Email is the most storage-hungry application in UK organisations, according to a survey of IT directors by researcher Harte Hanks. In 43% of organisations questioned, it is the main driver behind their increased investment in storage.

Customer database requirements and business growth also have significant impact on respondents’ need for added storage capacity ­ 23% of respondents in both cases cite these factors as being influential.

Despite the growing maturity of and access to applications such as streaming media and web conferencing, however, increased file size is less of a driver for adding storage capacity, according to 19% of respondents. Catering for the needs of new employees is the fifth most frequently cited factor pushing increased storage investment, proving a major issue for 16% of organisations surveyed.

In addition, three-quarters of those organisations surveyed believe that their storage requirements will increase dramatically over the next 12 months. However, more than one-third of IT managers questioned by Harte Hanks say they are confused by the large variety of storage options available to them.