Data is the new oil.
In today’s digital world, data is the new fuel. According to the latest estimates, 328 million terabytes of data are created each day. The age we live in is a digital age. As technology evolves, so has the use of the internet, which has skyrocketed in the last 10 years. Today, you can access information with one click. With the advent of the IoT and social media, data creation has skyrocketed.
Data plays a critical role as a valuable resource driving modern economies. From optical fiber networks to direct satellite connections, things have changed significantly. Most of the big companies are leveraging data to make business decisions. Based on data, they are also building models to minimize costs and increase profitability.
From old media format, we have now entered the digital age. Advertisements and campaigns are also becoming digital. As artificial intelligence grows, decision-making also has greater potential.
From paper currency to digital payments, from downloading music to streaming, from telegrams to emails and online messaging systems, we are moving further into the digital age. The amount of data that will be generated in the coming years will be exponential.
As you can see from above graph, In the space of 13 years, this figure has increased by an estimated 60x from just 2 zettabytes in 2010 to 130 zettabytes in 2024.
Data creation by category.
| Category | Proportion of Internet Data Traffic |
| Video | 53.72% |
| Social | 12.69% |
| Gaming | 9.86% |
| Web browsing | 5.67% |
| Messaging | 5.35% |
| Marketplace | 4.54% |
| File sharing | 3.74% |
| Cloud | 2.73% |
| VPN | 1.39% |
| Audio | 0.31% |
Future of Data and Challenges:
Heavy Data Volumes: Most organizations are collecting information at an extremely fast rate. Dealing with such large volumes of data can be a significant challenge for organizations.
Transforming unstructured data into a structured format is crucial. Businesses need to invest in the right technologies to effectively manage and derive value from data in real-time.
Data is like GOLD. However, this valuable asset is often exposed to various threats and vulnerabilities. To avoid these, businesses should work cohesively to design and implement security policies. Data security will remain a top concern for modern enterprises in 2024.
Conclusion.
As we are inching towards the digital age, data is becoming an engine for growth. Data must be processed and polished to be useful. Businesses should make the necessary investments in security, integration, storage, and manpower. Businesses that efficiently use data will be better positioned to compete with competitors in the years to come as data volumes continue to increase.
