Databases still pushing more hardware purchasing than any other app

$40 billion heading out the door for data management servers and storage in 2022 alone

Databases remain the largest single driver of enterprise hardware purchases, according to analyst outfit IDC.

IDC's latest Worldwide Semiannual Enterprise Infrastructure Tracker observes that in the first half of 2022, $6.3 billion of servers and storage were sold – just to support databases or data management workload.

That document also extrapolates $14.1 billion of hardware spend in 2022 across the data management industry – which IDC defines as spanning AI Lifecycle, Business Intelligence and Analytics, Structured Database/Data Management, Text and Media Analytics, and Unstructured Databases.

Business applications, email and collaborative apps, and infrastructure are the next three most prolific drivers of hardware spend.

IDC predicts that by the end of 2022, just over $140 billion will have been spent on servers and storage for use by enterprises, and by 2026 that figure will near $200 billion. Data management will be the fastest-growing component of that spend across the period.

Here's how IDC sees the market for the next few years:

IDC Worldwide Semiannual Enterprise Infrastructure Tracker – Click to enlarge

That's plenty for Dell, HPE, Lenovo, and smaller rivals, to scrap over – even as they also sell to hyperscale clouds.

There's also plenty for clouds to get excited about. IDC found that spending on infrastructure to support data management will grow even faster in the cloud than for dedicated enterprise facilities.

Cloudy growth will also outpace on-prem purchasing in the second-fastest growing field: technical applications. On-prem spend will move at an annual compound growth rate of 6.2 percent on prem, but 14.8 percent in the cloud. ®