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Business Services Industry

Medium Businesses in the US to Invest US$7.8B on Storage & Security

Business Wire, April 18, 2008

--Up to 77% of medium-sized businesses reported a hard drive failure in the last 12 months, says AMI--

NEW YORK -- Medium-sized businesses (MBs or companies with 100-999 employees) in the United States are on track to invest up to US$7.8 billion on data storage and security this year, up 12% over 2007. This steady growth is due to the need to consistently update and guard against security breaches and the growing volume of employee/client data, according to the latest study by New York based Access Markets International (AMI) Partners Inc.

"Up to 86% of US MBs reported a security breach/data loss in the last 12 months," says Nichelle McKenzie, New York based research analyst at AMI-Partners. "The cost to these companies is about US$7,000 per year."

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When handling sensitive data, security and storage are top of mind concerns among US-based MBs. The AMI study found that storage and security investments account for 9% (about US$7.8 billion) of total IT/telecom spending. "US MBs are primarily investing in software to backup PCs and servers," Ms. McKenzie says. "Up to 90% of MBs stated they use data backup and data recovery software, and 30% are sticking with the familiar by planning to use DAS (direct attached storage) in the next 12 months."

Preventing hard-drive failures and electronic attacks while having an adequate storage solution are the main goals for US MBs. Deploying in-house or hosted data backup and disaster recovery solutions is seen as a top IT-related issue by almost 70% of MBs. Nearly all MBs said they backed up their data on LAN servers. This means MBs are actively competing to remain lead software and hardware IT adopters.

"The preferred on-site server data backup solution is tape-based, according to 89% of MBs," Ms McKenzie says. "An average MB deploys a storage capacity of 988 GB. MBs are looking to also invest in more advanced, greater volume storage products."

The average spending on SAN (server attached storage) solutions by US MBs is about US$4,900 with 20% purchasing this technology in the last 12 months. MBs tend go to their trusted channel partners/VARs/IT consultants for storage related solutions, the AMI study found.

In terms of security related strategies, about 85% of MBs said enhancing IT security and privacy is the top IT strategy for the next 12 months. Thus, awareness of security products is the top factor driving security investments for this year.

"MBs need to stay abreast of new and/or advanced software and hardware that will help them to remain competitive and compliant," Ms. McKenzie says. "Almost 33% of MBs agree that remaining compliant is the prime reason for them to invest and consistently upgrade to more advanced software and hardware for security and storage. As high as 77% of US MBs reported a hard drive failure in the last 12 months."

Deploying a VPN (virtual private network) is an added measure to ensure that an MB will have a secure IT infrastructure; just over half of MBs polled said they plan to implement this in the coming months. Most MBs said that their data is adequately protected from electronic threats as almost all MBs use antivirus, anti-spam and anti-spyware solutions.

US MB companies use a variety of firewall devices which includes software-based firewalls running on PCs and network servers, firewalls embedded in networking hardware and firewall appliances plugged into the network. Intrusion detection, encryption and security management are top technologies for these MBs to implement in the next 12 months, the study revealed. The most popular brand for security related products was Cisco, and for storage related products Dell is the top manufacturer purchased.

About the Study

AMI's 2007 US Medium Business Overview and Comprehensive Market Opportunity Assessment study highlights these and other major trends in the context of current/planned IT, Internet and communications usage and spending. Products and services covered include established and emerging hardware, software, applications and business process solutions. Based on AMI's annual surveys of MBs across U.S., the study track a broad spectrum of issues pertaining to budgets, purchase behaviors, decision influencers, channel preferences, outsourcing, service and support. Also covered are detailed firmographics and critically important technology attitudes and strategic planning priorities. This data points to key opportunities and messaging hot buttons for vendors and service providers seeking to match their offerings to MB market requirements.

For more information about this study, AMI-Partners, or our global SMB research, call 212-944-5100, e-mail ask_ami@ami-partners.com, or visit us at www.ami-partners.com.

About Access Markets International (AMI) Partners, Inc.

AMI-Partners specializes in IT, Internet, telecommunications and business services strategy, venture capital, and actionable market intelligence -- with a strong focus on global small and medium businesses (SMBs), and extending into large enterprises and home-based businesses. The AMI-Partners mission is to empower clients for success with the highest quality data, business strategy perspectives and "go-to-market" solutions. Led by Andy Bose, the firm has built a world-class management team with deep experience cutting across IT, telecommunications and business services sectors in established and emerging markets.

Business Services Industry

Medium Businesses in the US to Invest US$7.8B on Storage & Security

Business Wire, April 18, 2008

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