As EMC targets the unified storage market, among the fastest growing segments in the data storage industry, the firm has the opportunity to further expand its leading share in the external data storage market (in GB).

FORBES: EMC's Unified Storage Push Could Whack NetApp

NetApp, the third largest vendor of external data storage systems in the world after EMC and IBM, said the acquisition will help it win business in the rapidly growing bandwidth intensive video and high-performance computing markets.

FORBES: NetApp Swallows Engenio In Storage Buyout Bacchanalia

Eventually, Dutra says, Sun plans to reduce those numbers to zero, renting out the company's processing and storage capabilities from external data centers.

FORBES: Magazine Article

Exponential growth in digital information and greater adoption of newer technologies like cloud computing, big data and virtualization have contributed to growth in external storage systems, and EMC will be the biggest beneficiary with its stronghold in SAN and NAS markets as well as continued growth in unified storage.

FORBES: EMC Runs To $37 On Booming External Storage Market

Evernote acts like an online personal organiser, with users able to save data such as video clips, images, web pages, notes and itineraries in an external storage system commonly known as the cloud.

BBC: Evernote says security has been breached by hackers

Hitachi Global Storage Technologies (Hitachi GST) develops advanced hard disk drives, enterprise-class solid state drives, and innovative external storage solutions and services used to store, preserve and manage the world's most valued data.

ENGADGET: Hitachi GST's G-Drive Slim: world's thinnest 2.5-inch external hard drive