Disk Storage Market Grows

STAMFORD, Conn., September 5, 2007 Worldwide external controller-based (ECB) disk storage revenue totaled $3.7 billion in the second quarter of 2007, a 3.3 percent increase over the same period in 2006, according to Gartner, Inc.

EMC maintained the No. 1 spot overall, finishing the quarter at 25.2 percent market share (see Table 1). IBM was in second place with 14.8 percent of the market followed by Hewlett-Packard with 13.8 percent. Dell improved its market share to secure the No. 4 spot with 9.2 percent share, overtaking both Hitachi/HDS and NetApp. Dell showed the strongest growth year-over-year among the top-tier vendors, with 25.1 percent revenue growth for the quarter. Hitachi/HDS slipped one spot, ending the quarter in the No. 5 position with 8.2 percent of the market. NetApp slipped to No. 6 with a market share of 7.8 percent. Sun Microsystems rounded out the top vendors, remaining in the No. 7 spot with 4.8 percent market share. The “Others” vendors increased their share of the market by 8.2 percent year-over-year, accounting for 16.2 percent of worldwide revenue in the second quarter.

The Asia/Pacific region increased its revenue by 19 percent year-over-year. “The Asia/Pacific region continues to show great growth opportunities for the disk array storage market,” said Donna Taylor, principal analyst for Gartner’s global Storage Quarterly Statistics program.

The North American region, comprised of the United States and Canada, grew its revenue by 4.5 percent year over year. “Even in an otherwise mature marketplace, rules and regulations in the financial service segments and healthcare have helped drive growth in the region,” Ms. Taylor said.

Table 1: Worldwide External Controller-Based Disk Storage Vendor Revenue Estimates for 2Q07

Gartner Inc.

EMC Corp. (NYSE: EMC)

IBM Corp. (NYSE: IBM)

Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ)

Dell Inc.