HP and IBM take tape lead

HP and IBM continued to dominate the worldwide branded tape market last year, newly published research has revealed.

According to the IDC study, HP holds 29 per cent of all tape drive volume shipped worldwide and 29 per cent of sales for 2004 in the branded tape drive marketplace.

IBM holds 17 per cent of the global volume, but actually leads HP in revenue with a 33 per cent share. Other key suppliers include Dell and Certrance.

In the branded tape automation marketplace, HP shipped the most midrange libraries worldwide, with 26 per cent of the volume.

IBM and HP were statistically tied for first place with respect to revenue, each at 23 per cent of total revenue for 2004. However, IBM only shipped 22 per cent of the volume in this category.

Other key suppliers in the midrange category include StorageTek and ADIC.

"Suppliers in the worldwide tape market have become increasingly reliant on top-tier server and system customers as a route to market," said Robert Amatruda, research manager for tape and removable storage at IDC.

"Tape storage products will continue to be an important component of the overall server and storage infrastructure."