Features - Enterprise Data Insights:

STO CONSTITUTES 12%-15% OF TOTAL IT BUDGET, SAYS META GROUP

META Group Inc has announced the availability of its newest METAspectrum market evaluation for the enterprise storage-area network (SAN)-attached storage market.

The SAN-attached storage market is defined by servers accessing disk storage resources via channel-based networks that principally use the Fibre Channel protocol. Fibre Channel will remain the dominant SAN architecture in data center deployments through 2006/07 according to META Group.

Decisions regarding selection and purchase of enterprise SAN storage solutions are largely made by senior-level IT executives and CIOs -- more than 70% of CIOs provide final approval for such decisions. This attention is due largely to the importance of storage infrastructure and the fact that storage constitutes 12%-15% of the total IT budget.

"As vendors keep on introducing new products and capabilities, IT organizations must balance their evaluation of strategic storage partners and technology considerations," says Phil Goodwin, program director with META Group's Server Infrastructure Strategies service. "We advise clients to consolidate their strategic storage vendors to one or two platforms to simplify operations, reduce training, and improve organizational agility. An enterprise shortlist would normally be made up of leaders and challengers, but other products can be considered on a best-of-breed basis for a particular application."

Key Findings and Guidance

The Enterprise SAN-Attached Storage METAspectrum evaluates 13 companies. The analysis found:

• EMC is the market leader in the enterprise SAN storage market.
• Market leaders must have a well-balanced score of presence and performance.
• Most challengers are divided into two groups: those rating higher in performance and those faring better in presence.
• Followers do not have well-balanced and effective SAN storage products and strategies. They should be evaluated on an individual and tactical basis.
• A storage infrastructure is necessary to support an integrated application portfolio.
• The enterprise SAN-attached storage market is highly competitive and will undergo significant changes during the next 24 months. Most innovation will occur in management software, whereas hardware is maturing more rapidly.
• Vendors will attempt to deliver policy-based storage management that will be tightly integrated, which will be homogeneous initially. META Group does not expect robust heterogeneous management capabilities before 2005/06.
• IT organizations should focus nearly as much attention on the company providing the product and ongoing support (presence) as they do on technology evaluation (performance). About METAspectrum

METAspectrum evaluations from META Group provide IT professionals with a view into critical market success factors and vendor positioning. METAspectrum, in combination with META Group's SPEX modules -- which provide detailed technical analysis of product features and capabilities -- delivers comprehensive evaluations of both technology markets and vendor product offerings. METAspectrum evaluations are a standard component of a META Group retainer service subscription and are updated periodically, depending on the characteristics of individual markets. To learn more about the METAspectrum methodology, visit www.metagroup.com/metaspectrum or call 800-945-META. For more information on META Group's SPEX offerings, visit www.metagroup.com/spex.

About META Group

META Group is a leading research and consulting firm, focusing on information technology and business transformation strategies. Delivering objective, consistent, and actionable guidance, META Group enables organizations to innovate more rapidly and effectively. Our unique collaborative models help clients succeed by building speed, agility, and value into their IT and business systems and processes. Connect with www.metagroup.com for more details.

Contact: Samantha Finnegan of META Group Inc, 303-346-3176, samantha.finnegan@metagroup.com .