These facts notwithstanding, some observers still have been quick to declare that the sky is falling in the storage market. Merrill Lynch released a report saying the storage sector was poised for strong growth, even if other technology sectors were not. Adding emphasis to that point, EMC went on to announce record revenue growth for the fourth quarter and for the year. Lumping the growth potential of the storage market together with that of other sectors indicates a totally unrealistic view of the state of technology in business. It is non-discretionary, and not just because of the skyrocketing amount of data that is being generated among enterprise customers.
Storage is a critical part of a bulletproof e-business infrastructure.
Just because some high-profile dotcoms have failed, and PC spending has slowed, doesn't make that fact any less relevant. IT managers may have less cash to work with in the coming year.