2022 Cloud Block Storage Market

This report was written on May 16, 2022 by Anina Ot, Enterprise Storage Forum.

The Cloud Block Storage Market in 2022

Cloud block storage is a storage technology that’s used for files in SANs. Also known as block-level storage, it enables fast access to data for processing and transportation.

In cloud-based block storage, data is broken into fixed-size blocks, where every individual piece operates as an individual storage HDD. This type of cloud storage is most commonly used by developers and software engineer for its speed and reliability.

See below to learn all about the global cloud block storage market:

Cloud block storage market
Cloud block storage is a segment of the global cloud storage market which was valued at $70.19 billion in 2021 and forecast to reach $376.37 billion by 2029, maintaining a CAGR of 24%.
 
This segment alone is forecast to grow at a CAGR of 23.5% during the forecasting period from 2021 to 2027.

By geographic region, the cloud storage market is forecast to grow as follows:
• North America held 41.1% of the global market at a value of $34.33 billion in 2020
• China had a $19.45 billion share in 2020 and is forecast to reach $67.46 billion by 2024
• AsiaPac had a 28.25% share in 2020, worth $43.14 billion

By industry vertical, the banking, financial services, and insurance (BFSI) industry made up 23.1% of the global cloud storage market in 2021, closely followed by the IT and telecommunications sectors.

Other notable industries as end users include:
• Government
• Manufacturing
• Healthcare
• Life sciences
• Retail and consumer goods
• M&E

Cloud block storage features
Cloud block storage works by dividing and organizing sets of raw data into individual blocks with dedicated addresses.

Any changes to a file – from adding, removing, or editing data – are conducted as an update to the data block itself. This feature makes block storage the storage type for tasks that require heavy amounts of read and write commands.

Cloud block storage features also include:
Storage agility
By storing data as individual blocks, block storage supports data movement between servers. This allows for self-service data exploration without having to depend on the IT infrastructure.
High performance
Block storage boosts data management and processing performance. It enables users to rapidly and easily access the data in order to perform changes, edits, cuts, or any type of data manipulation.
Storage flexibility
Block storage is flexible and can be scaled up and down instantly, depending on the user’s needs. Block storage also has a roof for storage capacity, before the volume starts affecting server performance.
Efficiency with containerization 
Block storage lets users define and launch containers, due to its flexibility and agility. Containerization also benefits from block storage’s data processing speeds and the ability to host multiple blocks at a time.

“Block storage devices provide fixed-sized raw storage capacity. Each storage volume can be treated as an independent disk drive and controlled by an external server OS. This block device can be mounted by the guest OS as if it were a physical disk,” says Nitheesh Poojary, a solution architect, in a post at Cloud Academy.

Benefits of cloud block storage
As a form of cloud storage, block storage has numerous benefits for the organization using it.

Benefits of cloud block storage include:
• Scalable
• Ability to backup data off server
• Storage space sharing across multiple servers
• Simplicity of file modification
• Booting OS on server
• Eliminate file system overhead
• Manage data and access permissions

Cloud block storage use cases
The following case studies show how organizations in different industries are using cloud block storage solutions:

NTT Global Data Centers
The NTT Global Data Centers in Frankfurt, Germany is one of Europe’s largest centers of colocation and intercommunication services. The center enables organizations to learn about data center technologies, formulate use cases, and test them live from edge to cloud.

Since efficient and reliable storage is essential for NTT, it’s important for them to have leading storage solutions for enterprise clients.

Requesting the help of Toshiba Storage, NTT had Toshiba install reliable and high-performance hardware to support their needs. Together, they landed on several iSCSI block storage servers, ranging from 10TB to 40TB in storage capacity.

“The Technology Experience Lab benefits a lot from this storage solution, and we are truly impressed by its continuous stability. Set up within our highly available data centers, I can’t imagine a more reliable way of running enterprise storage,” says Dominik Friedel, business development manager, NTT Global Data Centers. “We’re looking forward to many more years of failure-free operation.”

NTT’s storage system ran failure-free for 4 years. The only downtime on record is a scheduled 10mn used for installing features and updates.

RepricerExpress
RepricerExpress is an automated feedback solution specifically designed for e-commerce businesses. Their software serves over 4,200 Amazon and eBay sellers, allowing them to automatically customize their pricing strategies.

With a renewal contract for hosting expected to cost 20% more, RepricerExpress opted to change its cloud infrastructure to AWS.

Using multiple AWS solutions, such as Amazon Simple Queue Service, Amazon Elastic Block Store, and AWS Directory Service for its Microsoft servers, it was able to decrease data costs by $60,000 a year, while improving cloud computing performance.

“The most exciting thing is that it’s a managed service, so we won’t have to worry about updates and all the other maintenance overhead for our Windows VMs,” says Damian Elder, DevOps engineer, RepricerExpress. “It’s an easy migration to AWS. … AWS services are up to the task.“

Cornerstone OnDemand
Cornerstone OnDemand, Inc. is a cloud-based tech and software development learning provider. Based in Santa Monica, CA, it is dedicated to helping their 75 million platform subscribers better manage recruitment, onboarding, and workflow performance through analytics and social collaboration.

To maintain their cloud-first approach, it needed to uphold strict service-level agreements for sensitive customer data moving DR to the AWS cloud. Using Pure Storage Cloud Block Store allowed them to increase speed, flexibility, and security of their hybrid cloud environment.

“We have two main trackers: our RPOs and RTOs. Right out of the gate, they had to be validated and attested to, and we achieved that with Pure Cloud Block Store,” says Wes North, assistant VP and technology operations, Cornerstone OnDemand. “And having that, sort of, pay-as-you-go model and the cost-per-gig basis is really, really advantageous.”

With Pure Storage, Cornerstone was able to streamline data movement across their hybrid cloud environment and automatically replicate data from on-premises to AWS in 15 minutes, while cutting cloud storage costs in half.

Cloud block storage providers
Some of the leading vendors in the global cloud block storage market include:
• Dell Technologies
• Hewlett Packard Enterprise
• IBM
• NetApp
• Fujitsu
• AWS
• Pure Storage
• Microsoft
• Zadara
• Google Cloud