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Built for the long haul
From rugged portable drives to huge-capacity desktop storage, LaCie continues to deliver expert storage options
For two decades, LaCie’s distinctive orange drives have been a familiar sight on photo shoots, film sets, edit suites and stuffed into kit bags around the world. As the brand celebrates the anniversary of its iconic Rugged range, we speak to EMEA LaCie lead, Michael Eyraud, to explore how storage technology is evolving and why capacity, reliability and real-world speed matter more than ever. An industry standard Few products in image making achieve true icon status, but LaCie’s Rugged drives are up there. Robust enough for location work, fast enough for editing and reliable enough to hold irreplaceable footage, the bright-orange, bumper-protected hard drive is synonymous with a well-ironed, professional workflow. “If a product has existed for 20 years and is still used daily by professionals, it’s because it works. It’s not marketing – it’s proven reliability,” says Eyraud. The brand remains at the cutting edge of storage. As part of the Seagate family, LaCie has useful access to enterprise-grade research, manufacturing and data-centre innovation. That relationship is helping to shape the next phase of storage, from ultra- fast SSDs to astonishingly high-capacity hard drives that redefine what’s possible in a single enclosure. From high-end
professionals to amateur enthusiasts who care about their work, LaCie is the brand that consistently changes to reflect the diverse needs of the market and reliably delivers. The capacity explosion Resolution keeps climbing, bitrates keep increasing and, now that Raw video is so widespread among content creators, storage has become one of the most critical parts of any image maker’s workflow. “Everyone wants more capacity,” says Eyraud. “But they don’t want drives to get bigger, heavier or more power-hungry.” LaCie’s answer lies in next-generation hard drive technology, specifically in HAMR (Heat-Assisted Magnetic Recording). “Traditionally, to get more capacity, manufacturers added more disks inside the drive,” Eyraud explains. “That means more materials, more power consumption and more waste at end of life. What HAMR allows us to do is increase density without adding more platters.” LaCie has already introduced 30TB hard drives across parts of its range, and it has even bigger single-disk hard drives on the roadmap. “We launched the 30TB last year and, within the same 3.5-inch form factor, we’re working towards 40TB and 50TB,” reveals Eyraud. “At some point, a two-bay RAID could give you 100TB without physically getting any bigger.” Why hard drives still matter In an era obsessed with the high speed of SSD drives, LaCie remains committed to traditional spinning disks – especially for long-term storage. “SSDs are fantastic, but they’re volatile in pricing and limited in capacity,” Eyraud says. “We’re heavily investing in SSDs, but mass capacity is where hard drives still win by far.” While SSDs excel for editing, data transfer and camera-direct recording purposes, hard drives remain unbeatable when it comes to cost-per-terabyte and archival longevity. “That’s why we see content creators editing from SSDs, but storing projects on
impact without sacrificing durability. The Rugged product line-up spans everything from entry-level portable HDDs/SSDs to IP-rated drives that can survive drops, dust, rain and even submersion. If things go wrong, LaCie’s data recovery service is included with every drive. “We’re the only brand offering professional data recovery as standard,” Eyraud says. “Not just software recovery but mechanical recovery in cleanroom environments. We can physically open the drive and recover the data. That peace of mind matters when it’s your work and reputation on the line.” From impressive HAMR-powered hard drives soon approaching 50TB per disk to pocket-sized SSD options capable of replacing entire server rooms, LaCie’s evolution expertly mirrors the changing needs of contemporary image makers. “Robustness, reliability and trust,” Eyraud says. “That’s why people choose LaCie.” Twenty years on, the orange drive isn’t just a symbol but a statement that your data matters. system costing £10,000 to hit 1000MB/s. Now you can put something in your pocket that writes at 5000MB/s A few years ago, you needed a rack RUGGED ROYALTY The legendary LaCie hard drive range includes the award-winning Rugged SSD Pro5 (above)
desktop drives or RAIDs,” he explains. “You need both.” LaCie’s SSD evolution has been as dramatic as its hard drive one. The latest items in the SSD Pro and Rugged SSD Pro Series, using Thunderbolt and USB-C, deliver simply incredible speeds. “A few years ago, you needed a rack system costing £10,000 to hit 1000MB/s,” Eyraud recalls. “But now you can put something in your back pocket that writes at over 5000MB/s.” That speed isn’t just a spec-sheet flex but changes how image makers can work. “Back in the USB 2 days, transferring 1TB could take seven hours,” Eyraud says. “Now it takes under five minutes.” It’s this standard of performance that has seen readers of Photography News vote LaCie’s Rugged SSD Pro5 as the best external storage device in the magazine’s fiercely contested annual awards. Rugged evolution While LaCie’s signature Rugged drives are still instantly recognisable – in the brand’s traditional orange or in black or blue for its SSD options – the design has evolved. “The early Rugged drives used rubber bumpers for shock absorption,” Eyraud explains. “Today, we use rigid aluminium enclosures that achieve the same protection with fewer materials.” The shift reduces weight, improves heat dissipation and lowers environmental
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TOP TECH Michael Eyraud (above) has overseen LaCie progress to the SSD Pro desktop drive
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