Worldwide Storage 2010 Top 10 Predictions: Capitalizing on Transformations in Investment Strategies, Sustainable Scaling, and New Business Opportunities

This IDC study represents the collective views of IDC's research analysts worldwide and provides our view on the top 10 predictions that will change the storage industry as a whole through 2010.

Our combined view is that the storage industry is at the beginning of a considerable transformation in which storage will move from a supportive and peripheral role to being one of an essential and fundamental pillar on which IT infrastructures will be architected.

"In revenue terms, 2010 will essentially be flat, but the fundamentals by which storage is acquired, consumed, provisioned, and managed will change dramatically. The consideration of data and information as digital assets will drive organizations to reconsider the way they protect and preserve these assets and create an expectation of return and value against which storage investments will be measured." — Benjamin S. Woo, IDC research vice president of Storage Systems