Sales of NAS devices to reach 13 million by 2012

The rapid growth in digital content libraries will push worldwide sales of network-attached storage devices to nearly 13 million units by 2012, according to Parks Associates’ Home Servers and Consumer Storage: Analysis and Forecasts.

In targeting this broader market, companies should develop storage solutions that emphasize easier file allocation, searching, and media sharing, Shields said. Manufacturers and retailers must carefully select the features to market. Messages that emphasize content sharing have as much resonance with this new audience as do those that stress backup. Intuitive user interfaces and installation processes, allowing easy backup, file sharing, and new device connectivity, will help consumers discover these and other features and grow accustomed to networked storage. In this way, NAS devices will expand their role in the home into media servers.

Home Servers and Consumer Storage: Analysis and Forecasts defines several categories of consumer storage solutions – from online/network-hosted services to network-attached storage and home servers. It provides primary consumer research about recent and planned storage uses and purchases and includes worldwide forecasts for network-attached storage devices.