This IDC study assesses the next stages of storage infrastructure development as organizations' information requirements evolve and new technologies emerge. It presents a five-stage model of how organizations will define shifting storage requirements and identify which technologies they will evaluate at each stage. Specific issues examined include the difficulties and pain associated with existing storage area networks (SANs), the benefits and future issues associated with virtualized storage, and the emergence of grid-based storage solutions. Finally, the study identifies the key software sectors that will be important in storage systems development as organizations advance toward dynamic IT. IDC believes that virtualized, grid-based storage systems are the natural successor to SANs for users in the advanced stages of development. The limits of SANs are articulated. The goals and benefits for grid-based storage systems also are presented. A ten-year projection for the available portion of the network storage market is offered.

"A major transformation in IT infrastructure is already underway," states Robert Gray research VP, Storage Systems. "Future storage systems will be virtualized, grid based, and have overall cost structures and capabilities not possible with conventional SANs."