
Cisco Global Cloud Index Projects Data Center Traffic to Nearly Triple; Cloud to Represent 76 Percent of Total Data Center Traffic by 2018 By 2018, Half of the Global Population Will Have Residential Internet Access; More Than Half of Those Will Use Personal Cloud Storage
SAN JOSE, Calif. November 4, 2014 In the fourth annual Cisco Global Cloud Index (2013 2018) issued today, Cisco forecasts continued strong growth of cloud traffic, cloud workloads and cloud storage with private cloud significantly larger than public cloud. Over the next five years, the study projects data center traffic to nearly triple, with cloud representing 76% of total data center traffic. By 2018, half of the worlds population* will have residential Internet access, and more than half of those users (53 percent) content will be supported by personal cloud storage services.
* The worlds projected population by 2018 will be 7.6 billion people (source: United Nations).
Key Highlights/Findings:
Global Data Center Traffic
The study predicts that global data center traffic will nearly triple from 2013 to 2018 with a combined annual growth rate (CAGR) of 23% growing from 3.1 zettabytes/year in 2013 to 8.6 zettabytes/year in 2018. A zettabyte is trillion gigabytes.
The 8.6 zettabytes of data center traffic predicted for 2018 is equivalent to streaming all of the movies (approximately 500,000) and television shows (3 million) ever made in ultra-high definition (UHD) 250,000 times.
Global cloud traffic is growing faster than the overall global data center traffic. In 2013, cloud accounted for 54% of total data center traffic, and, by 2018, cloud will account for 76% of total data center traffic.
Data center traffic includes data center-to-user traffic along with data center-to-data center traffic and traffic that remains within data centers.
Consumer Cloud Storage
By 2018, 53% of all residential Internet users globally will use personal cloud storage, and the average consumer cloud storage traffic per user will be 811 megabytes per month by 2018, compared to 186 megabytes per month in 2013.
Private vs. Public Cloud Adoption and Growth
"When people discuss cloud, they often focus on public cloud services or public cloud storage services. However, a very significant majority of todays cloud workloads are actually processed in private cloud environments. Even with public cloud workloads having significant growth, by 2018, almost 70% of cloud workloads will still be private cloud-related, requiring the ability of workloads to bridge across a hybrid private/public cloud environment," said Kelly Ahuja, Cisco, Senior Vice President, Service Provider Business, Products, and Solutions.
By 2018, 69% (113.5 million) of the cloud workloads will be in private cloud data centers, down from 78% (44.2 million) in 2013, and 31% (52 million) of the cloud workloads will be in public cloud data centers, up from 22% (12.7 million) in 2013.
Global Cloud Readiness
The number of countries deemed "cloud ready" continues to grow. Last year (2013), 79 countries met the single advanced application criteria for fixed network; this year (2014), that number grew to 109 countries. Last year (2013), 42 countries met the intermediate single application readiness criteria for mobile networks; this year (2014), that number grew to 52 countries.
To assess cloud readiness, average and median upload/download speeds and latencies were calculated based on global fixed and mobile network speed test analyses.
Basic Cloud Apps / Network Requirements
Download Speed: Up to 750 kbps; Upload Speed: Up to 250 kbps; Latency: Above 160 ms
Sample consumer basic services: stream basic video/music, text communications, web browsing
Sample business basic services: web conferencing, cloud-based learning management system, VoIP
Intermediate Cloud Apps / Network Requirements
Download Speed: 751 2,500 kbps; Upload Speed: 251 1,000 kbps; Latency: 159 100 ms
Sample consumer intermediate services: smart home, personal content locker (multimedia), HD video/ music streaming
Sample business intermediate services: ERP/CRM, IP audio conferencing, videoconferencing
Advanced Cloud Apps / Network Requirements
Download Speed: >2,500 kbps; Upload Speed: Higher than 1,000 kbps; Latency:
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
18/06/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press rel...
18/06/2026
PTZOptics has unveiled new Visual Reasoning demonstrations at InfoComm 2026 (Boo...
18/06/2026
IBC2026 will take place at the RAI Amsterdam from September 11-14, bringing toge...
18/06/2026
InfoComm 2026 held its first-ever Media Day on June 17, providing journalists an...
18/06/2026
FOR-A America has announced a Trade Agreements Act (TAA)-compliant LED display solution combining Alfalite's Litepix LED displays and Brompton Technology...
18/06/2026
In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level have one major thing in common: the intensity and attention to detail ramps up dur...
18/06/2026
The International Federation of American Football (IFAF) and TMRW Sports have an...
18/06/2026
AJA Video Systems has unveiled Io Xpand, a Thunderbolt 5-enabled PCIe expansion ...
18/06/2026
ESPN has announced its coverage plans for the 30th anniversary of the WNBA's...
18/06/2026
FOX Sports' Big Noon Kickoff will broadcast live from Wembley Stadium in Lon...
18/06/2026
InfoComm 2026 opened on Wednesday at the Las Vegas Convention Center, bringing t...
18/06/2026
As media companies look to deliver more live, VOD, and snackable sports content ...
18/06/2026
Top L-R: Take Me Home, The Lake
Bottom L-R: TheyDream, Union County
Free Summer Screening Series Announced
Screenings for the Local Utah Community at...
18/06/2026
Improvements & new IR content
iamReverb Audio have just launched a free update that kits their convolution reverb plug-in out with some new features and int...
18/06/2026
Modelling suite gains improved captures, iOS support & more
Two notes Audio Engineering have just announced the launch of Genome 2.0, a significant update t...
18/06/2026
New AI assistance feature, video overhaul & more
VSL have just announced the launch of Vienna Ensemble Pro 8.1 and 8.1V, a pair of major updates to their ev...
18/06/2026
The average daily TV screen time in May was 3 hours and 36 minutes, marking a clear decrease of 15 minutes compared to April. This trend proved to be much stron...
18/06/2026
Integration embeds Gracenote content intelligence, including contextual segments...
18/06/2026
AJA Video Systems unveiled Io Xpand, a high-performance Thunderbolt 5-enabled PCIe expansion chassis for AJA KONA and Corvid video and audio I/O cards. As dema...
18/06/2026
New NVRT-driven workflow enables on-demand traffic mirroring and guided troubleshooting for AV teams, integrators, and support organizations ahead of InfoComm 2...
18/06/2026
At InfoComm 2026, Mavis announced a major update to Mavis Studio, its live production app for the iPad, with new features designed to make professional AV produ...
18/06/2026
Transaction Positions Harmonic as a Pure-Play Broadband Company
Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ: HLIT), the worldwide leader in virtualized broadband solutions, today a...
18/06/2026
ACT Entertainment and NETGEAR have announced a strategic partnership that establishes verified interoperability between NETGEAR Switches and key technologies fr...
18/06/2026
IBC2026 is set to bring the global media, entertainment and technology community together at the RAI Amsterdam from 11 14 September, enabling industry players f...
18/06/2026
Pliant Technologies is proud to introduce CrewCom Flex , the world's first frameless matrix intercom system and the only complete matrix IP-based intercom s...
18/06/2026
The XR Sports Alliance (XRSA) has announced that a new cohort of members has joined the strategic initiative: ActionStreamer, Antigravity, Creative Artists Agen...
18/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
18/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
18/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
18/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
18/06/2026
Linda May Han Oh Receives Guggenheim Fellowship The Berklee professor, bassist, and composer will use the fellowship to debut Dreams of Knowing, an interdisci...
18/06/2026
Techtel delivers Haivision live streaming system for TAFE NSW St Leonards, enabl...
18/06/2026
New study reveals 10 hidden data drainers costing Brits hundreds abroad - and the holiday hotspots where you could get rinsed the mostThursday 18 June 2026
The...
18/06/2026
Thursday 18 June 2026
How to watch the 2026/27 Scottish Premiership season on Sky Sports
Which matches are Sky Sports showing on the 2026/27 Scottish Premiers...
18/06/2026
Thursday 18 June 2026
Sky Sale: Latest deals now on, with discounts on iPhone Air & 2.5Gbps speeds
The latest deals have dropped from Sky Mobile, the award-wi...
18/06/2026
FOX Advertising and Toonstar Team to Create New Opportunities for Brands in Digi...
18/06/2026
Arqiva's Crawley Court and Chalfont Grove teleports re-certified at highest World Teleport Association standard
18 June 2026, Winchester, UK - Arqiva, the ...
18/06/2026
Apple today announced changes impacting iOS apps in Brazil that reflect a recent agreement with Brazil's competition regulator, the Conselho Administrativo ...
18/06/2026
Play favorite titles from popular game libraries, keep progress synced and jump ...
18/06/2026
The digital era gave the advertising and marketing industry speed; the AI era is giving it autonomous operations.
For companies building next-generation techn...
17/06/2026
EVS has announced it has received the EcoVadis Gold Medal for sustainability performance, ranking among the top 5% of companies globally in the Technology/Mid-S...
17/06/2026
Chyron has released Weather 2.4, an update to its weather suite for broadcasters and meteorologists. The release focuses on enhancements to the DataFlow module,...
17/06/2026
VSiN, The Sports Betting Network, has announced the launch of Best Bets TV, a free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channel. The 24/7 channel is currently avail...
17/06/2026
DAZN's Team Whistle and Snap Inc. have announced a creator program centered ...
17/06/2026
LiveU is providing video transmission technology for broadcasters, production companies, and public safety agencies across North America's busy Summer of So...
17/06/2026
The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) has announced that Laurens Grant and Jacob Ullman have joined its Board of Directors. Chief of Staf...