As businesses struggle to manage data growth across their organizations, they face challenges in planning, integrating, managing, and supporting their storage infrastructures. IDC's Storage and Data Management Services research identifies opportunities and analyzes strategies for storage vendors, services firms, and channel organizations that market and deliver storage professional and support services. It also provides them with valuable insights to leverage opportunities in the emerging storage-as-a-service market, including online backup, archiving and replication services, and emerging "cloud storage" offerings.

This service covers the following segments of the storage and data management services market:

• Storage consulting services
• Storage implementation and integration services
• Storage management/managed storage/outsourcing services
• Storage support services
• Online backup, archiving, and replication services
• "Cloud storage" offerings
• Datacenter services
• Other related infrastructure services

Throughout the year, this service will address the following topics:

• Customer demand for storage and data management services
• Service opportunities regarding networked storage infrastructures as well as storage hardware and software technologies
• The role of established consulting, integration, and outsourcing firms in this market
• The evolution of managed storage service offerings

Our research addresses the following issues that are critical to your success:

1. What are the opportunities for providing storage consulting, integration, management, and support services?
2. What are the opportunities for providing storage virtualization-related services?
3. What are the opportunities for providing online and "cloud" storage services?
4. What are the most important actions that storage service organizations can take to increase their market share?
5. What strategies should storage technology firms use to raise customer satisfaction?

IDC's Storage and Data Management Services research examines how storage and data management service providers are positioning themselves to compete in the storage and data management marketplace. Examples of companies covered include:

Accenture, Amazon S3, AT&T, Autonomy ZANTAZ, Brocade, Carbonite, Contoural, CSC, Dell, EDS, EMC, Fujitsu, GlassHouse, Hitachi Data Systems, HP, IBM Global Services, Iron Mountain, LSI Logic, McDATA, NetApp, Nirvanix, Seagate, Sun Microsystems, Symantec, Verizon, and Xiotech.

This service focuses on the following core research. In addition to the insight provided in this service, IDC may conduct additional research on specific topics, or emerging market segments, via research offerings that require additional IDC funding and client investment.

This study is a forecast and analysis of the market for storage consulting, integration, management/outsourcing, and support services.

This document examines the evolving storage services market and includes profiles of leading players and their offerings.

This study analyzes the services opportunity presented by the managed storage services market, in its various flavors.

IDC offers a complete market intelligence solution customized to meet your business requirements. The array of products and services available to you includes:

• The opportunity to have your specific questions answered through personal interaction with industry experts who cover the topics and markets in your service
• Around-the-clock access to our market intelligence on idc.com, IDC's personalized Web experience
• A view of the market's future with 12 months of continuous intelligence about its direction and the reasons behind it, along with actionable advice for taking advantage of existing and emerging opportunities
• Special client discount pricing on purchases of research from other services
• Complimentary admission to IDC's annual Directions conference, where you'll hear our latest forecasts and network with IDC analysts and other industry professionals
• Complimentary invitations to monthly executive telebriefings, interactive forums designed to provide you with insights about research and strategies directly from IDC analysts

To find out how our flexible packaging options can meet your specific business needs, please contact your IDC sales executive.

As a privately held company, IDC believes that our customers are our primary constituency. A large percentage of every revenue dollar is reinvested back into our products, including more analysts, more geographic coverage, and extensive primary research.

Our steady growth over the past 10-plus years reflects our commitment to investing in our customers.