Open Compute Project (OCP) certified storage equipment is set to take a bigger bite of the market, according to a new report from IHS Markit.

The firm’s Data Center Storage Equipment Market Tracker report forecasts that worldwide revenue of OCP-certified storage equipment will more than double within the next four years from $2.5 billion this year, to $5.4 billion in 2023.

OCP-certified storage accounted for just 4.5% of overall server external storage revenue generated in the first quarter of this year. By comparison, non-OCP compliant white boxes accounted for 24.5% of the revenue and traditional servers from IBM, Dell EMC, and HPE snared 71% of the market’s revenues.

“The market for storage equipment that complies with OCP-accepted and inspired specifications has lagged that of servers, but now it is showing signs of gaining momentum,” said Dennis Hahn, principal analyst at IHS Markit, in a prepared statement. “Rising activity and solid member participation within the OCP storage community are sparking increased interest from equipment suppliers.”

The report predicts that total server external data center storage revenues will grow at a 9.7% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from $40 billion in 2018, to $63 billion in 2023.

On the flip side, cloud service provider (CSP) revenue growth will slow, but analysts still anticipate CSPs to hold 49% of the market in 2023. Telecom companies will see their revenue share jump to 10%, with enterprise market share dropping to 41%.

Storage needs are front and center as modern data centers continue to assume more flexibility to meet the growth of IoT, security, and edge computing.

A previous study conducted by IHS identified two top adoption drivers for customers: cost reduction (79%) and power efficiency (42%). The firm at that time predicted that equipment revenue from non-board member companies would reach $6 billion, or about 5% of the total $156 billion market, by 2021.

Its most recent findings suggest two new sources of demand will drive OCP adoption: the market for edge products — specifically for telecom providers, which have historically been drawn to standards; and software-defined storage (SDS), where hardware can benefit from standards.

According to the report, “Standards allow for greater choice when marrying together SDS hardware and software to create storage solutions and allow for consistent remote edge storage deployment and its associated support.”

While early drivers for OCP storage equipment adoption are still generating demand, IHS expects that within the next four years, companies will turn to OCP storage equipment for its conformance to specifications.