Mobile, Social media and SmartCity initiatives have been tipped to grow the data generation for Middle East and North Africa (MENA) by 600 percent by 2020.
According to EMC Digital Universe Study digital universe in the MENA will grow from 249 Exabytes in 2014 to 1835 Exabytes by 2020. This was revealed in a report titled, “The Digital Universe of Opportunities: Rich Data and the Increasing Value of the Internet of Things.”
“The Digital Universe Study clearly highlights that the MENA region continues to lead data growth contributing to 3.8% of the digital universe driven by the aggressive penetration of social platforms and mobility in addition to heavy penetration of video surveillance across key verticals like oil & gas, aviation, hospitality, retail and finance in addition to the many ambitious smart city initiatives in play all across the region,” Mohammed Amin, Senior Vice President and Regional Manager, Turkey, Eastern Europe, Africa, and Middle East, EMC Corporation commented.
The report also highlights that most of the data being generated and being used, 53 percent is not secured. This brings into sharp focus the issues of data protection in this region. However the growth in this region cannot be ignored, having contributed 3.8 percent to the worldwide growth of data.
“The study evidences that like anywhere else in the world, in the MENA too the Digital Universe and The Internet of Things go hand in hand. As sensors become connected to the Internet, the data that they generate becomes increasingly important to every aspect of business, transforming old industries into new relevant entities,” Vernon Turner, Senior Vice President, IDC said.
“This explosion of information creates immense opportunities for businesses everywhere and the companies that succeed in the future are the ones who successfully identify the right sources of data and extract relevant value from this data for their business and its stakeholders.”