In today's digital age, the amount of data produced daily is growing exponentially: every click, every transaction, every interaction leaves behind a huge "trail" of information. Much of this data, however, ends up as digital waste: unused archives, redundant backups, obsolescent information that burdens infrastructure and costs without offering any added value.
Zephorum has bridged this gap in part by solving the problem of data permanence through the concept of the circular data economy, a paradigm that transforms data from waste to history to resource, encouraging recycling, reuse, and continuous regeneration of information.
1. The data explosion: from bytes to zettabytes
Since the dawn of information technology, the growth of data has followed exponential rates, resulting in a veritable "information avalanche" even in the early decades.
- Early 2000s: according to an EMC-sponsored IDC study, by 2007 the world already contained about 281 exabytes of stored data, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 57 percent and a clear prevalence (95 percent) of unstructured data.
- ZettabyteEra: The threshold of 1 zettabyte of total data was surpassed back in 2012, marking the beginning of the "Zettabyte Era" which includes all digital data, not just Internet traffic . In terms of IP traffic, however, the Zettabyte Era began in 2016 when global traffic exceeded 1.2 ZB.
- Today: at the end of 2024, the total volume of data in the world reached 149 zettabytes (1 ZB = 10²¹ bytes), with a daily creation of about 402.7 million terabytes (0.4 ZB). IDC estimates that by 2025 this will reach 175 ZB produced each year.
These numbers are not mere statistical exercises, but evidence of the extent to which the problem of uncontrolled data permanence emerged early on in the information age, posing storage, governance and sustainability challenges from the outset.
2. From data "linearism" to circular economy
In traditional data management, there is a linear flow:
1. Creation - data is generated.
2. Storage - they are saved in storage systems.
3. Obsolescence - they lose interest or validity.
4. Discard - they lie dormant, taking up space and resources.
This model replicates the linear "take-make-dispose" economy, with all the limitations associated with storage costs, security risks and operational inefficiencies.
3. The pillars of the circular economy applied to data
The circular economy, well-established in industry and the environment, consists of three basic principles:
Circular economy principle: Translation into the "circular data" of Zephorum
1. Draw out waste
Minimize redundant data creation; standardize formats and metadata to facilitate interoperability and traceability.
2. Keep resources in use.
Implement smart cataloging mechanisms, versioning, and dynamic retention policies to promote continuous reuse of information.
3. Regenerate natural systems.
Enhance data flows and insights: evolved analytics, machine learning and metadata enrichment transform "idle" data into new business opportunities.
Zephorum integrates each of these principles into its platform, ensuring that each individual's digital legacy data, at the end of its lifecycle, does not become "waste" but returns to nourish the enterprise information ecosystem. Like a digital Samsara that restores the meaning of users' online lives with a rebirth in a new form.
4. How Zephorum's circular data economy works.
1. Intelligent ingest
2. Data catalog & governance
3. Reuse and redistribution
4. Regeneration through insight
And the dross becomes history again, the story of a person to be remembered, whose essential, pure, valuable data can be reused in a different way, to give rise to new forms of reuse and e-mortality. The rest, will be eliminated.
5. The parallelism with the green economy
Green economy (physical)
Recycling of materials
Recovery of raw materials
Renewable Energy
Circular Data Economy (digital)
Re-engineering of datasets
Raw data recovery and cataloging
Renewable value
Zephorum, thus, not only solves the problem of the "permanence" of data as digital waste, but also transforms it into a fluid, regenerable and strategic value.
Zephorum'scircular economy of data redefines the rules of the game in data management: no more "accumulation" and "waste," but circular-thinking to maximize the value of every bit. If you want to find out how to implement this model in your company and transform data from a cost to an asset, contact us and help your clients breathe new life into their loved ones' information.
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