China Tape Drive and Tape Automation 2007-2011 Forecast and Analysis

This IDC study provides an overview of the tape storage market in China with an emphasis on storage vendor performance and detailed breakdowns. It introduces China's market drivers and inhibitors, provides an industry overview with industry highlights, and offers regional statistics to describe the market's dynamic trends. Furthermore, the study provides a five-year market forecast, including breakdowns by technology and by tape automation class.

"The competition among IBM, Hewlett-Packard, Sun Microsystems, and Dell will further intensify in most major industries. Although IBM led the tape market in 2006, both Hewlett-Packard and Sun Microsystems are eyeing its volatile market position. The storage market does not solely belong to multinational corporations (MNCs); domestic players are showing an interest and are attracting low-end users. As midrange storage occupies the majority of market share, most MNCs have extensive opportunities to show their strength in both hardware reliability and software maturity. While distributors reorganize and vendors merge, only a few will occupy a large portion of the market, drive market trends, and force users to choose. Moreover, the emergence of new technologies will further impact on market competition and put pressure on mature vendors. From the user perspective, speed, large scales of capacity, and high levels of reliability are what vendors must provide in the future," says Reco Li, senior research analyst, Computing Systems and Storage, IDC China.