IDC: Demand for Cloud Will Boost Storage

The research firm IDC has released a new study that forecasts enterprise spending on storage for the private cloud to see a compound annual growth rate of 28.9% from 2010 to 2015, driven in large part by the demand for both public and private cloud services.

Overall spending by public cloud service providers on storage hardware, software, and professional services, meanwhile, is expected to grow at a CAGR of 23.6% from 2010 to 2015. By 2015, combined spending for public and private cloud storage will be $22.6 billion worldwide, the study predicts.

IDC notes that the most significant driver of storage consumption over the past three years has been the emergence of public cloud-based application and infrastructure providers, in particular because cloud-based service providers and content providers like iTunes and Facebook act as “content depots” that require massive storage capacity to allow access to content. The increasing popularity of offering IT infrastructure and apps “as a service” is also a major contributor to the uptick in storage spending, the study notes. Private cloud deployment by large enterprises and the need for archival storage also is a major contributor, particularly when it comes to government and research organizations, according to IDC.

The IDC study points out five information requirements that are driving storage demands in the public and private cloud:

The IDC report, titled “Worldwide Enterprise Storage for Public and Private Cloud 2011-2015 Forecast: Enabling Public Cloud Service Providers and Private Clouds,” is available from IDC’s website.