Overall storage revenue slips, but EMC remains top dog

Storage revenue slipped in the fourth quarter--the first quarterly slide in more than five years, according to IDC. The culprit: Weak server sales that reduced demand for storage systems. 

IDC's report indicates that weak IT spending is even hitting the storage industry, which has enjoyed torrid growth of late as enterprise store more information. 

Total disk storage system revenue was $7.3 billion in the fourth quarter, down 5.9 percent from the same quarter a year ago. Total storage system capacity shipped reached 2,460 petabytes, up 27.3 percent from a year ago. Storage factory revenue fell 0.5 percent in the fourth quarter. 

According to IDC there were a few moving parts in the storage industry. High-end storage systems were frozen by longer buying cycles and enterprises that halted spending. Mid-range and low-end storage systems saw strong demand. 

By market share, EMC remains the top dog with 23.3 percent of the market. IBM has 15.7 percent of the market. EMC was also the market share leader in network attached storage by a wide margin. Here's a look at the overall storage standings:

Source: IDC statement