Recently, research firm IDC released a report outlining the future trends of the global data sphere over the next five years. The report primarily assesses annual data creation, capture, replication, and consumption, covering consumers and enterprises, regions, data types, locations (core, edge, and endpoint), as well as cloud and non-cloud environments.
It is projected that 159.2 ZB (zettabytes, or 10¹⁹ bytes) of data will be generated globally in 2024, increasing to 384.6 ZB by 2028-a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 24.4% over the five-year period. IDC notes that the application of artificial intelligence across various sectors-such as smart surveillance, virtual assistants, AI-powered business tools, and industrial automation-is collectively driving steady growth in data volume.
The report identifies the following factors as drivers of data growth:
1. The continued growth in the number of IoT devices and the expansion of edge and endpoint computing;
2. The widespread adoption of cloud computing and multi-cloud environments, which provide robust data management and analytics capabilities;
3. Enterprises' increasing reliance on artificial intelligence and machine learning to unlock the value of data;
4. The transition toward automation and digital transformation in manufacturing and other industries, generating vast amounts of operational and performance data;
5. The continuous advancement of digital twin technology, spanning multiple sectors including manufacturing, automotive, aerospace, healthcare, and utilities.
IDC further analyzes that as more data is centrally analyzed and replicated, the majority of it will flow into the cloud. Given that cloud data centers have advantages in intensive computing, the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for data in the cloud is projected to reach 40.3%. It is estimated that by 2028, approximately 37% of data will be generated in the cloud, up from 20.5% in 2023 and 12.2% in 2018.