Technavio (www.technavio.com) analysts predict the the global 3D NAND flash market will reach 8.78 billion units by 2019, growing at a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 91.82%.

To calculate the market size, the research group considered unit shipments of smartphones, tablet personal computers (PCs), notebooks, smartcards, universal serial bus (USB), MP3s, and solid-state drives (SSDs) made to manufacturers.
3D NAND flash market at a glance

Technavio analysts predict the global 3D NAND flash market to grow at a fast pace during the projected period. The high market growth rate is attributed to increasing demand for high non-volatile memory in mobile devices and enterprise servers because of the following advantages: large memory storage, low power consumption, less space, and high speed.

Technavio hardware and semiconductor analysts highlight the following four factors that are contributing to the growth of the global 3D NAND flash market: rising adoption of SSDs; increasing production capacity of 3D NAND; burgeoning adoption of 3D NAND flash memory in mobile devices; and a growing number of applications

3D NAND flash memory chips are primarily used in SSDs as it can withstand more heat, shock, and vibration than HDDs. In addition, SSDs consume 50% less power than HDDs. This helps in maintaining the battery life of products, ensures a faster boot time, and launches applications at higher speeds.

“SSDs are reliable, faster, and consume less space and power than hard disk drives, which explains the increased demand for 3D NAND flash memory,” said Asif Gani, a lead analyst at Technavio for embedded systems.

Due to high growth potential of the 3D NAND market, leading vendors are increasingly investing in the development of 3D NAND fabrication facilities. For instance, in 2014, Samsung opened a new facility in China, Toshiba invested in its Japan fabrication facility, and Micron and Intel are investing in manufacturing equipment to develop a 3D NAND foundry in China.

Burgeoning adoption of 3D NAND flash memory in mobile devices
Due to an increase in demand for high-functionality devices such as smartphones, tablets, and laptops, there has been an increased demand for greater memory capacity. This is driving the demand for 3D NAND flash memory, which has three times the capacity of NAND flash technology.

“The smartphones market is witnessing a boom due to multi-functionality advantages, low average selling price, and changing preferences of consumers. Rise in per capital income, especially in the developing countries, has also increased the purchasing power of consumers, thereby creating demand for consumer electronics devices,” said Asif.

Technavio envisages the use of 3D NAND flash to increase during the forecast period due to the growing number of applications. 3D NAND is used in embedded systems as it offers large storage space at low cost, provides rapid access, and increases erase times. These features enable a device to process multiple applications at higher speed. 3D NAND flash is also used in automotive products, which will witness increased demand due to rising automobile production during the forecast period, according to the research group.