July 10, 2012

Almost 50% Of World Data To Be On The Cloud – Gartner

By Cloud Syndicate

World Data

IT research and advisory firm Gartner recently released a statement predicting that roughly a third of the world’s digital content will be stored on the cloud by 2016. This is based on users’ desire to share and access content on multiple devices, without the need to manually transfer and synchronize data. In 2011 alone, Gartner states that 7 percent of worldwide consumer data is already stored on the cloud, and the figures are likely to grow to 36 percent within five years.

Cloud computing is starting to gain a lot of support from both SMEs and large enterprise users these days. The cloud allows them to use software, apps and certain services on a pay-per-use basis, whereas in the past they were required to set up their own IT infrastructure in order to host the apps and services on their own.

In addition to the constant increase in the adoption of tablet PCs, smartphones and other portable computing devices, users are now able to gather huge amounts of data, particularly photos and videos. Sooner rather than later, they’ll find that they will need far more storage than their device and its expansion capabilities can provide.

According to Gartner’s prediction, the consumer digital storage needs of the world will increase from 329 exabytes in 2011 to 4.1 zettabytes in 2016, based on digital content stored on PCs, smartphones, tablets, HDDs, NAS and cloud repositories.

Gartner principal research analyst, Shalini Verma, states that while consumers have traditionally stored content on their personal computers, we are now entering a post-PC era. Consumers are using various interconnected devices, which will lead to a huge and sudden increase in user-generated content needing storage. The emergence of personal clouds gives the growing consumer digital content a chance to quickly become disaggregated from their devices.

There are now several well-established providers of personal cloud services, such as Apple’s iCloud, Microsoft’s SkyDrive, and Dropbox (which uses cloud storage backed by Amazon).

Gartner also posits that social media sites will step in and do their part in providing cloud storage by hosting photos and videos from users who want to share their content. This will result in average storage per household increasing to 3.3 terabytes in 2016, from the mere 464 gigabytes figures of 2011.

Gartner believes that the rapid increase in cloud storage needs will include users who have become increasingly dependent on camera-equipped devices. This includes tablet PCs, smartphones, and portable Gaming consoles, at the forefront. This is because consumers are first trying out basic, free cloud services provided by companies, only to sign up for paid accounts once they realize they have a need for premium services.

While local storage will remain the primary means of hosting consumer digital content, Gartner predicts that it will progressively drop in share by 2016, dropping sharply from 93 percent in 2011 to 64 percent in 2016.

Gartner also predicts that the majority of the growth in cloud storage will come from Western Europe and North America, while Japan and South Korea will be showing the highest growth in the Asia–Pacific Region.

By Kaamil Nakhasi

Cloud Syndicate

Welcome to the 'Cloud Syndicate,' a curated community featuring short-term guest contributors, curated resources, and syndication partners covering diverse technology topics. Connect your technology article or news feed to our syndication network for broader visibility. Explore the intersections of cloud computing, Big Data, and AI through insightful articles and engaging podcasts. Stay ahead in the dynamic world of technology with our platform for thought leadership and industry news.

Join us as we delve into the latest trends and innovations.
Steve Prentice

Episode 20: Why inbound telephone calls are still vital to your business

A conversation with David Anandraj, manager of Product Management for the ecommerce segment of BCM [...]
Read more
Srini Kalapala

Driving Growth: Srini Kalapala Discusses Verizon’s Network APIs

Welcome to our interview with Srini Kalapala, Senior VP of Technology and Product Development at [...]
Read more
Steve Prentice

Episode 21: Building a better backup – getting the whole organization to play better in the sandbox

Building a better backup – getting the whole organization to play better in the sandbox [...]
Read more
Andy Hilliard

Accelerance CEO Unveils the Future: AI’s Role in Software Development

In this edition of CloudTweaks, we feature an insightful discussion with Andy Hilliard, CEO of [...]
Read more
Freshworks

Freshservice’s Journey to Streamlining IT Operations

Freshservice, a cloud-based IT service management solution, is a part of Freshworks Inc., a company [...]
Read more
Dmytro Reshetchenko

Digital Solutions for Legal Matchmaking: The Role of AI in Connecting Clients with Lawyers

The Role of AI in Connecting Clients with Lawyers The legal industry is transforming significantly [...]
Read more

SPONSOR PARTNER

Explore top-tier education with exclusive savings on online courses from MIT, Oxford, and Harvard through our e-learning sponsor. Elevate your career with world-class knowledge. Start now!
© 2024 CloudTweaks. All rights reserved.