For 2006, IBM achieved its best finish in external disk storage systems since 1998. For the full year, HP grew less than one percent, while IBM's year-to-year growth increased 10.5 percent.
For the fourth quarter 2006, IBM's 15.5 percent year-over-year revenue growth rate far exceeded the segment growth rate of 6 percent for external disk storage systems. IBM's full-year growth of 10.5 percent in external disk also easily out-paced the overall segment growth of 8 percent for 2006, based on data from IDC. IBM also increased its share in the fourth quarter by 1.5 points, the most of any vendor, from 17.1 percent to 18.6 percent.
IBM achieved strong revenue growth in all regions for the fourth quarter of 2006, particularly in Asia-Pacfic, where IBM for the first time was the number one external disk storage vendor, achieving a 19.1 percent revenue share.
"This is the second major product segment that IBM has eclipsed HP since the Compaq acquisition. First it was Unix servers, and now external disk storage," said Andy Monshaw, general manager, IBM System Storage. "Meanwhile, IBM continues to expand its presence in storage and beats the competition by delivering leading storage solutions that help our customers address their information on-demand needs. In 2006, IBM refreshed its product line, introducing new industry-leading storage products from high-end disk systems to entry-level offerings."
Other highlights:
-- IBM was #1 worldwide in the total disk for fourth quarter 2006, with
24.1 percent to HP's 19.7 percent, with EMC third at 15.3 percent.
-- IBM was #1 in worldwide total disk for 2006, achieving 21 percent
share to HP's 20.5, considered a functional tie.
-- IBM was #1 in NAS growth, achieving growth of more than 1500 percent
for both the fourth quarter and the full year.
-- IBM was #1 in the growth rate among the top five vendors in Worldwide
Disk Storage System External RAID in the fourth quarter, growing 16.4
percent.
-- IBM not only moved ahead of HP worldwide in external disk storage
systems revenue, but also in major regions, including Asia Pacific in the
fourth quarter and in the Americas for fourth quarter and full year. IBM
remained ahead of HP in Latin America for the fourth quarter and full year.
Storage Software
Echoing IBM's strong storage hardware performance, today's announcement also highlights IBM's momentum in storage software. For the eighth consecutive quarter, IBM outperformed storage software vendors EMC and Symantec [2] in the fourth quarter of 2006, according to a storage software market share report, also released today by IDC [3]. According to the report, IBM grew storage software revenue 10.3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2006 and 28.2 percent for the full year, resulting in a year-over-year rise in share of 1.9 points.
According to the IDC report, IBM's storage software revenue growth was nearly three and a half times greater than the overall storage software segment, which was measured at 8.3 percent year-over-year growth. The IDC report also revealed that IBM is outpacing the overall segment and outperforming EMC and Symantec for the eighth consecutive quarter.
In 2006, IBM extended its relationship with Network Appliance (NetApp), as well as expanded its storage virtualization offerings with a new generation of the IBM System Storage SAN Volume Controller. On the disk front, IBM announced an expansion of its enterprise line of disk arrays, while also adding new models to its enterprise tape portfolio that includes support for the world's first 700 GB physical capacity linear tape media.
About IBM
For more information about IBM and IBM storage, go to www.ibm.com/storage
[1] Source: IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Disk Storage Systems Tracker Q4 2006. IBM's statistical lead of 15.1 percent to 14.3 percent over HP is termed a functional tie.
[2] Note: Symantec is reported as the combined entity of Symantec and VERITAS prior to 3Q05 and includes KVS revenue starting with 3Q05.
[3] Source: IDC Worldwide Quarterly Storage Software Tracker Q4 2006.
Add to Digg Bookmark with del.icio.us Add to Newsvine
Mike Darcy IBM Media Relations 914-766-4777 Email Contact