IDC's top 10 storage predictions for 2008 address three areas: new data storage models such as object-based storage; green storage technology, which helps companies reduce their carbon footprint and energy expenditure; and new forms of storage delivery such as online storage services.

IDC's top 10 storage predictions for 2008:

• 1. Storage services models for data backup, archiving, and replication will be more appealing to businesses.

- 2. New role-based storage systems will demand tighter integration between the storage layer and content-generating applications.

• 3. Vendors will build object-based storage systems to classify data and add policies closer to the point of creation.

• 4. Falling prices of solid-state disk drives will push mainstream adoption.

• 5. Virtual servers will become an ideal conduit for iSCSI.

• 6. Value-added storage services will become non-tethered from storage infrastructure.

• 7. Full-disk encryption will be prevalent in the data center to satisfy compliance and safe harbor provision rules.

• 8. Offerings designed for small and midsize businesses featuring integrated storage and server technology will flood the storage market.

• 9. Green storage initiatives will cause companies to seek non-disruptive/partial hardware upgrades.

• 10. De-duplication, thin provisioning and virtual tape libraries will be in demand because of power saving efforts in the data center.

IDC analyst Dave Reinsel says IT executives are having to reassess their storage systems due to the rapid rate of storage capacity growth, which is increasing at a near 60 percent annually, reported Computerworld's Brian Fonseca. Today's considerations must take into account the amount of floor space, which is shrinking rapidly, and rising energy costs.

Online storage services will be piquing executives' interests as well, IDC expects, particularly since these services are now able to provide larger businesses with disaster recovery operations, regulatory compliance needs, and lower storage infrastructure costs.

Reinsel also discussed the expected upturn in the solid-state disk drive technology that will be driven by an anticipated fall in prices and users desire for faster response times and transaction processing as they leverage more and more services via the Web.

"There are very simple situations and application scenarios where solid-state disks will be worth the risk," said Reinsel. "It does promise some great potential benefit in terms of I/O."

Solid-state technology also will make a significant impact on reducing heat from spindle usage in server blade deployments and boost functionality in mobile devices, IDC predicts, noted Fonseca. [...read more...]

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