Cloud Storage – A Next-Generation Technology
The cloud storage market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 19.77% to reach a market size worth US$184.180 billion by 2026. This market was valued at US$52.098 billion in 2019. Cloud storage is a next-generation technology that essentially helps in storing data and users to make better decisions by understanding the unstructured data more finely. The rising demand for low-cost data storage alternatives, faster data attainability and increase in cloud adoption among small and medium enterprises has increased the demand for Cloud Storage solutions. However, the high price associated with private cloud, security concerns, and risk of data theft in public cloud storage is expected to act as a restraint on market growth to a certain extent. The need for high-speed computing and the growing encouragement by the government is expected to provide a lucrative opportunity for cloud storage for the education market in the coming years.
Rising Educational Institutions Will Boost the Market Demand for Cloud Storage Solutions for Education
The growing number of educational institutions around the world are increasing the demand for cloud technology. The cloud storage technology is used by these institutions for different processes such as education, collaboration, teaching and learning. The global demand for cloud technology for primary as well as higher education is witnessing growth. The number of college and school students using personal connected devices such as smartphones, laptops and game consoles is increasing significantly. Moreover, the concept of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) among teachers has become increasingly popular. All this is expected to contribute to the increase in the adoption of cloud storage solutions. Schools across the globe are actively promoting and using mobile devices with an aim to make curriculum content more accessible, leading to a high rate of adoption of virtualisation technologies. Cloud storage has made sharing of information, collaboration with teachers and students and education easy for both the teacher and student. The cloud storage market is expected to rise owing to the various benefits offered by the technology and a rising number of smartphone users. Moreover, the education sector is a major opportunity for companies in the cloud storage ecosystem to gain a competitive advantage in the market.
Backup Storage Will Have a Significant Market Share During the Study Period of 2019 to 2026
The cloud storage market is segmented, based on solution as primary, data archiving, cloud storage gateway and backup storage. During the study period, the market for backup storage is anticipated to witness remarks growth. Cloud storage is perfect for reducing costs when it comes to backups and archives. In addition, it helps in retaining immediate access. The market is witnessing an exponential rise in both the volume and variety of data. Enterprises are not only facing data management and storage issues but are also facing backup storage issues. Hence, organizations are quickly moving towards the cloud storage technology that not only enables them to store large data but also helps them in backing up their critical data for future use. This further helps in ensuring business continuity.
An Increase in the Adoption of Hybrid Cloud Storage Is Expected to Bolster the Market Growth
The cloud storage market is segmented, based on deployment models as public, private and hybrid cloud. Public cloud storage is the easiest way for end-users to license the storage capacity from a third party. This essentially helps in scaling the performance and is easy to deploy. On the other hand, Private cloud storage stores data at in-house storage servers. Unlike public cloud storage, it is not publicly accessible and is wholly owned by a single organization. Hybrid cloud storage uses both local and off-site resources for managing cloud storage. various sectors are extensively using the hybrid cloud model in order to minimise the total cost of ownership and thus removing the need for expensive hardware. According to the state of cloud, RightScale Survey Report, 51 percent of enterprises were engaged in using hybrid strategy in 2018.
The Application of Cloud Storage Solutions in Various Industries Is Expected to Drive the Cloud Service Market in the Forecasted Period
The cloud storage market, by industry verticals, is divided into BFSI, Education, Communication and technology, media and entertainment, manufacturing, Energy and Power, Government and Public Sector, Healthcare and Life Science, Retail and Consumer goods and Others. The demand for cloud storage in these industries has increased due to the low cost and less maintenance required. BFSI is increasingly adopting cloud-based storage technology due to the increasing number of internet users. In the banking and capital market, cloud-based storage systems are extensively used owing to the less investment cost of hardware and software.
Data Privacy Has Increased Security Concerns. Moreover, the Increasing Cost Has Raised Financial Pressure on the Users. This May Hinder the Market Size of Cloud Storage Solutions.
One of the prime factors that may hinder the market growth of cloud storage is data privacy and security concerns. DDoS and various other attacks have a serious impact on the availability of data in the cloud. Most of the organizations using public cloud storage are perturbed about the privacy and security of their data. Companies can assess security in cloud storage solutions but this comes with a huge cost. Moreover, lifetime storage using public clouds are pretty costly. The initial cost appears to be less, but over a period of time, as the volume of data rises, the organization needs to pay more in order to keep their data intact in the cloud. With increasing data, the networking cost also rises. Despite numerous benefits associated with cloud storage technology, the lifetime cost act as a major restraint for the market growth.
During the Forecasted Period, North America and the Asia Pacific Region Will Show Robust Growth
The cloud storage market, by geography, is divided into North America, Europe, Middle East and Africa, Asia Pacific and South America. The North American region holds the largest share and is predicted to grow at an increasing rate in the Cloud storage market. The growth is due to the rising encouragement by the government to adopt cloud storage technology in various sectors. The region is also a hub for well-established suppliers as well users. Moreover, it is continuously working towards new technologies for increasing work productivity. Several large and medium enterprises offer cloud storage solutions including Google, Microsoft, Dell Technologies and IBM. Also, the rise in the adoption of e-commerce, electronic signature, cybercrimes and other digital services is also expected to drive the demand for cloud storage solutions.
Asia Pacific region is expected to grow at the fastest rate in the cloud storage market in the projected period. Rapid urbanisation, increasing digitalisation, increasing penetration of the internet and the growing number of smartphone users has resulted in demand for a cloud storage solution. Asia Pacific region is also investing heavily in the network infrastructure and the adoption of broadband.
The Impact of the Outbreak of COVID-19 on the Cloud Storage Market
The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has severely affected the production of almost all industries across the globe. The government of many countries has imposed strict nationwide lockdown. It has affected the economy from both sides- it has created supply chain disruptions and has increased financial pressure on households. Numerous countries across the globe have implemented foot prohibition and issued work from home orders. This has also disrupted education in various countries owing to the school closure. enterprises are continuously striving towards increasing their online presence to deal with the impact of coronavirus on operational productivity. This has strained various organisations to adopt cloud storage solutions to deal with the ongoing crises and ensure the smooth functioning of the organisations. Cloud storage technology has acted as an aid during this weird time and has ensured work continuity and reduction in workload.
