19 May 2009

Firms 'must prepare for digital explosion'

Businesses have been warned to prepare for a dramatic increase in data volumes in the years to come.

Research carried out by IDC on behalf of EMC has shown that in 2008 the amount of data transferred totalled 487 billion gigabytes.

Furthermore, this figure has been projected to increase by a further five per cent over the next four years - with many businesses therefore needing to invest in upgraded managed IT services to meet this inflated demand.

Mike Altendorf, head of consulting in Europe, the Middle East and Africa at data storage and management firm EMC, commented: "The ramifications of this is even more compounded by [the] fact that we're seeing IT budgets and resources in corporates shrinking.

"With one number going up and the other going down, it is a real double whammy."

Meanwhile, Roger Thompson, chief research officer at AVG Technologies, recently noted that companies must be aware of the threat that the internet poses to disaster recovery efforts.

Research carried out by the firm showed that 99 per cent of all data attacks on businesses are currently web-based.