The data deluge is nothing new but recent innovations have accelerated data usage and creation beyond even the stratospheric growth of the last decade. Statista has reported that the volume of data created, captured, copied and consumed worldwide had grown to 79 zettabytes in 2021. Even more impressive, growth is poised to accelerate in the next few years, projected to hit 180 zettabytes by 2025.
The growth in data from all perspectives has been phenomenal. According to Unicorn Insights, if you were to download all of the data from the internet today, it would take approximately 181 million years to do so — and that’s without yet seeing the true impact of new technologies.
Another concern comes with the arrival of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and tools such as Microsoft Copilot that can generate their own content. Suddenly an extra – artificial – employee is generating data for every employee in your business in addition to the data they already created. Therefore, data is experiencing exponential growth and far exceeding expectations from even one year ago.
The challenge for enterprises is whether their systems can manage all the data originating from something other than traditional sources. Even companies that have prepared for vast scale-up will find their data infrastructure flooded with data from all the new communications tools. Among those who planned for massive scale only two years ago, few will have sufficiently prepared for the scale of data we are facing now.
