Back in 2018, it was estimated that more than 2.5 quintillion bytes of data were created every single day. To put that in perspective, if you were to lay out 2.5 quintillion pennies flat on the floor – like a carpet – there would be enough to completely cover the surface of the earth almost five times.
Fast-forward to 2021 and the rate at which data is being produced shows no signs of slowing down. In fact, IDC predicts that the world’s data will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 61 percent, largely driven by technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI).
Handling that volume of data is a huge challenge for businesses, as our recent Data Gravity Index DGx™ revealed, and we’re continually looking for new ways to help organisations manage that challenge and turn data into real value.
We took a huge step in doing that in 2020 with the launch of Data Hub, our solution for Optimized Data Exchange that helps businesses deploy, connect and host critical data infrastructure in proximity to users, networks, cloud and content platforms and beyond, so they can scale their business.
In October – we built on the benefits that the Data Hub brings, with the launch of Data Hub featuring AWS Outposts, a fully managed service that extends Amazon Web Services (AWS) infrastructure – such as AWS services, APIs, and tools – to the data centre behind your own security protocols. Essentially bringing the cloud to you, to help manage your data in the cloud alongside the data that has to stay local for any reason, from latency to local data processing, to data compliance.
That new level of control is becoming increasingly vital for CIOs, IT Directors and Chief Data Officers. As the amount of data being produced continues to grow exponentially, so do the challenges surrounding data residency. Take Europe for example. Protecting data has arguably never been more complex with things like the abolishment of Safe Harbour back in 2015, which has only partly been replaced by The Privacy Shield; the introduction of GDPR in 2018, and most recently, the United Kingdom leaving the European Union (EU) without a solid agreement on data exchange. And now, with 93% of organisations reportedly using clod in some capacity, businesses are under increased pressure to maintain compliance as governments, third party regulators and compliance teams enact data residency guidelines to address privacy issues.
By placing AWS Outposts with Interxion, you can shorten your time to market from months to days, as Interxion data centres are ready for AWS Outposts. Our colocation data centres facilitate high-density deployments, offer seamless access to AWS Regions, alternative cloud platforms and the edge, ensuring optimised availability and performance. At the same time, we provide access to PlatformDIGITAL®, our single global platform providing access to over 280 data centres around the world meaning you have the flexibility to deploy in the markets you need.
Deploying Data Hub for AWS Outposts serves other use cases beyond ensuring data compliance. Take latency for example. Interxion hosts native AWS Direct Connect on-ramps in the majority of our locations. This allows businesses to physically place AWS Outposts racks in close proximity to their systems end users, providing businesses with sub-millisecond latency so they can deploy near real-time hybrid IT architectures. For particular workloads, such as SAP or Oracle databases, sub-millisecond latency to the cloud is required.
Data has afforded us a world of opportunity; whether it’s aiding in the discovery of new technology or improving the quality of our everyday lives. However, the knock-on effects for businesses can be substantial. I’m sure you’ve heard the saying: ‘too much of a good thing’. Well, the very same can be said for data. We recently published our inaugural Data Gravity report, a piece of research which looks at the challenges that businesses will face as the amount of data around the world continues to grow.
The findings illustrated the strain that businesses are under currently, trying to juggle increased demand and changing needs of customers, while simultaneously navigating the complexities associated with digital transformation, such as the need for global coverage and capacity. With PlatformDIGITAL® and Data Hub for AWS Outposts, we’re putting data owners back in the driving seat, giving them the control and flexibility they need to manage the challenges of tomorrow.