IT Storage Market to See Quick ExpansionThe IT storage market in China will see a robust increase over the next five years with the construction of broadband networks and the promotion of information technology among Chinese enterprises, said a senior IT analyst with International Data Corporation (IDC), a worldwide IT market research firm.Wu Lianfeng, IDC China's data centre manager, predicted that by the year 2003, Chinese enterprises' spending on storage products will compose half of their expenditures on IT products and services. According to IDC's forecast, the sales of storage products will grow at an annual average rate of 14 per cent from 2001 to 2005, while the shipment of storage products will grow by more than 80 per cent every year. "The sales of storage products exceeded US$400 million last year and it only accounted for about 2.7 per cent of IT spending in China, so the growth margin is quite big," said Wu. He believes that the broadband network construction throughout China was the biggest stimulus for the demand for storage products, as those network builders and operators would soon find the need to have huge-capacity storage facilities to provide content on their networks. Meanwhile, as China's financial and telecommunications sectors and governmental departments have launched massive campaigns to improve their management and operations with nationwide networks, large-capacity storage products will be crucial for their efforts. IDC will also hold an Asia Storage Forum 2001 in Beijing this month, to discuss the opportunities of the storage market in the Asia-Pacific region. With the market currently looking good, both international and domestic companies have been paying more and more attention to business opportunities in the country. The US-based EMC Corporation, an international storage giant, also places much hope on the Chinese market. "Our sales in China doubled last year than that in 1999 and we have seen huge potential here," said Guo Zunhua, president of EMC's China operation. Source: China Daily |
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