries Co., Ltd.
Shun-ichi Murakami, Specialist, ANELVA Corporation
Tsuneo Suganuma, Chair, Sr. Chief Scientist, Hitachi, Ltd.
Isao Suzuki, General Manager, Hoya Corporation
Takutoshi Fujiwara, President, Fujiwara-Rothchild Ltd.
Akira Terada, Executive Director, Alps Electric Co., Ltd.
Toshihisa Ueno, Kobe Steel
Hideaki Yamazaki, General Manager, Marshall & Yamazaki Consultant Group
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