EMEA External Storage Market Grew Over 10% in 3Q17

Total EMEA external storage systems value increased by a staggering 10.3% in U.S. dollars in the third quarter of 2017 (+4.8% in euro terms), according to IDC.

The all-flash array (AFA) market value yet again recorded high double-digit growth in U.S. dollars (40.1%), covering 28% of the overall external storage sales, with growth also in hybrid arrays (15.3%), while HDD-only systems continued to contract (-15.9%). With total all-flash arrays shipments heading towards 30%, the Western European external storage market recorded the highest YoY increase in the EMEA region, with a healthy 14.2% growth in U.S. dollar terms (+8.4% in euros). Capacity, meanwhile, grew 26.4% to 2,523.2 petabytes.

Across the region, enterprises have increasingly made digital transformation (DX) their top priority, investing in more efficient storage solutions such as flash and converged/hyperconverged solutions. In fact, flash-powered arrays accounted for three-quarters of total sales in the quarter. Growth in Western Europe was mainly driven by a strong German market, while the U.K. remained flat, still enduring harsh competition and adverse macroeconomic conditions, but putting to a halt a long string of yearly declines.

In line with EMEA developments, after almost three years in a row, the external storage market in Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (CEMA) overcame the declining trend, with flat performance in the third quarter of 2017. Value grew YoY by 0.5% ($420.8) and capacity increased 10.2% (833.8 terabytes). The driver behind this performance were all-flash arrays (AFA) in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), posting the highest YoY growth among all WW regions (122.1%), and the surge of the high-end segment supporting the DC infrastructure refreshment and optimization investments in the region.

Similarly to Western Europe, the market in CEE recorded double-digit growth to boost the entire subregion. Most CEE countries, including Russia, recorded stable performances, with almost all vendors on the growth trajectory. The Middle East and Africa (MEA) storage market failed to deliver growth as the high-end segment experienced a strong drop during the quarter and AFA solutions saw slower demand in some of the biggest countries at the expense of hybrid solutions.