News

Adoption of Digital Content Drives Home Networked Storage (17/3/2005)

Adoption of digital content, combined with broadband services and home networks, drives interest in networked storage solutions for the home, according to Storage and Management for the Connected Home, an upcoming industry report from Parks Associates.

Among households with a home network, 27% of those who are enthusiastic about digital content and services (digital entertainment enthusiasts have large amount of digital content stored on their home networks and are early adopters of digital entertainment services) are highly interested in a networked storage device, defined as a high-capacity hard drive that can connect to the home network to enable multiple PCs, printers, and other digital devices (such as an iPod) to store, share, and access content.

"Enthusiasm for digital entertainment content and services is translating into greater interest in networked storage devices," said Yuanzhe (Michael) Cai, senior analyst at Parks Associates. "Companies manufacturing networked storage solutions would benefit from cross-promoting their solutions with digital entertainment devices such as DVRs and portable digital music players or with digital entertainment services such as online movie or music services."

The need for storage is apparent and growing, according to Cai, so the real challenge for solutions manufacturers is to differentiate their offerings.

"Companies that manufacture networked storage solutions need to educate consumers about the benefits of real-time backup, easy sharing among multiple PCs and networked devices, and the ability to serve digital content to multiple platforms," Cai said. "They have to differentiate their solutions from basic and inexpensive USB hard drives now prevalent in retail."

www.parksassociates.com