“Data is the new oil.” This oft repeated concept, first coined by British mathematician Clive Humby, highlights the inherent value of data in the post-industrial era and the one that powers the transformative technology of the digital era, like artificial intelligence (AI), predictive analytics, machine learning, et al.
India is on the forefront of leveraging AI for social and economic development and has demonstrated its appetite to embrace AI and the opportunity it offers through its plans. The National Institution for Transforming India (NITI Aayog) is working on the country’s first-ever national policy on AI, and a government-appointed task force[i] has released a comprehensive plan to implement AI in 10 sectors in the country over the next five years.
Data Is The Lifeblood Of AI
The adoption of AI enables diverse solutions that find applications in businesses as well as in governance, and also carries us into an era focused on data – the exponential growth in volume, the analysis, and the management of it. According to a recent whitepaper by IDC commissioned by Seagate, there will be a 10-fold growth in the amount of data generated globally by 2025 rising up to 163 zettabytes.
Given that successful AI implementation depends on relevant and good quality data as a fundamental building block, the collection, analysis, and storage of data will be increasingly critical to individuals and for businesses that leverage that data.
Asia Pacific has seen robust AI adoption in one form or another within areas such as information technology, supply chain and logistics, as well as research and development, and organisations are hungry for more. According to our Data Pulse: Maximising the Potential of AI survey, 9 out of 10 organisations in the region have indicated plans to implement AI in the next 12 months.
Because consumers and businesses are increasingly becoming more intertwined with data, organisations will need to manage and store data efficiently and securely to build consumer trust and reap the benefits of data analytics and real-time data processing.
More Robust Data Storage Solutions Is The Need Of The Hour
The increase in data generation from a wider implementation of AI calls for more robust data storage solutions so that organisations can better manage their data in an efficient and secure manner.
Asia Pacific is at the center of this digital transformation with its vibrantly growing economies and will drive this growth. India has one of the highest AI adoption rates in Asia Pacific at 90%, compared to the regional average of 74%. With the increasing amount of data created as a result of growing AI adoption, 95% of organisations believe there is a need to have more robust data storage solutions so that their IT infrastructures are ready to handle the incoming data efficiently and securely.
Our survey shows that 98% of Indian organisations believe that they must invest in IT infrastructure to handle the growing volume of data, yet one-fifth also said their current infrastructures aren’t sufficiently robust to deal with the increase in data volumes.
Today data storage is more than just about archiving information. With the application of AI and machine learning, It’s about providing ways to analyse the data collected, understand patterns and behavior as well as harnessing stored information for growth and innovation.
As we’ve seen, data is the pulse behind AI, and organisations will need to constantly evaluate storage, access, and management solutions to derive insights for efficient and impactful decision-making to grow their business.
