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AI-Ready Data Storage Infrastructure: Market Overview

Phil Goodwin, Ashish Nadkarni, Dave Pearson, Carol Sliwa, Johnny Yu — Tue, 05 May 2026 04:00:00 GMT

This market overview is a brief synopsis of vendors that IDC has identified as having important capabilities for IT organizations looking to improve and make their data storage infrastructure AI-ready. It is not intended to be an exhaustive list, as there are dozens or hundreds of IT suppliers able to offer solutions for specific AI-related needs. Rather, it addresses some of the major suppliers in the category. It is divided into two groups: storage system suppliers and storage software suppliers, grouped together. Suppliers are listed in alphabetical order.

This IDC study discusses the requirements for AI-ready data storage infrastructure that are wide ranging and diverse. Some suppliers take a platform approach, while others take a best-of-breed approach for specific capabilities. This document highlights some of the key vendors that IDC has identified for AI-ready data storage technology.

“IT organizations have learned that AI project's success depends upon quality data being delivered to the right place at the right time,” said Phil Goodwin, research vice president, Infrastructure Software at IDC. "Architecting storage systems support AI workloads performance to optimize GPU clusters as well as data logistics to assure data quality, security, and governance.”

IDC Survey: Cloud Adoption in European Financial Services — From Scaling to Managing Complexity

Dr. Chris Marshall — Tue, 05 May 2026 04:00:00 GMT

This IDC Survey uses key data extracted from IDC’s 2025 Industry AI and CloudPath Survey, which provides comprehensive data on AI and cloud adoption across 30+ industries, tracking 360 AI use cases, and 370 cloud applications. This presentation focuses on the financial services industry in the Europe region, using extensive data from the survey to deliver key insights on FSIs and their usage of GenAI in their institutions. The presentation looks into key trends regarding current levels of implementation of GenAI, the factors that influence purchasing decisions, and the future outlook for GenAI and what this means for agentic AI usage in the financial services industry in Europe.

IDC’s Worldwide Digital Sovereignty Taxonomy, 2026

Tue, 05 May 2026 04:00:00 GMT

This IDC study presents a comprehensive reframing of the digital sovereignty (DxSo) landscape, reflecting the evolving priorities and complexities of the market. The taxonomy, first introduced in 2023 and revised in 2024 to emphasize cloud sovereignty, now aligns with a broader DxSo concept, expanding from the original three pillars of data, technical, and operational sovereignty to four primary technology markets: business apps, business platforms, IT infrastructure, and IT operations and assurance.

This updated taxonomy provides a detailed hierarchical mapping of primary and secondary markets, offering clarity on how organizations can assemble technologies, operational models, and strategies to achieve coherent and consistent digital sovereignty. It offers a robust, forward-looking framework that captures the dynamic nature of digital sovereignty, enabling stakeholders to navigate regulatory, operational, and technological challenges with greater clarity and strategic intent.

The taxonomy supports IDC’s research and deliverables, including market forecasts, vendor profiles, and customer buying patterns, and is foundational for related services such as the Digital Sovereignty CIS and the forthcoming Sovereign AI Infrastructure Index SIS.

IDC defines digital sovereignty as the capacity for digital self-determination by nations, organizations, and individuals, emphasizing total control over data management, storage, and processing. The taxonomy’s segmentation covers a wide range of technology markets, including new and reclassified secondary markets under each primary category. Business apps and business platforms now encompass a broader set of software and development tools, while IT infrastructure and IT operations and assurance consolidate previously fragmented markets, reflecting the convergence of compute, storage, networking, and management functions.

The taxonomy also introduces a refined digital sovereignty strategy stack, which articulates the layered approach organizations must take — from applications, platforms, and infrastructure to various assurance levels (IT, business, governance, and customer) — to ensure resilience, compliance, and operational sovereignty. Cloud remains central to digital sovereignty, with IDC positioning sovereign cloud as a subset of DxSo, subject to all relevant data laws and regulations, and applicable to both public and private cloud deployments.

IDC’s methodology ensures the taxonomy remains aligned with other IDC frameworks and addresses critical questions around stack completeness, data residency, and market measurement. The taxonomy is designed to track global DxSo spending and its economic impact, providing actionable insights for IT buyers, vendors, and service providers.

“Digital sovereignty has switched gears over the years. It has evolved from digital self-determination and digital self-sufficiency to survivability at the national level, given the crucial nature of digital technologies underpinning society and critical national infrastructure. As a result, this taxonomy has also evolved and now encompasses the IT products, platforms, and services that are needed to assure sovereignty at a much broader scale, going further than just data sovereignty and cloud sovereignty, and even the relatively newer concept of AI sovereignty,” said Rahiel Nasir, research director, Cloud and Infrastructure Services, IDC.

Impact of the Middle East War on Cloud Adoption in META: Insights Across Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Türkiye, and South Africa — Based on IDC's March 2026 Tech Buyer Survey

Jebin George — Tue, 05 May 2026 04:00:00 GMT

This IDC Market Presentation examines how the Middle East War is reshaping cloud adoption strategies across the Middle East, Türkiye, and Africa (META) region, based on fresh survey data from CIOs and IT decision-makers in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Türkiye, and South Africa. It provides new insights into how rising geopolitical risk, economic uncertainty, and supply chain pressures are influencing enterprise cloud priorities, from increased focus on resilience, security, and sovereign cloud to shifts in IT spending, architecture design, and sourcing strategies.

The report highlights where cloud adoption continues to accelerate, where it is becoming more selective, and how organizations are redesigning cloud environments to balance performance, control, and cost. It also outlines the implications for cloud providers operating in the region, making it essential reading for technology leaders navigating an increasingly complex and risk-driven cloud landscape.

Kenya and Nigeria Cloud Trends, 2026: AI Impact and the Next Phase of Enterprise Adoption

Jebin George, George Ayad — Tue, 05 May 2026 04:00:00 GMT

This IDC Market Presentation examines how cloud adoption is evolving in Kenya and Nigeria as AI reshapes enterprise infrastructure priorities, modernization strategies, and provider selection. Drawing on IDC's 2025 Worldwide Cloud Survey, executive interviews, and local market analysis, this report explores how the two markets differ in cloud maturity, deployment models, modernization pathways, and AI-on-cloud adoption. It also highlights the policy, infrastructure, skills, and governance factors influencing growth. Finally, it provides technology vendors, service providers, and enterprise buyers with a clear view of where demand is accelerating, what barriers still constrain value realization, and how AI is changing the next phase of cloud investment in two of Africa's most important growth markets.

Omnissa Doubles Down With Its Platinum Suites Introduction

Filippo Vanara — Tue, 05 May 2026 04:00:00 GMT

This IDC Market Note analyzes Omnissa’s recent introduction of Workspace ONE Platinum and Horizon Platinum. This marks a strategic shift toward unified, AI-driven workspace management to address rising IT complexity, automation needs, and security demands. By consolidating advanced capabilities into single offerings and adjusting pricing to reflect added value, Omnissa aims to simplify procurement, accelerate automation, and enhance operational efficiency. This move aligns with industry trends favoring integrated, autonomous platforms, positioning Omnissa to meet evolving enterprise requirements for flexibility, simplicity, and improved digital employee experiences.

The AI Supercycle: Where the Next Trillion in Tech Value Will Be Created

Meredith Whalen — Tue, 05 May 2026 04:00:00 GMT

These event proceedings were presented at the IDC Directions conference in Boston in April 2026.

The technology industry is entering one of its most significant expansion cycles in three decades — but the drivers of growth are fundamentally different. This keynote examines the two phases of the AI supercycle: the massive global infrastructure build-out underway today and the enterprise adoption wave that will follow. Meredith Whalen (chief product, research, and delivery officer, IDC) will share IDC's latest forecasts on AI spending, the ripple effects across devices and software markets, and the shift toward agentic platforms and AI-driven services. As AI reshapes the technology ecosystem, value is moving to new layers of the stack, creating new winners and new risks for vendors. Attendees will gain a clear view of where value will accrue and how technology providers must position to capture it in the next phase of AI-driven growth.

Unlocking New Revenue Opportunities by Monetizing AI and Digital Infrastructure

Masarra Mohamed — Tue, 05 May 2026 04:00:00 GMT

This IDC Market Note highlights that telcos must first demonstrate AI value internally before monetizing it externally, with orchestration, trust, and execution discipline as key differentiators. The shift from providing connectivity to delivering orchestrated, business-outcomes-based services is accelerating, while edge-native AI favors smaller, domain-specific models. IDC’s panel at the FutureNet World event warned of capex risks in sovereign AI infrastructure and emphasized managed services as the most viable commercial model. Success hinges on credible internal AI deployment, hybrid infrastructure, and aligning offerings with enterprise demand for reliable, auditable outcomes. “AI monetization in telecom will not be about owning models or GPUs; instead, it will be won on orchestration, trust, and execution discipline,” says Senior Research Analyst Masarra Mohamed, IDC.

AI Factories: Scaling AI-Ready Infrastructure

Dave Pearson, Dave McCarthy — Mon, 04 May 2026 04:00:00 GMT

These event proceedings were presented at the IDC Directions conference in Boston in April 2026.

In this presentation, IDC analysts debate, compare, and contrast how to maximize ROI when deploying AI-ready infrastructure. They discuss how to scale these infrastructures; how cloud, on-premises, and hybrid approaches differ; and when each model wins.

Data in Action: Agentic Application Success

Lynne Schneider, Roger Beharry Lall — Mon, 04 May 2026 04:00:00 GMT

These event proceedings were presented at the IDC Directions conference in Boston in April 2026.

Juxtaposing insights from data foundations and business strategy, this session will explore the transition from SaaS applications to autonomous intelligence. We'll explore why data quality is a primary barrier to scaling AI agents and a practical look at actions users — and vendors — must take to ensure agentic success.