Wikipedia

Draft:Jim Porter (analyst)



James N. Porter
Born(1931-10-03)October 3, 1931
Sacramento, California, U.S.
DiedMarch 2, 2012(2012-03-02) (aged 80)
Monterey, California, U.S.
Alma materSan Jose State University
OccupationsStorage industry analyst, market researcher
Employer(s)Crown Zellerbach, Memorex
Known forFounder of DISK/TREND Reports

James N. "Jim" Porter (October 3, 1931 – March 2, 2012) was an American data-storage industry market analyst and consultant. He founded DISK/TREND, Inc., a firm whose annual reports became widely used reference sources on the global disk-drive and storage technology markets. A 2012 obituary in Forbes described him as the "dean of storage industry analysts".[1] He was voted in the top 10 list of "Most Prestigious Names in History of Storage Industry" by the online magazine "Storage Newsletter" in 2016 [2]

Early life and education

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Porter was born in Sacramento, California, on October 3, 1931.[3] His father worked as a California Highway Patrol officer.[4] He graduated from Sequoia High School in Redwood City, California, where he developed an interest in electronics by building radio receivers from salvaged parts.[5] Porter earned a bachelor's degree in advertising from San Jose State University.[3]

Career

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In the mid-1950s Porter worked in marketing for Crown Zellerbach, where he received one of the earliest IBM 305 RAMAC systems. He regularly demonstrated the RAMAC to customers.[3] [6] [7]

Porter joined Memorex in 1968 and held several marketing management positions.[8] He later worked at Cartridge Television Inc. and at CMX Systems, a Memorex–CBS joint venture that developed an early disk-based video-editing system that received an Emmy Award.[3] He became an independent management consultant in 1974.

In June 1977 Porter published his first annual market study, Rigid Disk Drives, under his own name.[9] He subsequently established DISK/TREND, Inc., which produced annual market reports across multiple product categories, including rigid disk drives, flexible disk drives, optical disk drives, removable disk drives, and disk arrays. Over 22 years he issued 67 annual reports.[10] Porter developed cooperative relationships with storage-industry manufacturers, who provided confidential production and shipment data for aggregated reporting purposes.[3] The name DISK/TREND was registered as a U.S. trademark in the early 1980s.[3]

Porter retired and closed DISK/TREND in 1999.[3] His role as a leading storage industry market analyst was subsequently taken up by other firms, including TrendFocus, founded by analyst Mark Geenen.[8]

Industry involvement and legacy

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Porter played a role in the formation and development of several professional organizations within the storage industry:[3]

  • Founder and chairman of the International Disk Drive Equipment and Materials Association (IDEMA)
  • Co-founder of industry trade conferences including DISKCON and DataStorage
  • Founder of the Computer History Museum’s Storage Special Interest Group
  • Participant in IEEE Magnetics Society conferences and related technical events

Porter's papers, reports, presentations, and industry data—more than 100 archival containers—were donated to the Computer History Museum, where they form the James N. Porter Papers collection.[10]

Personal life and death

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Porter had three children: David (who died in 2000), Anne Cirner, and Katie Porter.[4] He died on March 2, 2012, after suffering a stroke while attending a jazz festival in Monterey, California.[1] [8] [11]

See also

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References

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  1. 1 2 Coughlin, Tom (March 6, 2012). "A Silent Voice: James Porter, Dean of Storage Analysts Dies". Forbes.
  2. ↑ "Top 6 to 10 Most Prestigious Names in History of Storage Industry". Storage Newsletter.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Jim Porter and the History of the Global Storage Industry". Computer History Museum. June 21, 2016.
  4. 1 2 "James Porter obituary". Dignity Memorial.
  5. ↑ "A time, a place, a mystique". Electronic Design News. October 15, 2000.
  6. ↑ RAMAC Oral History Project (Report). Computer History Museum. 2001–2002.
  7. ↑ Levy, Steven (August 6, 2006). "The Hard Disk That Changed the World". Newsweek.
  8. 1 2 3 "Jim Porter Has Died". StorageNewsletter. March 7, 2012.
  9. ↑ Porter, James N. (June 1977). Disk/Trend Report – Rigid Disk Drives. Mountain View, California: Disk/Trend.
  10. 1 2 "Guide to the James N. Porter Papers". Online Archive of California.
  11. ↑ "The Passing of an HDD Industry Luminary: Jim Porter". IDEMA. March 6, 2012.
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