Increasing numbers of European organisations are installing storage area networks (SANs), a trend that is expected to accelerate, according to a report by Macarthur Stroud International. The research firm surveyed 450 western European businesses with more than 500 employees and found that 47% had deployed at least one SAN. Returns on investment from SANs typically ranged from 30% to more than 200%, it said.

“We were not surprised to find that nearly half of the organisations we polled had deployed a SAN because ROI is so high,” says the research firm’s CEO and founder, Hamish Macarthur. “Also, the need to address legal and regulatory factors will certainly result in a new storage sales peak in the short-term and medium-term.”

Macarthur Stroud identifies three key factors that will drive SAN deployments over the coming years: the development of cheaper technology aimed at smaller companies; closer relationships between vendors and resellers; and a better understanding of the benefits that SANs can bring to the business.