Once seen as the secondary partner to servers, storage is rapidly becoming the backbone of IT infrastructure. With AI workloads, big data analytics and billions of IoT devices, data is growing faster than we can store it. Because all this data has to go somewhere, analysts predict that by 2028 storage will overtake servers to become the largest segment of the IT hardware market.
By making storage solutions a priority now, business leaders can ensure they avoid operational disruption and spiralling costs when they suddenly run out of space to store their data. That said, storage can be expensive and energy-intensive, which doesn’t fit easily with today’s mandate for agility and sustainability. Hence the growing interest in refurbished technology.
What’s driving the surge in storage?
To understand the rise in storage and what it means for your business, we must first look at demand.
This is coming from every direction. AI is one of the biggest contributors with its insatiable appetite for training data and growing archives of generated outputs. Big data analytics, now central to decision-making across industries, is also fuelling demand by requiring both real-time and long-term retention of structured and unstructured information.
Then there’s the rise of IoT and edge devices, generating a continuous stream of data that must be captured, distributed and stored securely, and the explosion of consumer and enterprise content, from streaming platforms to diagnostic imaging, with file sizes that were unthinkable even a decade ago.
Compliance and customer expectations are only accelerating the trend. Regulations like GDPR have strict retention requirements, while customers increasingly expect services to be instant, personalised and always available.
The need for more storage is already here and growing. Businesses that rethink their IT strategies now will be best positioned to thrive in the future, while those that fail to adapt risk being blindsided by rising costs, infrastructure bottlenecks and missed opportunities to harness the value of their data.
Balancing the demand for scalability and sustainability
Building out new capacity at scale has traditionally meant major capital investment and significant operational disruption. But there is an alternative approach. Instead of defaulting to costly rip-and-replace cycles, many businesses are adopting more lifecycle-conscious strategies like the use of refurbished hardware.
Once overlooked due to misconceptions about reliability, today’s refurbished IT components are rigorously tested and professionally reconditioned to perform as new, to the point where their use is increasingly viewed as a pragmatic way to expand capacity without compromising on quality or overspending.
Yes, refurbished technology is a credible and cost-effective alternative to brand-new equipment, but its real benefit lies in its ability scale and flex in line with changing requirements.
Refurbished systems can be added incrementally to meet unpredictable demand, integrated into existing infrastructure or deployed alongside cloud and edge technologies. This gives IT leaders the freedom to design infrastructure that grows with the business.
And it extends the lifecycle of IT assets – something that regulators, investors and customers are paying closer attention to as sustainability concerns rise. With global e-waste already estimated at more than 350 million tonnes, organisations are under pressure to find smarter, more responsible ways to manage their technology. Opting for refurbished IT is one way to do that.
This shift is not just about keeping pace with data growth, it signals a fundamental change in how businesses view the role of IT infrastructure. Storage is not just where information lives, it’s where competitive advantage will increasingly be built.
By 2028, storage will surpass servers as the dominant force in the IT hardware market. If organisations embrace flexible and sustainable models today, they can create the foundations they need to thrive in a data-driven future.
