Software-defined storage market seen hitting $171.35B by 2035

The global software-defined storage market is projected to grow from $21.10 billion in 2025 to $171.35 billion by 2035, driven by AI data growth, hybrid cloud adoption and container-native infrastructure needs. North America leads today, while Asia-Pacific is the fastest-growing region.

Why it matters: - Software-defined storage is moving from an upgrade option to core infrastructure as enterprises manage more unstructured data across hybrid and multi-cloud environments. - The market’s projected growth reflects pressure to replace legacy SAN and NAS systems with more flexible, lower-cost architectures. - The shift matters for regulated industries, cloud-first companies and container-native teams that need consistent storage controls across environments.

What happened: - The global software-defined storage market was estimated at $21.10 billion in 2025. - The market is forecast to reach $26.02 billion in 2026 and $171.35 billion by 2035. - The report projects a 23.3% compound annual growth rate through 2035. - Market Research Future released the forecast on Aug. 7, 2026. - The report covers components, applications, storage types, deployment modes, organization sizes, end users and regions. - A sample copy is available here. - The full report is available here.

The details: - Explosive unstructured data growth is one of the biggest drivers behind the market. - AI training pipelines, video and sensor telemetry are adding storage demand that legacy arrays were not built to handle. - Hybrid and multi-cloud IT estates are pushing enterprises to want one storage layer across on-premises systems and multiple public clouds. - Legacy proprietary SAN and NAS appliances are being replaced by software layers that abstract storage intelligence from underlying disks. - SDS systems scale by adding commodity hardware instead of requiring forklift upgrades. - Kubernetes-native persistent storage is increasingly centered on CSI driver integration rather than bolt-on volume plugins. - North America holds an estimated 38% share of the market. - Asia-Pacific is the fastest-growing region, with a projected 27.4% CAGR. - Europe is also expanding, supported by GDPR requirements and sovereign cloud investment. - Block storage holds the largest 2025 revenue share at about 35%. - Object storage is the fastest-growing storage type, with a projected 26.8% CAGR through 2035. - File storage is valued at $5.07 billion in 2025. - On-premises deployment holds the largest share at about 44%. - Private cloud is the fastest-growing deployment mode, with a projected 25.9% CAGR. - Large enterprises account for roughly 62% of 2025 revenue. - Small and medium-sized enterprises are the fastest-growing organization segment, with a projected 26.5% CAGR. - Telecom and IT represent about 28% of total market revenue. - BFSI is among the fastest-growing verticals, with a projected 25.2% CAGR.

Between the lines: - The market’s growth is being driven by several forces at once, but unstructured data growth is the single largest contributor in the report. - Global data creation is expected to exceed 180 zettabytes annually by 2026, and more than 80% of that data is unstructured. - The report says software-defined storage can cut cost per terabyte by 40% to 60% versus monolithic arrays. - About 89% of enterprises already operate in multi-cloud environments, but only 34% have a unified storage management layer across those clouds. - That gap is a major buying trigger. - The report ties Kubernetes adoption to more than 5.6 million Kubernetes developers globally by mid-2024. - The report also says traditional SAN storage averages $3,200 per terabyte annually, versus $800 to $1,400 for SDS-managed commodity storage. - For a mid-sized bank managing 5 petabytes, that difference translates to annual savings of $9 million to $12 million. - Competition is shifting toward Kubernetes-native capability, interoperability, latency performance, compliance controls and consumption-based pricing. - The report says future platforms are moving toward AI-driven autonomous storage management. - It says machine learning can forecast disk failures 72 hours ahead and reduce storage management effort by up to 60%.

What's next: - The report expects object storage demand to keep rising as AI and media workloads expand. - Private cloud SDS deployments are likely to accelerate as companies look for cloud-like agility inside their own data centers. - Managed SDS offerings should keep lowering the barrier for small and medium-sized businesses. - Storage-as-a-service models from vendors such as HPE GreenLake, Dell APEX and NetApp Keystone are expected to expand further. - By 2030, the report expects 60% of enterprise storage environments to be managed through AI-driven automation, up from 15% in 2024. - The report also projects storage marketplaces could generate 25% to 30% of vendor revenues by 2033. - Asia-Pacific’s growth is expected to remain strongest, with the region projected to top $55 billion by 2035.

The bottom line: - Software-defined storage is becoming the default answer for enterprises wrestling with data growth, cloud sprawl and rising compliance demands.