49 percent of companies in EMEA cite storage managementas the top priority for future storage investment
STOKE POGES, BUCKS, UK - 3October 2003 - Companiesare prioritising storage management when planning their futurestorage investment, according to new research from Hitachi DataSystems.
The new `Hitachi Data Systems Storage Index'*, produced from 630interviews with IT directors across 14 countries in Europe, MiddleEast and Africa (EMEA), shows that 49 percent of IT directors seestorage management as the most important area for investment.
The findings also reveal that the number of companies that havealready implemented some storage management software in place hasrisen to 77 percent from 58 percent just six months ago.
"There has been significant investment in storage managementover the last couple of years, the last six months in particular.That investment will continue as companies strive for operationalefficiency," says John Taffinder, Executive Vice President EMEA,Hitachi Data Systems. "If a company manages multiple storagesystems in different ways, it is wasting money in terms ofutilising capacity, administration time and training."
Other storage technologies highlighted for investment areEnterprise Storage Networks, IP-based Storage Area Networks andNetwork Attached Storage.
The latest Hitachi Data Systems Storage Index also shows that 70percent of companies in EMEA anticipate an increase in storagecapacity demands over the next 12 months. Of those predicting arise, the majority expect a rise in the region of 16-30percent.
The two main drivers behind storage investment remain businesscontinuity and data availability, but meeting complianceregulation, such as Sarbanes-Oxley, is a rising concern.
There is increasing confidence that storage vendors willestablish open standards within the next years, and fears ofredundancy are receding.
*Research note
The `Hitachi Data Systems Storage Index' is third partyresearch, commissioned and owned by Hitachi Data Systems. Datareproduced from the `Hitachi Data Systems Storage Index' must besourced `Hitachi Data Systems Storage Index'.
Findings are based on 630 IT director interviews, coveringAustria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Israel, Italy,Netherlands, Norway, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland andthe UK.
The latest `Hitachi Data Systems Storage Index' is available fordownload at: Q3 '03Storage Index Whitepaper
Hitachi Data Systems enables organizations worldwide to exploitthe full potential of information. Adhering to our TrueNorth™vision and strategy, we provide customers with a broad range ofstorage solutions to simplify, protect and optimize theirinformation infrastructures. Our offerings include centralized anddistributed storage solutions complemented by best-of-breedproducts from channel partners and industry alliances.
With 2,700 employees, Hitachi Data Systems conducts businessthrough direct and indirect channels in the public, government andprivate sectors in over 170 countries and regions. Our customersinclude more than 50 percent of Fortune 100 companies. For moreinformation please visit our Web site at www.hds.com.
Hitachi, Ltd., headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is a leadingglobal electronics company, with approximately 320,000 employeesworldwide. Fiscal 2001 (ended March 31, 2002) consolidated salestotaled 7,994 billion yen ($60.1 billion*). The company offers awide range of systems, products and services in market sectors,including information systems, electronic devices, power andindustrial systems, consumer products, materials and financialservices. For more information on Hitachi, please visit thecompany's Web site at http://global.hitachi.com.
Contacts:
Shirley Virando, Hitachi Data Systems, + 44 (0) 1753 618682,shirley.virando@hds.com
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