I am the President of Coughlin Associates and a widely respected storage analyst and consultant. I have over 30 years in the data storage industry with multiple engineering and management positions at high profile companies. I have many publications and six patents to my credit. I am also the author of Digital Storage in Consumer Electronics: The Essential Guide, which was published by Newnes Press. Coughlin Associates provides market and technology analysis (including reports on several digital storage technologies and applications and a newsletter) as well as Data Storage Technical Consulting services. I publish a Digital Storage in Consumer Electronics Report, a Media and Entertainment Storage Report, and a Capital Equipment and Technology Report for the Hard Disk Drive Industry. I am active with SMPTE, SNIA, IDEMA, the IEEE Magnetics Society, IEEE CE Society, and other professional organizations. I am the founder and organizer of the Annual Storage Visions Conference (www.storagevisions.com), a partner to the International Consumer Electronics Show, as well as the Creative Storage Conference (www.creativestorage.org). I am also a Senior member of the IEEE, Leader in the Gerson Lehrman Group Councils of Advisors and a member of the Consultants Network of Silicon Valley (CNSV). For more information about me and my publications, go to www.tomcoughlin.com. The author is a Forbes contributor. The opinions expressed are those of the writer.