As the cloud prepares for another history-making year in its campaign to become a part of every part of our lives, a different type of history is being made. The birth of life. As we begin a new year, many around the world are celebrating new life, building on their family foundation.
“Foundations” are traditionally thought of as ground-level, or even underground; but as we ring in 2014, it’s time to start thinking of foundation in a new light. The cloud makes the possibility of sharing our lives with others more easily than before, like birth for instance. It’s enabling this connection and allowing people to access more information, more pictures, more video, and more data, with more ease than ever before. That connection doesn’t stop at content and data points- in fact, it doesn’t stop at all.
The cloud’s biggest value is in the Internet of Everything (IoE). IoE brings new experiences and interactions to life, and the cloud will only broaden IoE’s breadth over our lifetime with all of the devices, communicating, and sharing information.
In photojournalist Rick Smolan’s Human Face of Big Data project, stunning facts about how big data and the world of many clouds are changing how we live our lives, from our very first day, are showcased. For example:
- During the first day of a baby’s life, the amount of data generated by humanity is equivalent to 70 times the information contained in the Library of Congress.
- One-third of children born in the United States already have an online presence before they are born. That number grows to 92 percent by the time they are two.
- In 2012, the average digital birth of children occurs at approximately six months.
- Within weeks of their birth, another one-third of all children’s photos and information are posted online.
If this amount of data isn’t already moving and being stored in the cloud already, you can say with good confidence it will be within the next 3-5 years. Just to give you a better idea on how much data will go through the cloud over the next few years, the recent Cisco Global Cloud Index forecasts that:
- By 2017, global cloud IP traffic will reach 443 exabytes per month – that’s up from 98 exabytes per month in 2012 and an increase of nearly 4.5-fold.
- Global cloud IP traffic will account for more than two-thirds of total data center traffic by 2017.
These stats begin to paint the picture of how pervasive cloud already is – and it doesn’t just pertain to babies. Do you know how the cloud impacts your life? Chances are you use cloud technologies daily whether you use online file storing services like Dropbox or Evernote, video communication services like Cisco WebEx and Jabber for your work communications, or social networks to connect with friends, family, and colleagues. If you use Dropbox, Google Drive, or Evernote to store your files, that’s in the cloud. If you use video communication like Cisco WebEx, that’s in the cloud. And it’s not just the end-users’ applications that are cloud. Companies large and small are using cloud to conduct their business and provide their products and services to their customers in the form of data centers, networking, and collaboration.
So as we ring in the New Year, and many celebrate new life, we should consider the possibilities of cloud in our lifetime – and beyond.
To read more insights on the cloud, visit our Cloud Perspectives page. Also, be sure to join the conversation – follow @CiscoCloud and use the hashtag #CiscoCloud or leave a comment below.
“Life in the Cloud”, this is really an important subject, Didier. In 2013 I was concerned, and still, about Cloud and Security, and there are some points that got my attention:
1:Abuse and Nefarious Use of Cloud Computing.
2: Insecure Interfaces and APIs.
3: Malicious Insiders.
4: Shared Technology Issues.
5: Data Loss or Leakage.
6: Account or Service Hijacking.
7: Unknown Risk Profile.
And I think Cisco has already got a remediation for all of those point.
Or what do you think?
Thank you!
Hi Maher,
Thank you for your thoughtful comment. Security remains one of the hottest issues for CIO’s and CISO’s around cloud. And we’re glad to hear that you think Cisco is addressing these.
Visibility to the network and its management is key. Providing a context-aware approach will help you mitigate risks by serving specific experiences based on a user’s assigned access levels, location, device they are using, and resources they are attempting to access.
IT leaders need to step out of an ‘order-taker’ role and become a strategic business partner to lines of business (LoB). The more that IT understands the needs and partners with the LOB leaders, the better off a secure cloud strategy will be. This also helps reduce Shadow IT.
When buying public cloud services, Cisco Powered services from our partners use Cisco validated architectures and have gone through rigorous certifications and third-party audits to assure the levels you expect from a leading cloud provider. These partners are providing industry-leading solutions.
It’s critical to work with a cloud provider who will help you navigate the world of many clouds and develop a cloud strategy that meets your specific needs. We’re here to help!
At the office we voted and that is the creepiest picture we have EVER SEEN. Hey Cisco Social Media Person, that picture looks like “The Illuminati Own Your Children at Birth”. lol