As the increasing volume of data makes storage a hot
issue, end-users are spending their money carefully, says Frank
Timons
Much has been written in trade publications and vendor marketing
materials on topics such as compliance, virtualisation and
Information Lifecycle Management (ILM). Some of these appear to be
taking off, while others still seem nascent.
There is a clear need to manage data storage more efficiently
and economically. End-users are looking for ways to reduce
complexity while dealing with the continual growth in data storage
capacity. A look at feedback from end-users, resellers and vendors
can illuminate what appears to be hype and what appears to be
reality.
Navigating the murky haze created by vendor marketing buzz and
soundbites from industry pundits can be challenging. According to
our recent surveys, the current environment looks promising for
networked storage.
The volume of data keeps on growing, driven by e-mail,
applications focused on customerretention and the automation of
business processes, and myriad regulatory and compliance issues.
Although 92% of the end-users we surveyed already have some form of
networked storage within existing infrastructures, attach rates are
still relatively under-penetrated.
End-users expect the networked storage attach rate to climb to
68% in 2007 (from 40% today), with the FC SAN server attach rate
climbing to 46% in 2007, up from 29% currently.
So why are IT professionals spending money? Quite simply, to
help their businesses run more smoothly.
Unfortunately, the IT industry's myriad vendors and product
offerings have added to the challenges of competing in the global
economy.
More than two-thirds of end-users voted "complexity" as their
largest IT challenge, suggesting, in our view, that simpler IT
solutions are likely to win out in the marketplace in the longer
term.
Still, 54% of respondents cited "business support" as a spending
priority, reflecting mid-business cycle conditions of spending for
replacement infrastructure and normal operations.
IT investments seem to be driven more by business needs than
technology for technology's sake.
End-users appear to be embracing some newer technologies in
order to address infrastructure needs.
Resellers and end-users sing the praises of server
virtualisation technology, and there appears to be robust demand
for this technology.
More than three-quarters of end-users in our survey are
currently using or planning to use server virtualisation.
Storage virtualisation, while harder to define, is showing some
early signs of interest and limited adoption.
Interestingly, most resellers we surveyed described storage
virtualisation as either "ramping moderately" or "exhibiting strong
demand".
Although there is no consensus on the definition of storage
virtualisation, clearly end-users are demanding better storage
management.
Another hot technology trend we have observed is the move
towards cheaper disc products. The emergence of "good enough" ATA
disc technology has introduced a tough low-cost competitor to both
tape and primary disc.
Some 56% of end-users in our sample are currently using ATA
technology, while a further 29% expressed interest in evaluating
the technology.
Our research suggests the storage industry faces some
interesting cross-currents. Enterprises have a seemingly insatiable
appetite for more data storage capacity and are willing to invest
in technology.
However, these customers are very eager to embrace technologies
that will ultimately reduce the complexity and cost of current IT
environments. All signs seem to point to a winning strategy: "Store
and manage data simpler, faster, cheaper."
Frank Timons is a research analyst at Robert W Baird. He is
presenting a case study at Storage Expo