research report - enterprise strategy group · research report abstract: 2015 data storage market...

Research Report

Abstract: 2015 Data Storage Market Trends

By Mark Peters, Senior Analyst and Bill Lundell, Senior Research Analyst

With Scott Sinclair, Analyst and Jenn Gahm, Senior Project Manager

October 2015

© 2015 by The Enterprise Strategy Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Research Report: 2015 Data Storage Market Trends


Introduction

Research Objectives

In order to assess the current state and future direction of the data storage technology market, ESG recently surveyed 373 North American-based IT and data storage professionals representing midmarket (100 to 999 employees) and enterprise-class (1,000 employees or more) organizations. All respondents were personally responsible for evaluating, purchasing, and managing data storage technology for their organization and were familiar with their organization’s data storage environment and/or strategy—including topics such as storage technology types in use, current storage challenges, and forward-looking data storage plans.

The survey was designed to answer the following questions:

How large is a typical storage environment in terms of disk-based storage system capacity? How has this changed over the last three years?

At what rate are organizations adding storage capacity on an annual basis?

What applications are most responsible for data storage capacity growth?

What types of disk-based storage systems do organizations use? How does this vary according to size and complexity of IT and storage environments?

What challenges do organizations face in terms of their data storage environments? Is it getting easier to manage data storage?

What IT initiatives will have the greatest impact on storage spending over the next 12-18 months?

What are viewed as “must have” storage features and functions? What criteria do organizations use when evaluating storage vendors/solutions?

How pervasive is the adoption of solid-state storage technology? How big do current users and potential adopters believe the solid-state opportunity is within their organizations?

What drove initial deployments of solid-state storage? How does this vary—if at all—among potential adopters?

What solid-state storage implementation types have current users deployed? What do potential adopters expect to use?

What benefits have current users of solid-state storage derived from the technology? Conversely, what challenges have they experienced?

What is the general level of familiarity with software-defined storage? What kind of plans do organizations have for this technology?

What kind of opportunity exists for object storage and what impact do organizations anticipate it having on their current storage footprint, specifically NAS?

How do organizations expect cloud-based application services (i.e., SaaS) to affect their on-premises storage infrastructure and processes?

What impact—if any—has converged/hyper-converged infrastructure technology had on purpose-built, standalone storage system environments?

Survey participants represent a wide range of industries including manufacturing, financial services, communications and media, health care, retail, government, and business services. For more details, please see the Research Methodology and Respondent Demographics sections of this report.



Research Methodology

To gather data for this report, ESG conducted a comprehensive online survey of IT and storage professionals from private- and public-sector organizations in North America (United States and Canada) from May 21 to May 30, 2015. To qualify for this survey, respondents were required to have day-to-day knowledge of or familiarity with their organization’s data storage environment and/or strategy. Additionally, respondents were required to be responsible for evaluating, purchasing, and/or managing data storage technology. All respondents were provided an incentive to complete the survey in the form of cash awards and/or cash equivalents.

After filtering out unqualified respondents, removing duplicate responses, and screening the remaining completed responses (on a number of criteria) for data integrity, ESG was left with a final total sample of 373 IT and storage professionals.

Please see the Respondent Demographics section of this report for more information on these respondents.

Note: Totals in figures and tables throughout this report may not add up to 100% due to rounding.



Respondent Demographics

The data presented in this report is based on a survey of 373 qualified respondents. The figures below detail the demographics of the respondent base, including individual respondents’ primary area of technology responsibility, as well as respondent organizations’ total number of employees, primary industry, annual revenue, amount of disk-based storage capacity, and annual capacity growth rate, among others.

Respondents by Primary Area of Technology Responsibility

Respondents’ primary area of technology responsibility is shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1. Survey Respondents, by Primary Area of Technology Responsibility

Source: Enterprise Strategy Group, 2015.

Respondents by Number of Employees

The number of employees in respondent organizations is shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2. Survey Respondents, by Number of Employees


Senior IT Management (e.g., CIO, VP of IT, Director of IT, etc.),

64%IT Operations, 18%

Servers/Systems Administration, 5%

General IT staff, 5%

Storage/SAN Administration, 2%

Data Protection (e.g., backup/recovery, archive), 2%

Applications/Database, 2% IT Architecture/Planning, 1%

Other, 1%

Which of the following best describes your current area(s) of responsibility within your organization? (Percent of respondents, N=373)

100 to 249, 7%

250 to 499, 10%

500 to 999, 13%

1,000 to 2,499, 21%2,500 to 4,999, 18%

5,000 to 9,999, 13%

10,000 to 19,999, 8%

20,000 or more, 11%

How many total employees does your organization have worldwide? (Percent of respondents, N=373)



Respondents by Age of Organization

The age of respondent organizations is shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3. Survey Respondents, by Age of Organization


Respondents by Industry

Respondents were asked to identify their organization’s primary industry. In total, ESG received completed, qualified respondents from individuals in 20 distinct vertical industries, plus an “Other” category. Respondents were then grouped into the broader categories shown in Figure 4.

Figure 4. Survey Respondents, by Industry


1 to 5 years, 5%

6 to 10 years, 19%

11 to 20 years, 30%

21 to 50 years, 29%

More than 50 years, 17%

Don’t know, 1%

For approximately how long has your current employer been in existence? (Percent of respondents, N=373)

Manufacturing, 19%

Retail/Wholesale, 15%

Financial (banking, securities, insurance),

13%Business Services

(accounting, consulting, legal, etc.), 12%

Health Care, 10%

Communications & Media, 7%

Government (Federal/National,

State/Province/Local), 3%

Other, 21%

What is your organization’s primary industry? (Percent of respondents, N=373)



Respondents by Annual Revenue

Respondent organizations’ annual revenue is shown in Figure 5.

Figure 5. Survey Respondents, by Annual Revenue


Respondents by Number of Production Servers

The number of production servers in respondent organizations is shown in Figure 6.

Figure 6. Survey Respondents, by Number of Production Servers


6% 6%5%

8%

11%12%

13%

16%

12%

6%

3%2%

0%

2%

4%

6%

8%

10%

12%

14%

16%

18%

Less than$50

million

$50million to$74.999million

$75million to$99.999million

$100million to$249.999

million


million


million


million

$1 billionto $4.999

billion

$5 billionto $9.999

billion

$10billion to$19.999billion

$20billion or

more

Notapplicable

(e.g.,publicsector,non-

profit)

What is your organization’s total annual revenue ($US)? (Percent of respondents, N=373)

6%

9%

14%15%

16%

13%14%

8%

5%

0%

2%

4%

6%

8%

10%

12%

14%

16%

18%

Less than25

25 to 49 50 to 100 101 to 250 251 to 500 501 to1,000

1,001 to2,500

2,501 to5,000

More than5,000

Please consider your organization’s computing environment. Approximately how many production servers (whether physical or virtual) are supported worldwide by your IT

organization? (Percent of respondents, N=373)



Respondents by Total Disk-based Storage System Capacity

The total amount of disk-based storage system capacity is shown in Figure 7.

Figure 7. Survey Respondents, by Total Disk-based Storage System Capacity


Respondents by Annual Data Storage Capacity Growth Rate

The approximate annual data storage capacity growth rate is shown in Figure 8

Figure 8. Survey Respondents, by Approximate Annual Data Storage Capacity Growth Rate


4%

9%

13%

17% 17%

19%

10%

4% 4% 4%

0%

2%

4%

6%

8%

10%

12%

14%

16%

18%

20%

Less than25 TB

25 TB to49 TB

50 TB to99 TB

100 TB to249 TB

250 TB to499 TB

500 TB to999 TB

1 PB to2.499 PB

2.5 PB to4.999 PB

5 PB to9.999 PB

10 PB ormore

To the best of your knowledge, what is your organization’s total installed capacity associated with disk-based storage systems? (Percent of respondents, N=340)

10%

25%

15%13% 12%

8%6%

3% 3% 3%

0%2%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

1% to10%

annually

11% to20%

annually

21% to30%

annually

31% to40%

annually

41% to50%

annually

51% to60%

annually

61% to70%

annually

71% to80%

annually

81% to90%

annually

91% to100%

annually

Morethan100%

annually

Don’t know

At approximately what rate do you believe your data storage capacity is growing annually? (Percent of respondents, N=373)



Respondents by Role of Data Storage Technology in IT and Business Operations

Figure 9 reveals the role data storage technology plays in respondent organizations’ IT and business operations.

Figure 9. Survey Respondents, by Role of Data Storage Technology in Business and IT Operations


Strategic – effective storage strategies are

critical to core applications / business

processes and can lead to competitive advantage

for our organization, 61%

Tactical – storage is an important part of our

IT operations but it not viewed as a strategic

tool or asset, 35%

After-thought –storage is necessary but we don't think

about it much unless we need to add new

capacity, 3%

Don't know / no opinion, 1%

Which of the following best describes the role that data storage technology plays in your organization's IT and business operations? (Percent of respondents, N=373)



Contents

List of Figures ................................................................................................................................................ 3

List of Tables ................................................................................................................................................. 4

Executive Summary ...................................................................................................................................... 5 Report Conclusions ................................................................................................................................................... 5

Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 7 Research Objectives ................................................................................................................................................. 7

Research Findings ......................................................................................................................................... 8 General Storage Environment .................................................................................................................................. 8 Solid-state Storage Usage Trends ........................................................................................................................... 17 Threats to the Storage Status Quo ......................................................................................................................... 24

Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................... 31

Research Methodology ............................................................................................................................... 33

Respondent Demographics......................................................................................................................... 34 Respondents by Primary Area of Technology Responsibility ................................................................................. 34 Respondents by Number of Employees ................................................................................................................. 34 Respondents by Age of Organization ..................................................................................................................... 35 Respondents by Industry ........................................................................................................................................ 35 Respondents by Annual Revenue ........................................................................................................................... 36 Respondents by Number of Production Servers .................................................................................................... 36 Respondents by Total Disk-based Storage System Capacity .................................................................................. 37 Respondents by Annual Data Storage Capacity Growth Rate ................................................................................ 37 Respondents by Role of Data Storage Technology in IT and Business Operations ................................................ 38



List of Figures Figure 1. Total Disk-based Storage System Capacity, 2012 versus 2015 .................................................................... 8 Figure 2. Total Installed Disk-Based Storage System Capacity, by Total Number of Production Servers ................... 9 Figure 3. Percent of Organizations with Disk-based Storage System Capacity of 500 TB or More, 2010 versus 2012

versus 2015 .................................................................................................................................................... 9 Figure 4. Annual Data Storage Capacity Growth Rate .............................................................................................. 10 Figure 5. Applications/Workloads Responsible for Organization’s Storage Growth Over the Next 24 Months ...... 11 Figure 6. Types of On-premises Disk-based Storage Used ........................................................................................ 12 Figure 7. Challenges with Organization’s Storage Environment ............................................................................... 13 Figure 8. IT Initiatives That Will Impact Storage Spending Over the Next 12 Months ............................................. 14 Figure 9. ‘Must Have’ Storage Features and Capabilities ......................................................................................... 15 Figure 10. Most Important Criteria When Selecting a Storage Vendor/Solution ..................................................... 16 Figure 11. Solid-state Storage Usage Trends ............................................................................................................ 17 Figure 12. Percentage of Corporate Applications/Workloads that Require Solid-state Levels of Performance ...... 18 Figure 13. Drivers for Initial Deployment (Current Users) or Consideration (Potential Adopters) of Solid-state

Storage ......................................................................................................................................................... 20 Figure 14. Solid-state Storage Implementation Types among Current Users........................................................... 21 Figure 15. Solid-state Storage Implementation Types among Potential Adopters .................................................. 21 Figure 16. Benefits Realized from Solid-state Storage Usage ................................................................................... 22 Figure 17. Challenges Experienced with Solid-state Storage .................................................................................... 23 Figure 18. Organization’s Perspective on Software-defined Storage ....................................................................... 24 Figure 19. Current or Expected Software-defined Storage Implementation Strategy Based on SDS Deployment

Plans ............................................................................................................................................................. 25 Figure 20. Factors Responsible for Consideration of Software-defined Storage ...................................................... 26 Figure 21. Usage of Object Storage Technology ....................................................................................................... 27 Figure 22. Factors Responsible for Deployment/Consideration of Object Storage Technology .............................. 27 Figure 23. Will Usage of Object Storage Technology Impact NAS Footprint? .......................................................... 28 Figure 24. How SaaS Impacted Organization’s Existing On-premises Disk-based Storage Infrastructure................ 29 Figure 25. Impact of Converged Infrastructure Technology on Traditional Data Storage Footprint ........................ 30 Figure 26. Level of Influence Storage Team Has on Evaluation and Selection Process for Converged Infrastructure

...................................................................................................................................................................... 30 Figure 27. Five Year Outlook on On-premises Data Storage Infrastructure ............................................................. 31 Figure 28. Survey Respondents, by Primary Area of Technology Responsibility ...................................................... 34 Figure 29. Survey Respondents, by Number of Employees ...................................................................................... 34 Figure 30. Survey Respondents, by Age of Organization .......................................................................................... 35 Figure 31. Survey Respondents, by Industry ............................................................................................................. 35 Figure 32. Survey Respondents, by Annual Revenue ................................................................................................ 36 Figure 33. Survey Respondents, by Number of Production Servers ......................................................................... 36 Figure 34. Survey Respondents, by Total Disk-based Storage System Capacity ....................................................... 37 Figure 35. Survey Respondents, by Approximate Annual Data Storage Capacity Growth Rate ............................... 37 Figure 36. Survey Respondents, by Role of Data Storage Technology in Business and IT Operations ..................... 38



List of Tables Table 1. Applications/Workloads Responsible for Organization’s Storage Growth, 2012 versus 2015 ................... 11 Table 2. Larger Production Server Footprints Drive Larger SAN Deployments ........................................................ 12 Table 3. Current Usage of Solid-state Storage, by Company Size: 2012 versus 2015 ............................................... 17 Table 4. Current Usage of Solid-state Storage, by Role of Data Storage Technology in IT and Business Operations

...................................................................................................................................................................... 18 Table 5. Current Solid-state Users See a Larger Opportunity for the Technology .................................................... 19 Table 6. Software-defined Storage First Movers by Annual Storage Capacity Growth and Number of Production

Servers .......................................................................................................................................................... 25

All trademark names are property of their respective companies. Information contained in this publication has been obtained by sources The Enterprise Strategy Group (ESG) considers to be reliable but is not warranted by ESG. This publication may contain opinions of ESG, which are subject to change from time to time. This publication is copyrighted by The Enterprise Strategy Group, Inc. Any reproduction or redistribution of this publication, in whole or in part, whether in hard-copy format, electronically, or otherwise to persons not authorized to receive it, without the express consent of The Enterprise Strategy Group, Inc., is in violation of U.S. copyright law and will be subject to an action for civil damages and, if applicable, criminal prosecution. Should you have any questions, please contact ESG Client Relations at 508.482.0188.

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