IDC Releases Storage Research

FRAMINGHAM, Mass. -- Worldwide external disk storage systems factory revenues posted 8.8% year-over-year growth totaling $4.9 billion in the third quarter of 2008 (3Q08), according to the IDC Worldwide Disk Storage Systems Quarterly Tracker. For the quarter, the total disk storage systems market grew to $6.6 billion in revenues, up 1.1% from the prior year's third quarter, driven by softness in server systems sales. Total disk storage systems capacity shipped reached 2,170 petabytes, growing 41.7% year over year.

"While the economic turmoil has already started impacting spending in various IT segments, including PCs and server systems, the market for external disk storage systems remained in stable condition with solid year-over-year growth," said Natalya Yezhkova, research manager, storage systems research at IDC. "Numerous IDC surveys of IT users suggest that storage is one of a few hardware categories where buyers are reluctant to cut spending independent of the economic situation. At the same time, current market conditions and tightening budgets are leading to longer purchasing cycles for storage systems and to the adoption of technologies designed to optimize storage utilization and/or reduce total cost of ownership."

IDC