Pop Quiz: The Enterprise Backup and Recovery software market is:
Dramatic
Controversial
In the Midst of an Upheaval
All of the Above
Yep. This year the industry analysts are acknowledging the most interesting dynamic that we’ve observed in all of the years that we’ve been in the data protection space. But unfortunately, some publications still missed the mark on a major trend in the evolution of this market space. Here’s why I think so.
Ultimately, all of us in the industry are biased participants – hey, I’m one of them. But the inarguable test for success comes down to customers voting with their wallets. And that measurement is defined by revenue and units, and it is applied to a new, parallel backup market space called Integrated Appliances.
Combining software and hardware into a dedicated function appliance is not a new thing. Fifteen years ago all-in-one small office devices like the Cobalt Qube, Whistle InterJet and Compaq NeoServer were popular. Then NAS devices like the NetApp filer and Snap Server took the file server market apart. More recently, Google built a search appliance and the security industry has had numerous iterations of firewall/VPN and content filtering devices. The news here is that the application is now backup. And that it is occurring, dramatically, in a market that is traditionally very averse to change.
Phil Wandrei’s early cut and Peter Elliman’s more recent blog on the Integrated Appliance space numbers articulate the actual market data from IDC over time.
And for another take on the evolution of appliances and this space, see Abdul Rasheed’s blog here.
Make up your own mind, but use data to inform your decision. Some vendors may selectively hype specific reports that omit critical market sizing and growth information, hiding the fundamentals. It’s like buying a stock without knowing what the company does or why they are going to be successful, while better informed investors are preparing to sell it.
We welcome your comments and engagement on this subject.