According to a report released in autumn of 2020, the worldwide cloud storage market is expected to grow from $50.1 billion in 2022 to a mind blowing $137.3 billion by 2025. This represents an annual growth rate of 22.3 percent during these five years.
There is an enormous demand for cloud storage. Much of this demand stems from the fact that workforces are going remote. This means that they need to have access to data and files regardless of where they are. Couple this with the reduced cost of cloud storage and it becomes clear why many businesses are opting to enjoy the benefits provided by this type of service.
Who Is Using Cloud Storage?
Organizations around the world are using cloud storage as one of the most secure ways to store your data. However, North America has the largest market and is predicted to keep that lead over the next five years.
Businesses in North America have been using cloud solutions for some time. The United States takes the lead in the cloud storage market. There are several suppliers that are respected and well established. There are also countless end-users working in industries that value the ability to adapt the newer technologies offered by cloud computing to improve the efficiency of their business and their productivity.
Some of the benefits that companies in the United States receive from adapting to cloud storage are improved scalability and flexibility. They have watched as their maintenance costs for storage have plummeted to the point of being almost nonexistent.
Some big names in cloud storage solutions include Google, Dell Technologies, AWS, Microsoft, IBM, and Oracle. Since these are located in North American countries, they are the driving force behind the growth of the cloud storage market in North America.
North America is not the only region that uses cloud technology. Countries like China, Japan, Switzerland, Finland, Sweden, and others are playing a vital role in cloud technology. Their respective countries are also adding to the explosive growth seen in cloud storage.
Why Is the Popularity of Cloud Storage Growing?
Cloud storage is more than the sum of its parts. For less than $20 a month, an individual or an organization can get 200 GB or more of data storage. We see the growth of cloud computing when we look at what people are doing with the data.
Leaders of business and leaders in the IT field see cloud storage as a way to have access to data in a disaster. They also point to cloud storage as a way of centralizing data management. From a business perspective, cloud storage offers tangible savings. While these are the sentiments of individuals running larger enterprises, similar benefits are seen by individual customers and small businesses, as well as the organizations that offer remote bootcamps for online learning.
Improved Communication
An example of cloud storage is Google Drive. Google gives 15 GB of cloud storage for free to anyone who signs up. With the purchase of Google applications, that number jumps to 30 GB.
This is an impressive amount of storage. Amazon and others also offer free data storage programs. Still, what makes Google stand out is that they seem to understand the benefit of cross integrated platforms. For example, an individual can use their android phone and take a photograph. That image can automatically be sent to the cloud server. From there, the user can share the photograph via Gmail or using other Google based tools.
All of this happens with a few clicks of a button. The ability to rapidly communicate and share information, such as photographs, is one reason Google’s cloud system is so popular. Google understands that the value of their cloud system goes beyond the storage. It is the feeling that users get by being able to quickly and seamlessly use extra storage in social interactions.
Don’t Worry about Losing Data
Losing data because there is not enough storage is difficult. You have to decide what you are going to keep and what you are going to delete. Businesses and individuals find themselves with limited space and need to make room for new data.
There are USB devices, external hard drives, DVDs, CDs, etc. These are inexpensive storage options that are portable and cheap. The problem is that since the information is being stored on something physical, it can get damaged or lost. When the USB drive gets lost, so does the data that is stored on it.
As opposed to an external hard drive that can get misplaced or damaged, cloud storage provides a portable and reliable way to store important information. It allows businesses and individuals to protect valuable data from damages that could affect things like flash drives and disks.
Portability
Portability is probably the biggest benefit of cloud storage. Portability means being able to access files on the fly. There is no need to transfer a file from a flash drive to a computer or send several emails that have a larger project broken down into various parts.
Cloud storage offers the ability to share, edit, and stream data. With cloud storage, users can open documents, use them, and change them directly from the browser. There is no data that is being transferred into a system that then needs to be uploaded to the cloud.
Documents are not the only thing that can be stored on the cloud. Video files and music can be stored on the cloud. This is especially good for those who have larger music collections. Their music collection may be too large to store on a physical device. When music is stored on the cloud, a user can access that music from their tablet, computer, smart phone, or console. The only thing that is required is an Internet connection that is fast enough and stable enough to stream the media content.
The popularity and usefulness of cloud storage is undeniable. It is allowing access to data. It has made work from home a possibility. Without cloud technology, the effects felt in the business world during the coronavirus pandemic would have been amplified many fold. It will be interesting to see what the next five years of cloud technology will bring and the impact it will have on everyday life.
Interesting related article: “What is Cloud Computing?“