Apple picked a bad time to discontinue its line of wireless routers

If Apple is indeed discontinuing its line of wireless routers, including its Time Capsule, it may have picked a bad time to so do. A new report from Beige Market Intelligence says the global consumer and enterprise NAS market will be worth $44 billion by 2021. What’s more, Apple is the market leader in the U.S. in the consumer segment, and Dell is the leader in the large enterprise NAS user segment.

A Network Attached Storage (NAS) is a low-cost server-based storage devices which is attached to a network and allow storage and retrieval of data from a centralized location to the authorized users.  It can be remotely accessible and easy to operate, because, it doesn’t require professionals to operate. Individual users can also operate and use NAS for their storage requirement. It also requires low-maintenance.

The worldwide consumer and enterprise NAS market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of24% during the period 2015−2021, according to analysts at Beige Market Intelligence. The research group says that, along with the SOHO [small office/home office], and SMBs [small to medium sized businesses] the large enterprises are also going to witness a huge growth. A significant growth in data and piling up of unstructured data will enhance the demand for storage devices. 

Increased demand of smart home and home automation which uses the NAS is among the major driving factors. NAS is highly economical and more secure than the “cloud,” according to Beige Market Intelligence. 

The individual consumer and large enterprise segments are going to witness a decline in their market revenue, the report adds. In terms of unit shipment, the individual consumer segment will still witness growth in unit shipment; however, due to pressure on the average sales price, the revenue contribution from this segment will decline.