CIO OPINION
Saving even a small amount in data storage isn ’ t merely a financial gain ; it ’ s a gateway to untapped opportunities .
Steve Santamaria , CEO , Folio Photonics
Making the Zettabytes add up
Steve Santamaria , CEO , Folio Photonics applies an old adage to the digital era .
You ’ re likely familiar with the adage a penny saved is a penny earned . While traditionally applied to financial prudence , this principle extends beyond mere fiscal management . It is equally relevant in the digital arena , particularly concerning the costs associated with data storage .
Doing the math – the power of a penny in the real world
To grasp the impact of even minor savings in data storage , let ’ s focus on a concrete example – the healthcare industry .
Thus , judicious resource allocation is a concept that transcends the boundaries of personal finance and finds applicability in modern digital environments .
Consider this : a zettabyte equals a staggering trillion gigabytes .
Now , if we apply the principle of a penny saved is a penny earned and manage to reduce the storage cost by merely a cent per gigabyte , the implications are vast . This seemingly small saving could translate into substantial financial benefits , not only enriching individual businesses but also revolutionizing the broader technological landscape .
The average hospital generates about 50 petabytes of data each year . To put that in perspective , that ’ s over double the amount of data stored in the Library of Congress – breaking down to approximately 137 terabytes per day .
About every three to five years , this accumulation necessitates the purchase of additional storage capacity , which , for the sake of argument , let ’ s say , totals another 200 PBs .
Now , imagine if this hospital had the opportunity to save just one penny per gigabyte ( GB ) on this additional storage capacity .
44 INTELLIGENTCIO NORTH AMERICA www . intelligentcio . com