IT professionals concerned over storage obsolescence

Almost half of IT users (48 per cent) don't believe their current storage array will work with the next generation of storage media, according to a recent survey.

The research found that more than a half (57 per cent) of IT users expect their budgets to shrink or stay the same in 2016. A limited IT budget was also the highest-ranking concern for 2016. This suggested that any further changes to their storage might not be budgeted for.

The survey of over 300 IT professionals was carried out in October 2015 by X-IO Technologies and asked respondents about their current and future storage requirements.

The lack of importance given to storage budgets leaves storage challenges such as consistent write I.O performance, moving data to the cloud and choosing between SAN and Software-Defined amongst key concerns for 2016, according to the research.

It was also found that 43 per cent of IT users thought they needed to improve storage performance next year and that 39 per cent wanted to increase storage capacity in 2016. A further 48 per cent agreed that the storage they invested in 5 years ago was barely fit for purpose now.

"The survey reveals the confusion that businesses are experiencing over the ever-changing storage market." said Gavin McLaughlin vice president at X-IO Technologies.

"What is clear, is that companies do not have the budget to keep changing their storage arrays in an attempt to second guess the market. We've deliberately engineered all of our products to give companies flexibility in both media choice and implementation (SAN or SDS) methodologies. It's also important to us to let our customers change their minds later down the line."

Rene Millman

Rene Millman is a freelance writer and broadcaster who covers cybersecurity, AI, IoT, and the cloud. He also works as a contributing analyst at GigaOm and has previously worked as an analyst for Gartner covering the infrastructure market. He has made numerous television appearances to give his views and expertise on technology trends and companies that affect and shape our lives. You can follow Rene Millman on Twitter.