WW Storage Software Market to Increase 8% in 2011

The worldwide storage software market is forecast to grow 7.8% year over year in 2011 with revenues reaching nearly $13.8 billion, according to the newly relaunched International Data Corporation Worldwide Semiannual Storage Software Tracker.

The Tracker expands upon the IDC Worldwide Storage Software QView by providing wider geographic coverage as well as a semiannual forecast.

"The storage software market spent 2010 recovering from a difficult downturn. Fortunately, there was plenty of pent-up demand and new product innovations to help create momentum in the market," said Eric Sheppard, research director, Storage Software. "Looking forward, demand for storage software appears poised to remain strong around the world as organizations continue to address inefficiencies related to storing, protecting, and managing corporate data."

Of the 55 storage software vendors covered in the Tracker, EMC and Symantec held the top 2 positions for the second half of 2010 (2H10). Combined, the two vendors accounted for nearly 41% of the global market. Within the top 10, there were six vendors that outperformed the global market in terms of growth: Autonomy, CommVault, EMC, HDS, IBM, and NetApp.

Of these, CommVault and HDS achieved the most impressive growth rates. For HDS, the growth was largely driven by its performance in three major functional markets – Storage Infrastructure Software, Archiving Software, and Data Protection and Recovery Software. Commvault’s growth was based primarily on its performance in the Data Protection and Recovery functional market. CommVault also experienced strong growth (greater than 20%) in several country markets (Australia, Germany UK, and the United States) during the second half of 2010.

For 2011, three of the eight functional markets within the storage software market are expected to grow faster than the overall market.

• In the Archiving Software functional market, the greatest growth will come from a handful of key country markets, including the United States, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, India, and Russia.
• In the Data Protection and Recovery Software functional market, high-growth country markets are expected to be Australia, Brazil, China, India, Japan, Korea, and Russia.
• For the Storage Replication Software functional market, countries growing at double-digit pace include Australia, Brazil, China, India and Russia.

The Worldwide Semiannual Storage Software Tracker provides semiannual vendor share data for six geographic regions and 13 of the largest country markets. Additionally, it delivers five-year forecast data for the same geography coverage across all eight functional markets within the storage software area: data protection and recovery software, storage replication software, archiving software, file system software, storage management software, storage infrastructure software, storage device management software, and other storage software. Results are delivered to clients through Excel-based spreadsheets.

"The Storage Software Tracker is a continuation of our commitment to deliver detailed software data to our clients on a regular basis," said Wilvin Chee, associate vice president, Worldwide Software Trackers. "This product, which builds upon the success of the IDC Worldwide Storage Software QView, is designed to deliver a better understanding of which vendors are gaining or losing share across mature and emerging countries. While this knowledge is obviously important to the vendors involved, it is also critical to corporate decision-makers in the purchasing cycle, partners, companies exploring merger and acquisition opportunities, and the investment community."