Sophisticated storage investments continue

data storage systems to improve data protection and file recovery capabilities, Ontrack Data Recovery reveals.

For the seventh consecutive quarter, external controller-based disk storage revenue grew worldwide, totalling $5.1 billion in the third quarter of 2011, according to figures from Gartner.

Across Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), business focus on storage has defied economic woes, according to the consultancy, where conversion from direct attached storage to virtualised servers complements this increase in uptake.

Gartner research VP Roger Cox says the third-quarter, year-over-year worldwide growth rate was the smallest percentage increase in the past seven quarters, CBR notes.

“The North American region, which grew 6.7% in the third quarter, appears to be finally labouring under the weight of an extremely sluggish economy. Moreover, the prolonged debate and uncertainty around the debt ceiling as the quarter came to an end also had a negative influence on third-quarter revenue,” Cox stated.

Although the Asia-Pacific and Latin American regions produced the largest year-over-year revenue gains at 23% and 15%, respectively, the EMEA region continued to show strong growth, despite the economic problems it is beset with.