Surprising Statistics About Big Data

Baseline has reported extensively about the booming interest in big data. In fact, seven out of 10 CIOs and other top executives say data analytics is a "crucial" or "very important" business driver, according to survey research from KPMG. The interest is fueled by the fact that big data continues to grow so rapidly: A statistic quoted in an IDC and EMC report says that the digital universe is doubling every two years, and will reach 40,000 exabytes (40 trillion gigabytes) by 2020. (A single exabyte of storage can contain 50,000 years' worth of DVD-quality video.) As a result, a growing number of corporations have access to far more information that they can manage, and they are constantly challenged with getting the right IT tools and tech talent in place to maximize big data's value. As with any new initiatives, however, there will always be pushback. So, if you're trying to justify the need for a big data initiative, consider using the following impressive statistics, which were obtained from research produced or compiled by Sybase, the Wikibon Project, Capgemini, CSC and other organizations.