Storage Pipeline: Hold Everything

Over the past year, the percentage of value-added resellers anticipating near-term sales growth of more than 10 percent in storage products has increased by 50 percent, while the percentage of VARs expecting storage sales to decline more than 10 percent has fallen by more than 50 percent. And 41 percent of VARs surveyed in July anticipated storage sales growth of at least 6 percent in the following three months.

Large companies (1,000 or more employees) now rank storage fifth in hardware and software spending priority, behind networking hardware, desktops, PC servers and networking software. And storage-management software is taking on greater importance, CRN's data shows. The percentage of VARs anticipating sales growth of more than 10 percent in storage-management software in the next three months has tripled over the past year.

Dr. John Roberts is director of editorial research for CRN, a sister publication of Storage Pipeline. Write to him at [email protected].