Gartner Says Worldwide Fibre Channel SAN Market Grew 3 Percent in 2002; Future Trends in Storage to be Unveiled at PlanetStorage 2003 in Las Vegas June 9-12.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

PlanetStorage 2003

STAMFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 14, 2003

Worldwide Fibre Channel storage area network (SAN) components hardware revenue totaled $1.47 billion in 2002, a 3 percent increase from 2001 hardware revenue of $1.43 billion, according to Gartner, Inc. (NYSE:IT)(NYSE:ITB).

"While the Fibre Channel industry experienced slower growth than in previous years, any increase is a show of strength in what was another difficult year for storage products and companies," said James Opfer, research vice president for Gartner's storage research group. "In 2002, the market continued to experience extraordinary market consolidation as the four leading vendors increased their revenue share to 85 percent of the market total."

Brocade continued to maintain the No. 1 position in Fibre Channel component hardware revenue with its 2002 market share of 34 percent (see Table 1), up from 32 percent in 2001. Emulex reclaimed the No. 2 position with a 23 percent revenue increase. QLogic showed the strongest growth in 2002 as its revenue increased 24 percent.

Table 1

  Worldwide Fibre Channel Component Hardware Market Share Based on
                         Revenue for 2002
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Company            2002 Market       2001 Market
                    Share (%)         Share (%)        Growth (%)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Brocade                   34                32                10
Emulex                    19                16                23
McDATA                    17                17                 7
QLogic                    15                13                24
Hewlett-Packard            4                NA                NA
Others                    11                22               -51
Total Market           100.0             100.0               3.0
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: Gartner Dataquest (May 2003)

The worldwide Fibre Channel switching products hardware market revenue reached $847 million in 2002, up 6 percent from 2001 as the market made a transition to 2 Gbps products. Brocade remained the dominant supplier, accounting for 59 percent of revenue. McDATA represented 30 percent of revenue while QLogic remained the No. 3 vendor with 5 percent of the market

Worldwide Fibre Channel host bus adapters (HBAs) totaled $570 million in 2002, an increase of 1 percent from 2001. Emulex was the clear leader with 48 percent of the market, followed by QLogic with 32 percent market share. Hewlett-Packard, supplying products for internal use, was the No. 3 vendor.

Additional information on the Fibre Channel SAN component market is available in the Gartner Dataquest research report "Storage Network Infrastructure: FC SAN Component Market Shares, 2002." To purchase this report or subscribe to Gartner's storage services, please call 408-468-8009 or visit www.gartner.com.

Gartner analysts and other industry experts will discuss the future of the storage industry at PlanetStorage 2003 at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, June 9-12, 2003. Focused on both end-user and vendor perspectives, this unique conference not only provides advice on how to deploy storage products, but also includes in-depth forecasts for components and systems. For more information or to register please call 1-800-778-1997 or 1-203-316-6757 or visit www.gartner.com/us/storage.

About Gartner

Gartner, Inc. is a research and advisory firm that helps more than 10,000 clients leverage technology to achieve business success. Gartner's businesses consist of Research, Consulting, Measurement, Events and Executive Programs. Founded in 1979, Gartner is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut and has over 3800 associates, including approximately 1,000 research analysts and consultants, in more than 75 locations worldwide. Fiscal 2002 revenue totaled $888 million. For more information, visit www.gartner.com.