SDA India is an online resource for Software, Development,IT, Architecture, Open Source, Mobile, Security, Databases, Delphi, C, OS, Asp, .Net, Php, Xml, Java
From the News Desk
Wednesday, 12. March 2008
Digital Universe to Grow 10 Fold in Five Years: Study
For the first time, the amount of digital information being generated about people surpasses the amount they create themselves, says study. The study, titled "The Diverse and Exploding Digital Universe: An Updated Forecast of Worldwide Information Growth Through 2011", was conducted by IDC measures and forcasts the vast amounts and diverse types of digital information created and copied in the world.
The study estimates that at 281 billion gigabytes (281 exabytes), the digital universe in 2007 was 10 per cent bigger than originally estimated, and growing. It is projected that the digital universe will show a 10 fold increase over the next five years, reaching nearly 1.8 zettabytes in 2011.
The study, which was sponsored by EMC, a provider of information infrastructure solutions, also shows that the "digital shadow", that is, all the digital information generated about the average person on a daily basis -- now surpasses the amount of digital information individuals actively create themselves. IDC credits this growth to the accelerated growth in worldwide shipments of digital cameras, digital surveillance cameras, and digital televisions as well as a better understanding of information replication trends. The digital universe in 2007 was equal to almost 45 gigabytes (GB) of digital information for every person on earth -- or the equivalent of over 17 billion 8 GB iPhones. Other fast-growing corners of the digital universe include those related to Internet access in emerging countries, sensor-based applications, data centers supporting "cloud computing" and social networks comprised of digital content created by many millions of online users.
"Society is already feeling the early effects of the world's digital information explosion. Organisations need to plan for the limitless opportunities to use information in new ways and for the challenges of information governance," said Joe Tucci, EMC Chairman, President and CEO. "As people's digital footprints continue growing, so too will the responsibility of organisations for the privacy, protection, availability and reliability of that information. The burden is on IT departments within organisations to address the risks and compliance rules around information misuse, data leakage and safeguarding against security breaches."
IDC reports the information explosion creates new complexity for IT organisations charged with managing digital information that is rapidly growing in size and becoming more diverse. Consumers will also struggle with the growth of their own digital information as they attempt to figure out what to do with all the data they are creating.
The study estimates that at 281 billion gigabytes (281 exabytes), the digital universe in 2007 was 10 per cent bigger than originally estimated, and growing. It is projected that the digital universe will show a 10 fold increase over the next five years, reaching nearly 1.8 zettabytes in 2011.
The study, which was sponsored by EMC, a provider of information infrastructure solutions, also shows that the "digital shadow", that is, all the digital information generated about the average person on a daily basis -- now surpasses the amount of digital information individuals actively create themselves. IDC credits this growth to the accelerated growth in worldwide shipments of digital cameras, digital surveillance cameras, and digital televisions as well as a better understanding of information replication trends. The digital universe in 2007 was equal to almost 45 gigabytes (GB) of digital information for every person on earth -- or the equivalent of over 17 billion 8 GB iPhones. Other fast-growing corners of the digital universe include those related to Internet access in emerging countries, sensor-based applications, data centers supporting "cloud computing" and social networks comprised of digital content created by many millions of online users.
"Society is already feeling the early effects of the world's digital information explosion. Organisations need to plan for the limitless opportunities to use information in new ways and for the challenges of information governance," said Joe Tucci, EMC Chairman, President and CEO. "As people's digital footprints continue growing, so too will the responsibility of organisations for the privacy, protection, availability and reliability of that information. The burden is on IT departments within organisations to address the risks and compliance rules around information misuse, data leakage and safeguarding against security breaches."
IDC reports the information explosion creates new complexity for IT organisations charged with managing digital information that is rapidly growing in size and becoming more diverse. Consumers will also struggle with the growth of their own digital information as they attempt to figure out what to do with all the data they are creating.
