According to the Market Statsville Group (MSG), the global storage as a service (STaaS) market size is expected to grow from USD 31,472.4 million in 2022 to USD 531,512.7 million by 2033, at a CAGR of 29.3% from 2023 to 2033.

Enterprises worldwide are facing the challenge of managing enormous amounts of internal data, which is further augmented by social media and cloud services. The proliferation of smartphones and tablets among customers and employees has only added to the complexity of handling various types of structured and unstructured data. As a result, companies are turning to enterprise storage service providers to help manage this complexity, driving the adoption of storage as a service (STaaS) and propelling the market's growth.

Furthermore, the growing need for cost-effective business processes is another factor that drives the market’s growth. However, issues related to bandwidth and interoperability may restrain the global growth of the STaaS market.

Definition of the Global Storage As A Service (STaaS) Market

Storage as a Service, also known as hosted storage, is a business model where a company leases or rents its storage infrastructure to other companies or individuals for data storage. This method is especially suitable for small businesses and individuals looking for cost savings in hardware, personnel, and physical space while effectively managing their backups. Companies that provide Storage as a Service are Storage Service Providers (SSP).

Storage as a Service is a viable option for small to mid-sized businesses lacking the capital budget or technical expertise to implement and maintain their storage infrastructure. It also helps businesses mitigate disaster recovery risks, provide long-term records retention, and enhance business continuity and availability.

COVID-19 Impact on the Global Storage As A Service (STaaS) Market

The Storage as a Service (STaaS) market is anticipated to see potential growth opportunities in the upcoming months due to the COVID-19 outbreak, leading to significant investments in technology-based infrastructure. The exponential rise of cloud computing applications has created an unprecedented demand for managing and storing data generated by electronic communication and business collaboration tools. Employers are expected to allocate resources to maintain productivity through robust storage solutions, integral to every virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI). The need for efficient and cost-effective storage solutions to overcome traditional scale-up storage appliance challenges is expected to drive the growth of the STaaS market even in the post-COVID-19 era.

Global Storage As A Service (STaaS) Market Dynamics

Drivers: Growing adoption of IT Technologies across Verticals to Propel Storage as a Service Market   

The daily storage of information and data has become increasingly important across government agencies and the private sector due to technology disruptions such as artificial intelligence, cloud computing, machine learning, and blockchain. The need for ease of data storage solutions has challenged enterprises to offer new consumer experiences and integrate offerings with new storage solutions. As a result, Storage as a Service (STaaS) has become a critical component for businesses worldwide to streamline operations and bring operational efficiency across various industries. STaaS has multiple benefits, including cost-effectiveness, efficiency, and resilience, which reduce the operational burden of storage and the cost of traditional IT applications. STaaS optimizes the final product or service cost by eliminating the need for physical storage space and offers an excellent backup plan in case of disasters that can cause irreversible damage. A simplified method of digital asset management across complex business operations has driven the growing interest in STaaS, particularly among SMEs.

Restraints: Stringent Government Laws and Legal Obligations to Restrict Market Growth

Data privacy and confidentiality are the most essential elements of the STaaS ecosystem. Mandatory rules and laws imposed by governments on using cloud services and other legal obligations are likely to limit the market growth. For instance, the Government of India has made a provision in the Information Technology Act 2000 that any unlawful act regarding computing models/transactions containing confidential information will be subjected to punishment. Such regulations and laws imposed by governments worldwide are projected to act as a barrier to the market's growth. Also, data breaches are likely to pose a threat to service providers, which may restrict the STaaS market growth.

Opportunity: Rise in the adoption of hybrid cloud storage systems

Hybrid cloud-based storage enables organizations to select a flexible storage solution for each workload or workgroup. The primary benefit of deploying hybrid cloud storage includes enhanced IT infrastructure management and flexibility, improved data management, and better security for stored data. Organizations from various end-user industries are realizing the benefits of cloud computing and adopting cloud storage with high capability.

“Hybrid cloud-based storage systems will be more weighted towards the in-house cloud, focusing on modernizing applications and retaining the business functionality while developing an elastic, scalable model. This enables hybrid cloud-based storage systems to have the highest implementation and growth rates,” says a senior research analyst for IT professional services. Such factor is estimated to create opportunities in the market.

Scope of the Global Storage As A Service (STaaS) Market

The study categorizes the storage as a service (STaaS) market-based on service type, organization size and vertical area at the regional and global levels.

By Service Type Outlook (Sales, USD Million, 2019-2033)

• Cloud NAS (File Storage)
• Cloud SAN (Block Storage)
• Cloud Archiving
• Cloud Backup

By Organization Size Outlook (Sales, USD Million, 2019-2033)

• SMEs
• Large Enterprises

By Vertical Outlook (Sales, USD Million, 2019-2033)

• IT and Telecom
• Government
• BFSI
• Healthcare
• Others

By Region Outlook (Sales, USD Million, 2019-2033)

• North America
  • US
  • Canada
  • Mexico
• Europe
  • Germany
  • Italy
  • France
  • UK
  • Spain
  • Poland
  • Russia
  • The Netherlands
  • Norway
  • Czech Republic
  • Rest of Europe
• Asia Pacific
  • China
  • Japan
  • India
  • South Korea
  • Indonesia
  • Malaysia
  • Thailand
  • Singapore
  • Australia & New Zealand
  • Rest of Asia Pacific
• South America
  • Brazil
  • Argentina
  • Colombia
  • Rest of South America
• The Middle East & Africa
  • Saudi Arabia
  • UAE
  • South Africa
  • Northern Africa
  • Rest of MEA

Cloud NAS (File Storage) segment accounts for the largest market share by Service Type

Based on the service type, the market is divided into cloud NAS (file storage), cloud SAN (block storage), cloud archiving, and cloud backup. The cloud NAS (file storage) segment accounted for the largest market share of around 32.6% in 2022 in the global storage as a service (STaaS) market. Cloud NAS (file storage) technology has been widely adopted in recent years due to its ability to provide users with a flexible and scalable storage solution that can be connnectd from anywhere via an internet connection. As businesses continue to generate larger amounts of data, they require a storage solution to accommodate this growth. Cloud NAS allows users to easily scale their storage capacity as needed without the need for expensive hardware upgrades or additional on-premises storage infrastructure.

North America accounted for the largest market share by Region

Based on the regions, the global storage as a service (STaaS) market has been segmented across Europe, North America, the Middle East & Africa, Asia-Pacific, and South America. North America accounted for the largest market share of around 41.6% in 2022. The United States is the largest market for STaaS in North America, owing to the presence of major market players and the widespread adoption of cloud storage solutions across various industry verticals. Additionally, the increasing trend of remote work and the need for secure access to data from anywhere drive the adoption of cloud-based storage solutions in the region. The healthcare sector is also a significant contributor to the growth of the STaaS market in North America. The sector generates vast amounts of data, including electronic medical records, medical imaging, and other patient-related data. Cloud-based storage solutions offer healthcare organizations a secure and cost-effective means of storing and accessing this data.

Competitive Landscape: Global Storage As A Service (STaaS) Market

The storage as a service (STaaS) market is a significant competitor and extremely cutthroat in the sector is using strategies including product launches, partnerships, acquisitions, agreements, and growth to enhance their market positions. Most sector businesses focus on increasing their operations worldwide and cultivating long-lasting partnerships.

Major key players in the global storage as a service (STaaS) market are:

• Google LLC
• AT&T
• International Business Machines Corporation (IBM)
• Dell Inc.
• Hitachi Vantara Corporation
• Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP (HP)
• Microsoft Corporation
• Quantum Corporation
• Amazon Web Services, Inc.
• ZADARA, INC.
• Rackspace Technology
• Cloudian Inc

Recent Development

• In March 2022, Google released a public sample of the second generation of Cloud Functions, the Google Cloud Platform, for functions as a service. The updated version adds additional control over function execution, improves performance and scalability, and supports triggers from over 90 different event sources.
• In January 2022, Dell Technologies doubled down on its Apex consumption-base as-a-Service portfolio with two new launches, offering stand-alone software for public clouds and growing its Apex-as-a-service portfolio and global footprint. Further, the company unveiled its multi-cloud vision by launching several new products to give customers a “true” multi-cloud experience that simplifies complexity and rolling out more consumption-based as-a-service offerings via Apex.
• In July 2021, AT&T and Google Cloud agreed on a partnership to provide AT&T's 5G and Google Cloud's edge computing portfolio, including AT&T's on-premises Multi-access Edge Compute (MEC) solution, as well as AT&T Network Edge capabilities through LTE, 5G, and wireline. This partnership will deliver transformative capabilities that help businesses drive real value and build industry-changing experiences in retail, healthcare, manufacturing, entertainment, and more.
• In April 2021, IBM launched IBM Spectrum Fusion, a storage portfolio designed to improve data access and management across increasingly complex hybrid cloud environments for greater data availability and resilience. Also, IBM announced enhancements to its IBM Elastic Storage System (ESS) line of high-performance solutions, which are scalable and easy to deploy. The updated ESS 5000 model now offers 10% more storage capacity, while the new ESS 3200 provides double the read performance of its predecessor.