While the majority of the UK storage industry believes it will not be immune to the economic downturn, there are many that remain more optimistic and see new opportunities emerging from the current climate. This was revealed in a new UK survey conducted at the recent Storage Expo by Hitachi Data Systems.

The research shows that more than one in four (29%) respondents believe businesses’ IT purse strings will be tightened in the coming months, affecting storage purchases as a result. When asked about the impact of the credit crunch on the storage industry, encouragingly, one in five (20%) remain positive and expect the storage industry to be resilient, with the current economic downturn making no or little impact on the sector. One reason cited for this optimism is that the exponential growth in digital data shows no sign of abating, regardless of the economic climate. Coupled with the legislative requirements today, organisations are acutely aware that managing and storing their ever expanding data mountain is a business necessity.

While the storage industry may be less affected by the downturn than the rest of the technology sector, there is no question that organisations are scrutinising every aspect of their business and looking for ways to become more efficient. One in five (23%) respondents suggest that businesses review, consolidate and optimise their storage infrastructure to get more from their existing solution. Virtualisation was singled out as a technology that will enable businesses to achieve this and ultimately, to lead to lower operational costs and a better return on assets. In fact, almost half (46%) believe that 2009 will be the year that virtualisation comes of age and existing virtualisation pilot projects will turn into full-scale enterprise adoption.

There is a silver lining amidst the economic downturn, according to survey respondents. Despite the current gloom in the financial services industry, more than half (56%) of respondents see the wave of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the sector as an opportunity for the storage industry. With merged companies looking to integrate their businesses, including IT systems, as quickly as possible, consolidation is cited by a quarter (26%) as the biggest opportunity.

“Estimates as to how long and deep the recession will be varies but businesses simply cannot ignore the cost savings and benefits a well-managed storage infrastructure can bring,” said Steve Murphy, Managing Director, UK and Ireland, Hitachi Data Systems. “This is certainly no time to invest in new, untested technologies. Rather, businesses will turn to IT solutions that help them to consolidate, better manage and improve the performance of their storage environments, such as virtualisation and tiered storage. We are well-positioned to help customers achieve this with our unique Storage Economics methodology that enables us to review organisations’ existing storage infrastructure and provide a set of strategic and tactical cost saving solutions.