The digital data volume in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is expected to grow from 249 exabytes in 2014 to reach 1,835 exabytes by 2020 – an increase of over 600% – EMC Corporation revealed in its latest study "Digital Universe of Opportunities". The study mainly attributed the increase to the emergence of wireless technologies, smart products and software-defined businesses. "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 and gas, aviation, hospitality, retail and finance in addition to the many ambitious smart city initiatives in play all across the region." Among the key findings of the EMC Corporation's study was that countries of the MENA region, Brazil, China, India, Mexico, and Russia will surpass the mature markets of Germany, Japan and the United States. In 2013, mature markets produced 60% of data in the digital universe. "The billions of connected devices equipped with unique identifiers and the ability to automatically record, report and receive data, currently represent 2% of the MENA's data and is expected to contribute to over 8% of the MENA data by 2020 creating new sources of value for businesses in the region," the company said.
The company's report discussed the need for increasing data protection, indicating that only 47% of the data generated in the MENA region is protected. "This points to a grave concern for the future as the amount of information continues to amplify, it opens more doors for cyber criminals to exploit mounds of increasingly vulnerable information assets."
