As organizations enter the AI-powered era, storage is no longer just a technology layer—it’s the foundation for innovation, customer engagement, and operational excellence. According to a global survey of 350 IT professionals, AI-optimized storage is now one of the top investment priorities for SMBs.
But supporting AI is only part of the challenge. Cloud complexity, escalating security threats, and the need for consistent hybrid operations are pushing organizations to rethink their storage strategy.
83% say AI workload support is critical when evaluating new on-prem storage.
On-prem environments remain central to AI, with 68% planning to run custom GenAI workloads on-prem or in hybrid models.
70%+ report cloud adoption has made security more challenging.
Security incidents are the #1 driver behind repatriating workloads from public cloud.