During a period of major growth in enterprise data, companies are recruiting and hiring personnel who can manage data storage systems through critical hardware and software expertise. Storage management encompasses a range of data storage technologies — including cloud storage, software-defined storage (SDS), and storage area networks (SANs). Familiarity with storage software is particularly important […]
During a period of major growth in enterprise data, companies are recruiting and hiring personnel who can manage data storage systems through critical hardware and software expertise.
Storage management encompasses a range of data storage technologies — including cloud storage, software-defined storage (SDS), and storage area networks (SANs). Familiarity with storage software is particularly important for engineers, administrators, and technicians in storage management.
See below to learn all about jobs in the storage management market and how to prepare for one:
The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates an 8% growth between 2020 and 2030 in the job market for database administrators and architects, who play a key role managing storage. Its projected median salary is $98,860 per year, as of 2020.
Expert Market Research also predicts a 26% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for the global data storage market between 2021 and 2027. Fortune Business Insights predicts the global cloud storage market will grow from $76.43 billion to $390.33 billion between 2021 and 2028.
Also read: Storage Software Engineer Job Market
Engineers, administrators, and technicians in storage management roles typically have at least a bachelor’s degree in one of the following fields or a similar area of study:
A college degree isn’t required for all storage management roles or by all companies, though. Some will accept a storage certification without requiring a bachelor’s degree. Relevant storage certifications include:
While most storage certifications don’t require formal IT education, some are difficult to pass without prior technology experience.
Also read: Top 10 Data Storage Certifications
The following job titles are a snapshot of the current job openings tied to storage management, which are also representative of enterprise needs:
Some of the major employers in the storage management market include top storage companies, such as NetApp, IBM, and Pure Storage.
Also read: Data Storage Job Market Trends
These are some examples of the roles related to storage management and their responsibilities:
| Position | Focus |
| Data engineer | Develop and deploy data management and business intelligence (BI) systems Build data solutions using storage technologies |
| Database administrator | Data modeling and database design Data securityDatabase management |
| Enterprise storage and data protection manager | Provision and manage large-scale data storage Manage major enterprise data solutions, like Dell EMC PowerMax storage array |
| IT specialist (data management) | Deploy and maintain applications Oversee the application of information security policies |
| Storage engineer | Support enterprise data storage environments Keep storage hardware and software current by updating and upgrading systems Collaborate with IT to meet storage, backup, and recovery requirements |
| Manager of data storage resiliency | Lead data storage and backup infrastructure Lead storage engineering for large-scale storage systems |
The following table samples median salaries, estimated by Glassdoor, for positions related to data storage management:
| Position | Median Salary |
| Database administrator | $83,700 |
| Data engineer | $112,500 |
| Storage engineer | $104,700 |
| Cloud storage engineer | $106,600 |
| Infrastructure engineer | $101,100 |
| Cloud infrastructure engineer | $112,700 |
| Senior storage engineer | $132,700 |
(Source: Glassdoor)
The storage management job market represents the broad needs in the tech industry for qualified professionals to develop and improve data storage systems: There are a wide variety of job types and open positions.
The high growth rate of the global storage market reveals the rapid growth of data, and it also indicates demand for talent, specifically in storage systems and data center infrastructure.
Enterprises are looking for storage management personnel to work with highly scalable storage hardware, storage software, and data security. Years of experience, a relevant degree, or skills with storage technologies pay off in storage management, based on salaries in the field.
Read next: Top 5 In-Demand Enterprise Storage Jobs
Jenna Phipps is a staff writer for Enterprise Storage Forum and eSecurity Planet, where she covers data storage, cybersecurity and the top software and hardware solutions in the storage industry. She’s also written about containerization and data management. Previously, she wrote for Webopedia. Jenna has a bachelor's degree in writing and lives in middle Tennessee.
Enterprise Storage Forum offers practical information on data storage and protection from several different perspectives: hardware, software, on-premises services and cloud services. It also includes storage security and deep looks into various storage technologies, including object storage and modern parallel file systems. ESF is an ideal website for enterprise storage admins, CTOs and storage architects to reference in order to stay informed about the latest products, services and trends in the storage industry.
Property of TechnologyAdvice. © 2025 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved
Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.
