This IDC study reviews IDC's storage team's 2006 storage predictions and highlights the major technology and market forces that will shape the storage mechanisms, systems, software, and services industries in the next 18 months.

Strong growth in demand for storage capacity by businesses and individuals and a desire to manage that growing capacity more effectively will dominate trends in the storage market in 2007. The creation and ongoing use of data is expanding at a rate unimaginable by most companies even a few years ago. At the same time, IT organizations face pressure to accommodate this storage growth without significantly increasing capital expenditures or staffing levels.

"This year, both the storage and the server industries will take steps to bridge the gap between their virtualization solutions," said Richard Villars, vice president of Storage Systems research at IDC. "We expect to see enhancements at multiple levels, including SAN drivers, data replication, and integration between server and storage virtualization management platforms."

"The storage of 'family critical' information on 'in-home' storage assets such as personal storage devices, DVRs, and gaming systems will generate an emerging service opportunity for data migration and protection solutions," said Dave Reinsel, director of Storage Systems research at IDC. "Look to leading consumer device and content-centric companies to deliver products and services that meet the increasing needs of consumers and small businesses, from the most novice to the very tech savvy."