SAS expects worldwide data to hit 15 zettabytes by 2015

LAS VEGAS: SAS expects to see the amount of data hosted worldwide to reach 15 zettabytes by 2015, and warned that this rise could affect businesses' abilities to operate efficiently if not managed correctly.

SAS chief marketing officer Jim Davis said at the firm's Global Forum event that companies risk becoming "data obese", particularly with social media information growing rapidly.

"We have to deal with all the data that's out there. It's always been a problem and, while now we are dealing with petabytes, we estimate during 2011 we'll see two zettabytes of data in the world and by 2015 it will be 15 zettabytes," he said.

"Businesses need to go beyond using structured data housed within their organisation to start marrying it with external sources to add value, including unstructured data from the social media space."

A zettabyte is equivalent to one billion terabytes.

SAS offers the ability for businesses to track, and react to, social media data, but told V3.co.uk on Monday that take-up was proving slow.

Davis also underlined SAS' commitment to providing analytics on smartphones and tablets, noting that research firm Gartner expects 33 per cent of business intelligence tools to be accessed in this way.

He added that this evolution of the mobile sector provides a clear example of the ways in which businesses have to watch for, and adapt to, changes in their markets in order to stay ahead.

Davis used examples from the technology industry of those that failed to do so and now face tough market conditions, such as RIM and Nokia.