Milan, May 31, 2002 - At the first date in IDC's European Storage Roadshow, held in Milan this week, IDC revealed its expectation that the worldwide storage market will reach a value of $71 billion by 2004. Of that amount, the software and services sectors will account for $9 billion and $24 billion, respectively, representing the fastest growing areas of the storage market. At the two-day event, which attracted more than 300 attendees, IDC analysts and the principal Italian operators of this segment stressed that today storage and information management solutions represent not only a technological "must," but also, and most importantly, a competitive variable of paramount importance for all kinds of companies.
As Fiber Channel begins to make its way into storage environments and iSCSI (small computer systems interface protocol over IP) and infiniband become the hot topics for future interconnects, how do businesses choose between them? In her presentation at the conference, Zarah Damji, Senior Research Analyst, European Storage Systems, covered the different technologies available to end users and outlined where IDC sees each of them playing a role. "For the moment we see iSCSI playing a role in SMBs that prefer to stick to known brands," said Damji. "This will push Fiber Channel into the higher end, where performance is more of an issue. On the other hand, infiniband will probably remain a server-to-server interconnect, or will be used in clustering environments and direct attached storage."
Storage solutions have a deep impact not only on the corporate IT environment (both on middleware and core applications and also as a basis for server consolidation activities), but also on clients' corporate functions of information assets: marketing, sales, administration, and management. Storage will also play a central role in the total cost of ownership in corporate technological infrastructures.
With new developments in storage hardware, software, and networking technologies, it is vital that end users keep abreast of trends. In his presentation Claus Egge, Program Director, European Storage Expertise Center, IDC, covered the concepts of virtualization, storage resource management, and networking within the context of enabling end users to unlock value from their storage. "Storage has become more strategic within end-user organizations," said Egge. "As IT managers become more directly involved in storage issues, it is of vital importance that they know where the different pieces of the storage puzzle fit together and interact."
Further Dates on IDC's Storage Roadshow
· Central and Eastern Europe, June 5, 2002, Warsaw, Poland
· Nordic, June 12, 2002, Radisson SAS Falconer Hotel, Copenhagen · Germany, June 13, 2002, Hotel Hilton, Frankfurt · UK, June 18, 2002, London · France, 25 June,2002, Hotel Lutetia, Paris · Spain, June 27, 2002, Hotel Ritz, Madrid
For further information on the remaining dates of IDC's Storage Roadshow 2002, or to register, please visit: http://emea.idc.com/getdoc.jhtml?containerId=IDC_P5116
Main Topics to be Addressed Include:
· iSCSI, Fibre Channel, Ethernet: New topologies - Where do they fit? · Virtualisation: What is its role in Hardware & Software? · Your Existing and The New Storage: Unlocking the value · Storage Management. Preparing for Networked Storage · Storage Software: How many types do we need? · Networked Storage: SAN & NAS Converging · Business Continuance: How do smaller enterprises join in? · Backup & Recovery: Has Tape had its day?
About IDC
IDC is the foremost global market intelligence and advisory firm helping clients gain insight into technology and ebusiness trends to develop sound business strategies. Using a combination of rigorous primary research, in-depth analysis, and client interaction, IDC forecasts worldwide markets and trends to deliver dependable service and client advice. More than 700 analysts in 43 countries provide global research with local content. IDC's customers comprise the world's leading IT suppliers, IT organizations, ebusiness companies, and the financial community. Additional information can be found at www.idc.com.
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For more information, contact:
Francesco Corra
+39 02 28457.315
fcorra@idc.com