Big data is set to pose some seriously big challenges for businesses in the next few years, as the issue of storing all of this information comes to the fore. So massive is the tidal wave of big data that for many, switching over to cloud-based data management systems is set to be the only viable option to avoid being crushed.

A new (admittedly self-serving) infographic from ViaWest, one of North America’s largest privately held data centers reveals how the staggering, exponential growth of big data is set to overwhelm many of today’s businesses unless they start to act now.

Big data is created at an overwhelming rate – as many as 57.5 billion iPads worth of data is created every single day, and this amount is not standing still, with the amount of data in our digital universe currently doubling in size every two years.

A Troubled Workforce

So what does this mean for big business? A shortage in skilled IT staff for one thing. It’s estimated that in order to handle all of this new data, the number of data centers in the world will have to grow by a factor of 75 in the next ten years. In the same period, the number of skilled IT experts to enter the marketplace will rise by a meager factor of 1.5 – you don’t even need to do the math to understand the troubling implications of this one.

Then of course, there’s the question of whether or not these new IT professionals will even have the proper preparation anyway. According to ViaWest, the amount of new technical information needed to operate IT systems is doubling every two years, meaning that students studying a four-year degree will find that half of what they have learnt is actually outdated before they’ve even graduated!

See the entire Future Big Data Series on Pinterest and Springpad!

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Storage Issues

Storage is also set to become a problem, to the point that the age-old argument of in-house vs. cloud storage systems will become irrelevant, giving the huge amount of resources needed to manage all of this data. ViaWest predicts that within the next decade, companies that persist with in-house data management will have to devote two thirds of their IT resources to managing infrastructure, meaning less time or resources for innovation.

Compare this businesses that switch to outsourcing their storage requirements, which will only need to devote around one third of IT resources to infrastructure management, and we can see where this is going.

Some businesses are proactive in their preparation for future big data, though some will find themselves scrambling for the right solution.  Either way, big data’s become a driving factor for businesses with IT departments, and budget shifts towards data management demonstrating an industry-wide evolution.