Ever wondered which industries use the most data? How much data storage has grown since the late 80’s? If you’re obsessed with data (aren’t we all?) this infographic posted on the Rackspace blog will put things in perspective.
According to the infographic, the amount of data stored digitally has grown from just 1% in 1986 to 94% of data in 2007. Instead of papers, punchcards, vinyl records, and Polaroids, we now cram most of our lives into digital storage of some kind. How much data? In the enterprise, the estimate is 6 exabytes, and consumer data is pegged at 7 exabytes.
By industry, companies that manufacture cars, toys, medical equipment, and such top the list with more 966 petabytes stored. At the low end of the scale, educators are only storing up 296 petabytes. Note, if you need help visualizing a petabyte, have a look at the “how much data is that?” infographic we posted back in April.
The data in the infographic is taken from reports by EMC and MGI. You can find the full-sized image on the Rackspace blog.
