Total worldwide enterprise storage systems factory revenue grew 7.2% year over year to nearly $10.6 billion during the fourth quarter of 2014 (4Q14), according to the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Disk Storage Systems Tracker. Total capacity shipments were up 43.7% year over year to 31.8 exabytes during the quarter. Spending for the full year was up 3.6% to $36.2 billion. Full-year capacity consumption was up 43% to 99.2 exabytes.

"The storage market had a strong finish to 2014," said Eric Sheppard, Research Director, Storage. "Fourth quarter spending on enterprise storage systems was up strongly in most major geographic markets, driven by traditional year-end seasonality, demand for midrange systems that incorporate flash capacity, and continued growth of systems designed for hyperscale datacenters."

4Q14 Total Disk Storage Systems Market Results

EMC finished 4Q14 in the top position within the total worldwide enterprise storage systems market, accounting for 22.2% of all spending. The number 2 position was held by HP, which captured 13.8% of spending during the quarter. Dell and IBM ended the quarter in a statistical tie*, with each accounting for 9.0% of global spending. As a single group, storage systems sales by original design manufacturers (ODMs) selling directly to hyperscale datacenter customers accounted for 12.8% of global spending during the quarter.

Top 5 Vendors, Worldwide Total Disk Storage Systems Market, Fourth Quarter of 2014(Revenues are in Millions)

                                Vendor    

4Q14Revenue

   

4Q14 MarketShare

   

4Q13Revenue

   

4Q13 MarketShare

   

4Q14/4Q13RevenueGrowth

1. EMC     $2,352     22.2%     $2,276     23.1%     3.3% 2. HP     $1,456     13.8%     $1,389     14.1%     4.8% 3. Dell*     $952     9.0%     $905     9.2%     5.2% 3. IBM*†     $951     9.0%     $1,248     12.7%     -23.8% 5. NetApp     $764     7.2%     $791     8.0%     -3.5% ODM Direct     $1,357     12.8%     $973     9.9%     39.4% Others     $2,740     25.9%     $2,281     23.1%     20.2% All Vendors     $10,571     100.0%     $9,864     100.0%     7.2%

Source: IDC Worldwide Quarterly Disk Storage Systems Tracker, March 5, 2015

* Note: IDC declares a statistical tie in the worldwide disk storage systems market when there is less than one percent difference in the revenue share of two or more vendors.

Note: IBM's 4Q2014 revenue excludes x86 servers due to the sale of that business to Lenovo.

In addition to the table above, an interactive graphic showing the worldwide market share of the top 5 total disk storage systems vendors over the previous five quarters is available here. Instructions on how to embed this graphic into online news articles and social media can be found by viewing this press release on IDC.com.

4Q14 External Disk Storage Systems Results

EMC was the largest external storage systems supplier during the quarter. The company accounted for 32.9% of sales, which was the same share as the previous year. IBM and NetApp generated 11.7% and 10.7% of total sales during the quarter, respectively. HP generated 9.6% of the revenue during the quarter.

Top 5 Vendors, Worldwide External Disk Storage Systems Market, Fourth Quarter of 2014(Revenues are in Millions)

                                Vendor    

4Q14Revenue

   

4Q14 MarketShare

   

4Q13Revenue

   

4Q13 MarketShare

   

4Q14/4Q13RevenueGrowth

1. EMC     $2,352     32.9%     $2,276     32.9%     3.3% 2. IBM     $837     11.7%     $901     13.0%     -7.2% 3. NetApp     $764     10.7%     $791     11.4%     -3.5% 4. HP     $689     9.6%     $667     9.6%     3.3% 5. Hitachi     $577     8.1%     $558     8.1%     3.5% Others     $1,931     27.0%     $1,720     24.9%     12.3% All Vendors     $7,149     100.0%     $6,913     100.0%     3.4%

Source: IDC Worldwide Quarterly Disk Storage Systems Tracker, March 5, 2015

Open Networked Disk Storage Systems Highlights

The total open networked disk storage market (NAS Combined with non-mainframe SAN) was up 6.1% year over year to $6.3 billion in revenue. EMC maintained its leadership in the total open networked storage market with 35.7% revenue share. NetApp and IBM generated 12.1% and 11.1% of revenue respectively.

Taxonomy Notes:IDC defines a Disk Storage System as a set of storage elements, including controllers, cables, and (in some instances) host bus adapters, associated with three or more disks. A system may be located outside of or within a server cabinet and the average cost of the disk storage systems does not include infrastructure storage hardware (i.e. switches) and non-bundled storage software.

The information in this quantitative study is based on a branded view of the disk storage systems sale. Revenue associated with the products to the end user is attributed to the seller (brand) of the product, not the manufacturer. Original equipment manufacturer (OEM) sales are not included in this study. In this study, Hitachi Data Systems (HDS) sales do not reflect their OEM sales to Sun Microsystems and Hewlett-Packard.

IDC's Worldwide Disk Storage Systems Quarterly Tracker is a quantitative tool for analyzing the global disk storage market on a quarterly basis. The Tracker includes quarterly shipments and revenues (both customer and factory), Terabytes, $/Gigabyte, Gigabyte/Unit, and Average Selling Value. Each criteria can be segmented by location, installation base, operating system, vendor, family, model, and region.

For more information about IDC's Worldwide Disk Storage Systems Quarterly Tracker, please contact Lidice Fernandez at 305-351-3057 or lfernandez@idc.com.

About IDCInternational 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 subsidiary of IDG, the world's leading technology media, research, and events company. To learn more about IDC, please visit www.idc.com. Follow IDC on Twitter at @IDC.

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IDCEric Sheppard, 508-988-7925esheppard@idc.comorMichael Shirer, 508-935-4200press@idc.com