The Data Storage discipline covers all aspects of storage systems, media, software and solutions in the enterprise. Vendor solutions and products are divided into three sub-categories; Storage Systems, Storage Media and Storage Software. Storage Software is further sub-divided into Software Defined (SDS) solutions and Container Attached Storage (CAS). Note: if you represent a vendor and feel your products/solutions should be included in our reports, please contact us at [email protected].

Storage Systems are purpose-built appliances, designed to provide advanced storage services to applications in the enterprise.  This category covers technology deployed on-premises, either as a lease/acquire solution or storage on-demand (storage as a service) deployment.

The Storage Media sub-category covers all persistent media types deployed in the enterprise, either on-premises or as part of a public or hybrid cloud solution.  Technology covered includes hard drives, flash memory, persistent memory and tape.

Storage Software covers two areas; software-defined storage (SDS) and container-attached storage (CAS). Container-attached solutions are separated from general SDS as they provide a subset of functionality and deployment models. Reports in the Storage Software area are: