WW Storage Software Market in 3Q11 With Record Revenues Since 9 Years

Storage software revenues reached nearly $3.5 billion in the third quarter of 2011 (3Q11), a 9.7% increase over the same quarter in 2010.

This makes 3Q11 the second largest revenue-generating quarter in the nine years that International Data Corporation has been tracking the market. Over the past nine years, only the first quarter of 2011 has generated more revenue than during 3Q11, according to IDC’s Worldwide Storage Software QView.

Six of the seven functional markets covered within the Worldwide Storage Software QView experienced year-over-year revenue growth. Four markets grew at double-digit rates during the quarter.

Archiving Software and Storage & Device Management Software experienced the strongest increase in demand with 12.2% and 11.3% year-over-year growth, respectively.

Data Protection and Recovery Software accounted for 34.9% of total revenue in 3Q11 and was once again the largest contributor to incremental revenue compared to 3Q10.

EMC, Symantec, and IBM were the top ranking storage software suppliers with market shares of 24.5%, 15.3%, and 14.0% respectively. All suppliers covered within the QView experienced year-over-year growth in storage software revenues. HP experienced the largest year-over-year increase during the quarter, up 38.2%, primarily due to the company’s acquisition of 3PAR.

"Demand for storage software products remains near all-time highs," said Eric Sheppard, research director with IDC’s Storage Software program. "The market has broadly exited the recent phase of product refresh, yet sales continue to increase at impressive rates as users and suppliers come together to help improve the way organizations utilize, manage, and protect their valuable corporate data and storage resources."
 
                            WW Storage Software Revenues in 3Q11
                                       (Revenues in $ millions)

 
(Source: IDC Worldwide Quarterly Storage Software QView,
  December 2011)