Digital Universe Outpaces Projections

In case you missed it at EMC World in Orlando, FL on May 18^th, 2009, EMC made a surprising announcement regarding the expanding digital universe.

3,892,179,868,480,350,000,000 – also known as 3 sextillion, 892 quintillion, 179 quadrillion, 868 trillion, 480 billion, 350 million.

Equivalent to 486.522 billion gigabytes- this is "the number of new digital information bits created in 2008" according to John Gantz, Chief Research Officer for IDC. "Contrary to popular belief, as the economy deteriorated in late 2008, the pace of digital information created and transmitted over the Internet, phone networks, and airwaves actually increased."

According to the new EMC-sponsored IDC study titled "As the Economy Contracts, the Digital Universe Expands," the amount of digital information created in 2008 grew 3% faster than IDC's prior projection.

Looking forward, the Digital Universe is expected to double in size every 18 months. In 2012, five times as much digital information will be created versus 2008.

The new findings highlight the third update to the groundbreaking Digital Universe study, which measures and forecasts the vast amounts and diverse types of digital information created and copied annually.  

The amount of information created in 2008 is the equivalent of more than:

• 237 billion fully-loaded Amazon Kindle wireless reading devices
• 3 quadrillion Twitter feeds
• 162 trillion digital photos
• 30 billion fully-loaded Apple iPod Touches
• 19 billion fully-loaded Blu-ray DVDs
• 4.8 quadrillion online bank transactions

For ways to control the explosion of information in your universe, click here or dial 1-888-726-7730 to speak with a PaperFree consultant directly.