Surveillance industry analysts project that 3.3 exabytes of storage will be required to store video footage by 2012, which will thereby increase the video storage market’s worth to over $750 million, according to a study released earlier this week by IMS Research. That storage need, 3.3 exabytes, is equivalent to roughly 3.5 million gigabytes.
Analysts say that the growth in the market will come as the video surveillance industry continues to make the move towards network video surveillance and high-resolution cameras, which require larger storage capacities. In fact, according to a statement released by the research firm, there are some current surveillance projects which require more storage capacity than can be provided by standard DVR offerings.
Though only a few video surveillance and IT companies currently provide large-scale storage solutions, industry forecaster believe that more companies, many of which specialize in video storage technology, will throw their hat into the surveillance storage market.
According to IMS Research's Simon Harris, the 3.3 exabytes projection included all drive-based surveillance, including DVRs, NVRs and standalone solutions for video storage. Harris said the number was based on projections and current data for camera shipments and that the research firm ascertained the 3.3 exabyte number by grouping sales by market and using general rules as to how long and at what resolution video is typically stored at in that market.
"For example," said Harris, "the casino industry might store data for 30 days at 4CIF resolution, while the banking industry might store for a shorter period of time or at a lower resolution. We modeled this projection based on those markets' common storage needs."
