In 2020, data storage will be one such technology domain that many industry leaders and experts will be closely watching. IDC released a report that calculated the entire ever-growing datasphere across various systems across the world. IDC predicts that the complete world data collectively is all set to grow from 33ZB in 2019 to 175ZB by 2025, at a CAGR of 61%. The prediction rate varies every year and has registered a 9% increase compared to the last year.

There are 3 core locations for the datasphere. They are core, which includes traditional and cloud data centers; edge, which includes branch offices and cell towers; and endpoints, which is the most recent development of technology that includes smartphones, PCs, and Internet of Things (IoT) devices. The Senior Vice President at IDC David Reinsel said that it is really hard to imagine the mammoth 175ZB of data, wherein a zettabyte is a trillion gigabyte multiplied with 175.

Storage and data predictions for 2025

1. The storage industry will ship 42ZB of capacity in the next 7 years.

2. By 2025, 49% of data will be stored in the public domain.

3. 90ZB of data will be created on IoT devices by 2025.

4. Approximately 30% of the data generated is set to be consumed in real-time.

The businesses will have to move from traditional data storage approaches to a more segmented form of data storage. Data segmentation using AI and filtering of data using various analytics tools are set to kick in with time. The traditional spinning hard-disk drives and solid-state drives will be used in combination. Besides, the tape drives will not die as they offer more economical storage and better archiving ease.

With time and improved connectivity, the amount of data stored in the core will be more than double compared to the data stored in the endpoint. The shift in storage technology will depend on end-user applications and help ease connectivity as the business of storage shifts.