The global market for cloud storage is primed for solid growth as enterprises look for ways to manage large troves of information, apply it to decision-making processes and access it securely from a wide range of endpoints. More specifically, there may be growing demand for hybrid solutions that simplify management of on-premises and remotely hosted data.
A recent report from GIA predicted that the global cloud storage market would reach $13 billion by 2018. Growth could pick up as companies expand operations around the world and require quick, reliable and secure access to information.
"[C]loud storage is growing in prominence for its unique ability to provide a single consolidated storage point for all dispersed data," stated GIA. "Key benefits offered by cloud storage largely responsible for its adoption include higher levels of flexibility in storage administration, self-service provisioning, superior business continuity and disaster recovery ability [and] resource scalability."
However, there isn't a one-size-fits-all storage solution for enterprises. Given the high compliance and security requirements in some organizations, a hybrid solution may be more feasible. To this end, vendors such as Egnyte, a Seagate Cloud Builder Alliance partner, have stepped to the plate with offerings that allow for comprehensive management of files behind the corporate firewall and within cloud services.
A survey from Enterprise Strategy Group discovered that many organizations are still cautious about going all-in on the public cloud, with more than 90 percent of respondents stating that they prohibited at least some kind of information from being stored by a third-party provider. Nearly 70 percent reported that they would be interested in solutions that would allow some or all files to be stored in on-premises infrastructure. Accordingly, it appears that hybrid storage could be a key growth area in enterprise IT as organizations try to balance flexibility and control.
