Sources of Data Deluge: Why We Now Store and Analyze More Data than Ever
![Sources of Data Deluge: Why We Now Store and Analyze More Data than Ever Sources of Data Deluge: Why We Now Store and Analyze More Data than Ever](https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt10e444bce2d36aa8/blt740fb2834fbe37a3/65246817619d142bb8e787c7/IoT_Connected_Home2_0.jpg?width=700&auto=webp&quality=80&disable=upscale)
The Internet of Things (IoT) is still maturing. But IoT devices are already collecting and uploading all sorts of data that did not exist a decade ago. This trend will only continue as devices like smart thermostats, weather sensors and wearables continue to become the norm.
Mobile devices have been commonplace for a while. But in the past few years the channel has passed the "tipping point" at which mobile devices overtook traditional PCs as the platform of choice for Internet users. Because mobile devices generate and collect additional types of information — such as GPS location and SMS messages — alongside the data stored on PCs, the popularity of tablets and smartphones has helped feed the data deluge.
Plus, mobile computing gives service providers and marketers new opportunities for tracking and analyzing consumer trends — and they are taking advantage of it.
It's no surprise that the cloud is one big source of the data deluge. By making it much easier to centralize and store data on an ongoing basis, public and private clouds encourage growth in the amount of data organizations have to contend with.
How much cloud data are we talking about? A Tech Expectations study suggests the following figures for select clouds:
NSA: 2,000 petabytes.
Youtube: 504 petabytes.
Facebook: 202 petabytes.
Gmail: 212.5 petabytes.
That study was based on data that is now a few years old. The numbers have undoubtedly grown since then.
Unless you're an auditor, you may not think very often about compliance. But as regulation continues to increase steadily across the channel, so do compliance needs, which often entail collecting new types of information and storing it for fixed periods of time — sometimes permanently. That means more data.
Twenty years ago, most people weren't even using their real names online. Ten years ago, Facebook was just a place where college students left notes on one another's walls.
Fast forward to the present, however, and people now share reams of data — from images to videos to endless streams of tweets — via social media platforms, for better or worse. That's a new source of vast amounts of data that needs to be stored, and which vendors and advertisers are eager to analyze.
Twenty years ago, most people weren't even using their real names online. Ten years ago, Facebook was just a place where college students left notes on one another's walls.
Fast forward to the present, however, and people now share reams of data — from images to videos to endless streams of tweets — via social media platforms, for better or worse. That's a new source of vast amounts of data that needs to be stored, and which vendors and advertisers are eager to analyze.
This is the age of big data. That's no secret. But have you ever wondered where all of today's data actually comes from? Here's a look at the sources of the data deluge, which has made data analytics a more important part of the channel than ever before.
About the Author(s)
You May Also Like