55% of Australasian data is not protected

A study conducted for EMC by IDC shows that Australia and New Zealand’s share of the worldwide Digital Universe was 2.2% in 2014, and that 55% of data in the ANZ market is not being protected.

The release of these local statistics follows on from the seventh global annual EMC Digital Universe study, issued in April 2014.

Findings from the local study include: If the ANZ Digital Universe was represented by the memory in a stack of iPad Air tablets, in 2013 it would have stretched just over two times the length of the Great Barrier Reef. By 2020, there will be 19 stacks the length of the Great Barrier Reef.

The ANZ Digital Universe represents 144 exabytes in 2014 and will reach 874 exabytes in 2020, meaning Australia has a 2.2% share of the Digital Universe in 2014 and will have 2% in 2020.

Mature markets such as Australia and New Zealand are losing ground to emerging markets as a percentage of the total Digital Universe. In 2013, mature markets represented 60% of the Digital Universe, but by 2020, emerging markets such as China, Brazil, India, Russia and Mexico will represent 60%. The Internet of Things will contribute an increasingly large amount - in 2014 embedded systems as a percentage of the Digital Universe is 2% and in 2020 it will be 12%.

The study says Australian organisations should target high value data to assist, manage and benefit from available information in the Digital Universe. At 1.6% of the ANZ Digital Universe, high value data is a much more manageable area of discovery.

It also found that much of the data in Australia and New Zealand that needs securing is not yet protected - 55% in total.

“The growing ANZ Digital Universe offers amazing possibilities for Australian organisations and the opportunities are available now for the taking. However, local companies will need to make fundamental changes to IT and business practices to be successful in this new technology era,” said Alister Dias, vice president and managing director, EMC, Australia and New Zealand.

Image courtesy Jorge Franganillo under CC