Enterprise Storage Market Grew 14% in Q3
December 1, 2017 | IDCEstimated reading time: 2 minutes

Total worldwide enterprise storage systems factory revenue was up 14.0% year over year and reached $11.8 billion in the third quarter of 2017 (3Q17), according to the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Enterprise Storage Systems Tracker. Total capacity shipments were up 22.4% year over year to 72.5 exabytes during the quarter. Revenue growth increased within the group of original design manufacturers (ODMs) that sell directly to hyperscale datacenters. This portion of the market was up 54.8% year over year to just under $2.7 billion. Sales of server-based storage increased 8.7% during the quarter and accounted for $3.5 billion in revenue. External storage systems remained the largest market segment, with the $5.6 billion in sales represented an increase of 4.1% year over year.
"The enterprise storage market finished the third quarter of 2017 on a positive note, posting strong year-over-year growth and the first double-digit growth in several years," said Liz Conner, research manager, Storage Systems. "All Flash, software-defined, and converged/hyperconverged systems continue to be the driving force for traditional storage vendors. Meanwhile, hyperscalers once again saw event-driven storage requirements lead to strong growth in this segment during the third quarter."
3Q17 Total Enterprise Storage Systems Market Results, by Company
HPE/New H3C Group held the number 1 position within the total worldwide enterprise storage systems market, accounting for 20.2% of spending. Dell Inc held the next position with a 18.8% share of revenue during the quarter. NetApp finished third with 6.0% market share. IBM and Hitachi finished in a tie* for the fourth position, capturing 4.3% and 4.0% of global spending, respectively. As a single group, storage systems sales by original design manufacturers (ODMs) selling directly to hyperscale datacenter customers accounted for 22.7% of global spending during the quarter.
3Q17 External Enterprise Storage Systems Results, by Company
Dell Inc was the largest external enterprise storage systems supplier during the quarter, accounting for 28.8% of worldwide revenues. NetApp finished in the number 2 position and HPE in the number 3 position with 12.5% and 11.4% of market share, respectively. IBM and Hitachi rounded out the top 5 in a tie* with revenue shares of 8.7% and 8.3%, respectively.
Flash-Based Storage Systems Highlights
The total All Flash Array (AFA) market generated just shy of $1.6 billion in revenue during the quarter, up 38.1% year over year. The Hybrid Flash Array (HFA) segment of the market continues to be a significant part of the overall market with $2.3 billion in revenue and 19.1% of the total market share.
About IDC
International Data Corporation (IDC) is the premier global provider of market intelligence, advisory services, and events for the information technology, telecommunications, and consumer technology markets. With more than 1,100 analysts worldwide, IDC offers global, regional, and local expertise on technology and industry opportunities and trends in over 110 countries. IDC's analysis and insight helps IT professionals, business executives, and the investment community to make fact-based technology decisions and to achieve their key business objectives. Founded in 1964, IDC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of International Data Group (IDG), the world's leading media, data and marketing services company that activates and engages the most influential technology buyers.
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