The personal storage market is set to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of more than 20pc from 2006 to 2011, estimates analyst firm IDC.
The personal storage market grew by almost 70pc in 2006 and over 30pc so far in 2007.
An increasing number of vendors are attempting to capitalise on this growing segment, which is being driven by the data protection and backup needs of small businesses and consumers.
“Personal storage is a fast-growing product category and has become an important part of the portfolio for many storage vendors,” said Wolfgang Schlichting, research director for removable storage at IDC. “Opportunities for personal storage providers are all about simplistic but fool-proof and effective solutions. The opportunity for enterprise storage OEMs is to provide back-end enterprise storage solutions to companies wishing to engage end-users with online storage services.”
According to IDC, capacity and simplicity will remain key drivers for continued consumer and small business adoption of personal storage, keeping the 3.5-inch form factor and USB configured devices popular.
Ethernet for network as well as direct attached devices will emerge as a popular way to connect besides USB, IDC said. It also suggested that leveraging brand appeal will play an important role in reaching end-users in this market.
By Niall Byrne
