NetApp leapfrogs IBM in storage race for second place

NetApp overtook IBM in IDC's latest quarterly storage tracker, reversing several quarters of market share decline

In the first calendar 2012 quarter IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Disk Storage Systems Tracker reports global external disk storage systems factory revenues rose 7.1 per cent year-over-year growth to almost $6bn.

EMC remains top dog with $1.733bn sales, 29 per cent of the market.

NetApp took second place with 14.1 per cent revenue share, overtaking previous second place-holder IBM, on 11.4 per cent. In the prior quarter IBM had 15.2 per cent and NetApp 11.2 per cent. N

HP was in fourth place (10.2 per cent), Hitachi Data Systems in fifth place (9.4) and the Others category, which includes Dell, recorded 25.9 per cent, up from the previous quarter's 24.7 per cent. The chart shows the overall picture.

IDC also looks at the total global disk storage systems factory revenues. Here EMC led again with the same dollar amount and a 21.7 per cent share. HP was second with $1.454bn (18.2 per cent), IBM third (14.9) per cent; Dell fourth (11.5) NetApp fifth on 10.5 per cent, advancing from 8.6 per centin the previous quarter. 'Others' grabbed 23.2 per cent.

IBM is the largest sequential loser, overall with NetApp the biggest gainer. Quarterly revenue numbers can be lumpy so we should wait for another quarter or two to see if NetApp holds on to its gains. ®