Data management company NetApp’s research has found that Flash adoption is strong among industries such as Finance (46 per cent) and Manufacturing (46 per cent), while Architecture and Sales, Marketing and Media offer fruitful ground for further growth within the Flash market. The survey of over 1000 UK IT decision makers also identified areas of slow growth, with 45 per cent of Healthcare decision makers claiming they have no plans to invest in Flash.
Within the UK’s Legal industry one in two (50 per cent) survey participants have already adopted Flash. Along with Manufacturing and Finance, Education featured in the top five industries supported with Flash technologies, with 42 per cent saying they’ve already adopted Flash – followed closely by IT and Telecommunications (40 per cent).
The survey also uncovered signs of imminent growth within the Flash market. Within the next 12 months, 27 per cent of participants from Architecture, Engineering and Building, 22 per cent from Sales, Marketing and Media, and 22 per cent from the Travel and Transport industries plan to adopt Flash. Meanwhile, 15 per cent of Healthcare decision makers plan on adopting Flash in the following 12 months.
However, 45 per cent of Healthcare decision makers say they have no plans to adopt Flash in the next 12 months – a view shared by 40 per cent of Retail participants, almost a third (31 per cent) of Sales and a third (33 per cent) of HR participants. This is not a reflection of the need for Flash support within these industries. On the contrary, 47 per cent of Healthcare participants say they need high-performance storage across multiple applications, but over two thirds (64 per cent) are potentially unsure or say they do not know enough about Flash to make an informed buying decision.
Laurence James, NEMEA Products, Alliances and Solutions Manager at NetApp says, “Our research shows that there is currently plenty of movement within the Flash market, with some industries proving to be stronger advocates of Flash than others. But the appetite is clearly there, and it’s encouraging to see growing demand even within sectors where the horse has not yet bolted such as Healthcare sector. At NetApp we’re committed to providing tailored solutions and advice to meet the specific requirements of vertical sectors and house the technical expertise and line of business experience to do so.”
NetApp’s survey with 1002 IT decision makers in the UK was conducted by Opinion Matters in May 2016. One in three of the respondents are ‘middle managers’, ranging from IT personnel to directors and owners of business. One third of the respondents represented 500+ employee enterprises in a broad range of industries from professional services to healthcare and manufacturing.
