The worldwide storage software market is predicted to grow 7.8 per cent year over year in 2011 with revenues reaching nearly $13.8 billion, according to the newly relaunched International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Semiannual Storage Software Tracker.

According to the Corporation, the Tracker expands upon the IDC Worldwide Storage Software QView by providing wider geographic coverage as well as a semiannual forecast.

'The storage software market spent 2010 recovering from a difficult downturn. Fortunately, there was plenty of pent-up demand and new product innovations to help create momentum in the market,' said Eric Sheppard, research director, Storage Software. 'Looking forward, demand for storage software appears poised to remain strong around the world as organizations continue to address inefficiencies related to storing, protecting, and managing corporate data.'

Of the 55 storage software vendors covered in the Tracker, EMC and Symantec held the top two positions for the second half of 2010 (2H10). Combined, the two vendors accounted for nearly 41 per cent of the global market. Within the top 10, there were six vendors that outperformed the global market in terms of growth: Autonomy, CommVault, EMC, Hitachi Data Systems (HDS), IBM, and NetApp. Of these, CommVault and HDS achieved the most impressive growth rates. For HDS, the growth was largely driven by its performance in three major functional markets – Storage Infrastructure Software, Archiving Software, and Data Protection and Recovery Software. Commvault’s growth was based primarily on its performance in the Data Protection and Recovery functional market. CommVault also experienced strong growth (greater than 20 per cent) in several country markets (Australia, Germany UK, and the US) during the second half of 2010.

Growth markets

For 2011, three of the eight functional markets within the storage software market are expected to grow faster than the overall market. In the Archiving Software functional market, the greatest growth will come from a handful of key country markets, including the US, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, India, and Russia. In the Data Protection and Recovery Software functional market, high-growth country markets are expected to be Australia, Brazil, China, India, Japan, Korea, and Russia. For the Storage Replication Software functional market, countries growing at double-digit pace include Australia, Brazil, China, India and Russia.

The Worldwide Semiannual Storage Software Tracker provides semiannual vendor share data for six geographic regions and 13 of the largest country markets.