Enterprise storage spending remained flat in the second quarter, but thanks to a steep decline in the price of flash, buyers are getting a lot more bang for their buck.

At least that’s what analyst firm International Data Corp. (IDC) reckons, according to its latest Worldwide Quarterly Enterprise Storage Systems Tracker for the second quarter of 2016. It reveals that enterprise storage systems revenue was flat compared to one year ago at $8.8 billion. However, the total storage capacity shipped out by vendors rose by 12.9 percent over the same period.

All of this is due to the crashing price of flash storage, reckons IDC’s Liz Conner, who said the uptick was amplified by flash’s growing popularity among enterprises, which enjoy both the speed and space-saving benefits it offers. The fact that flash technology is rapidly advancing doesn’t hurt either. Whereas last year many enterprises were buying solid-state drives (SSDs) with up to 3 terabytes of storage, they can now purchase units with up to 22TB of capacity.

“We’re definitely seeing bigger bang for your buck,” Conner said in a statement.

The analyst added that spending on all-flash arrays, which many consider to be the best of the best in flash, almost doubled compared to the same period one year ago.

IDC said in its report that flash is also spurring growth in the server-based storage market, which saw revenues climb by 10 percent to $2.4 billion. Smaller organizations are said to be driving the trend here, as they steer away from external storage for easier management and greater simplicity. Flash, with its high speed and smaller footprint, is the best storage medium to make that possible.

EMC Corp. tied for first place with Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Co. (HPE) in first place for revenues, with each company pulling in around $1.6 billion for the second quarter. Dell came in third place with a revenue increase of 14 percent, up to $1 billion.

Dell recently closed on its $67 billion acquisition with EMC and became Dell Technologies Inc., with its storage arm now known as Dell-EMC. And the next quarter should see the new entity command a healthy lead in the storage revenue race, with an expected 30 percent overall share of the worldwide market.

All in all, things are shaping up well for Dell-EMC in the storage market. Conner points out that Dell-EMC’s expanded product line ensures it will have a foothold among enterprises of all sizes – small, medium and large – giving it a significant advantage in terms of being able to serve companies as they grow. Lastly, she says, the new business will likely begin integrating Dell servers with EMC storage products in an effort to make its offerings even more attractive.

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