This IDC study presents results from our Storage Virtualization Survey, which make it clear that the deployment of block, file, and tape virtualization will play a key role in helping companies pool storage resources across multiple classes of storage and applications while shielding server and application administrators from the complexities of configuring storage systems and managing backups. Over the next five years, storage virtualization in all its forms will emerge as a critical competitive battleground in the storage industry. These technologies will drive changes in storage system architectures, spur significant investments in new storage software solutions, and potentially disrupt the current competitive environment.

According to Laura DuBois, research director for Storage Software at IDC, "Storage virtualization has come of age. It's no longer a nascent market with limited user deployments and immature technology. Forty-nine percent of those surveyed in IDC's recent Storage Virtualization Survey are evaluating storage virtualization solutions, and 34% have already implemented such a solution."

"Our survey respondents' high level of interest reflects the growing role that file-centric applications have in many companies," said Richard Villars, vice president of Storage Systems research at IDC. "Given current data-generation trends, file virtualization will emerge as an even more critical market for storage solutions providers."