IDC confirms our suspicion… EMC is #1 in Flash Market Share! But the real story is the bigger picture…

IDC recently released the “Worldwide All-Flash and Hybrid Flash Array Market: 1H2014 Vendor Shares and Market Outlook,” Not surprising to anyone here at EMC, EMC is the market share leader in Flash. In both “All-Flash Array Revenue” and “Hybrid Flash Array Revenue”, shipping over 58PB combined in the first half of 2014. WOW!
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IDC recently released the “Worldwide All-Flash and Hybrid Flash Array Market: 1H2014 Vendor Shares and Market Outlook,”
Not surprising to anyone here at EMC, EMC is the market share leader in Flash.  In both “All-Flash Array Revenue” and “Hybrid Flash Array Revenue”, shipping over 58PB combined in the first half of 2014. WOW!
According to IDC, the Flash Market, both All-Flash Arrays (AFA) and Hybrid Flash Arrays (HFA), is “ON FIRE!” – exceeding their original 2013 projections.
IDC goes on to conclude that the addition of enterprise features to All-Flash Arrays will be necessary to successfully deploy All-Flash. Exactly! Flash is Media; it’s a way to store data, and yes, it’s fast. But being fast isn’t enough. In order to successfully integrate Flash into the data center, enterprise data services are a MUST! That’s exactly what EMC is focused on, the transforming impact of Flash on the data center.  Transforming economics via Hybrid Flash Arrays, a little Flash still goes a long way, to transforming architecture with the industry leading All-Flash Array XtremIO. The unique scale-out architecture creates a shared memory space across all controllers, delivering performance at scale with all data services all the time. Data services that include deduplication, compression, encryption and revolutionary snap shots that change the way applications are deployed.
The following tables are taken from the IDC Report; they reflect the 1H 2014 market share numbers for both All-Flash Arrays and Hybrid Flash arrays.

IDC Worldwide All-Flash Array
Market Share, 1H14
IDC Worldwide Hybrid Flash Array
Market Share, 1H14
World-Wide All-Flash Array Revenu by Vendor 1H14 World-Wide Hybrid Flash Revenue by Vendor 1H14

 In both cases EMC is the market share leader, 22% and 35% respectively.  Looking a little closer at IDCs numbers it’s clear that the AFA Market is growing, as IDC said – “It’s on Fire”.  It’s also clear that the AFA Market is still dwarfed by the HFA Market.  In the first half of 2014, the Hybrid Flash Array market commanded 90% of external storage revenue.  That said, it’s also clear that the storage industry is evolving to more flash, it will be interesting to compare these numbers to next year and the following.
All-Flash Array - Hybrid Flash Array Revenue 1H2014 PIE
If you combine all of the numbers into a single view, a view of market share across All-Flash Arrays and Hybrid Flash arrays, EMC is obviously the clear leader.  You’ll also notice that the players in the combined market share are the storage venders you’re probably most familiar with.  I put together a quick reference, and what’s most interesting… the “Other HFA” category gets the #3 spot 😉

Why do I point this out?  The EMC Flash Strategy has always been “Flash Everywhere”.  Flash is a component, an ingredient.  It’s the underlying storage architecture and software that delivers the potential of Flash as a media.  Flash has been fundamental to our storage strategy for just about a decade now.  From our hybrid offerings where a little Flash goes a long way, to the now confirmed industry leading All-Flash Array, XtremIO, EMC is committed to leveraging Flash to accelerate an entire storage portfolio.
Combined All-flash and Hybrid Flash Market ShareWhile the All-Flash Array market is an incredible opportunity for EMC and the industry, a well-rounded portfolio will provide the choice needed to deliver the right architecture for the unique needs of our customers’ application deployments.  The EMC Flash Everywhere strategy has always been designed to address all of our customers flash needs, rregardless of application.  For more informaiton be sure to check out http://www.emc.com/storage/flash/index.htm and the latest EMC Pulse Blog on the topic.
Get all the latest at insideflash.emc.com and follow me on twitter @SamMarraccini

About the Author: Sam Marraccini

Sam Marraccini is a 18-year EMC veteran and 27-year technology veteran. Part of the Dell EMC Global Portfolio Marketing Team, Sam is focused on developing and evangelizing the unique benefits of Dell EMC Products, Technologies and Solutions
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