The worldwide data protection and recovery management market reached a value of $58m in 2006 and will surge to $200m by 2011, IDC estimates.

Traditional approaches to data protection are being augmented with new disk-based data protection technologies, according to the analyst firm, fuelling the need for tools that can monitor, report and manage heterogeneous data protection configurations.

IDC believes that corporate protection and recovery policies are placing tools that can provide documentation of data protection assets and evidence of protection and recovery processes in an increasingly strategic light.

"Fuelled by operational efficiency, cost reduction, improved reliability and performance, and business drivers such as compliance and corporate governance, the long-term outlook for the worldwide data protection and recovery management market looks promising," said Laura DuBois, research director for IDC's Storage Software group.

"While a small segment, data protection and recovery management is relevant to much larger markets such as data protection and recovery, replication, storage management as well as the market for governance, risk and compliance.

"Over time, these markets will consume features and functions of the data protection and recovery management market."