Cisco: Global Cloud Traffic Growing at 35% CAGR

Global data center traffic will triple from 2.6 zettabytes in 2012 to 7.7 zettabytes annually in 2017, representing a 25 percent CAGR, according to a newly published Cisco Global Cloud Index, but the transition to cloud services is driving global cloud traffic at a growth rate greater than global data center traffic. Global data center traffic will grow threefold (a 25 percent CAGR) from 2012 to 2017, while global cloud traffic will grow 4.5-fold (a 35 percent CAGR) over the same period.  Cisco estimates that cloud traffic globally will grow from grow from 46 percent of total data center traffic (98 exabytes per month or 1.2 zettabytes annually) of total data center traffic in 2012 to 69 percent of total data center traffic (443 exabytes per month or 5.3 zettabytes annually) of total data center traffic by 2017.

“People all over the world continue to demand the ability to access personal, business and entertainment content anywhere on any device, and each transaction in a virtualized, cloud environment can cause cascading effects on the network,” said Doug Merritt, Senior Vice President, Product and Solutions Marketing, Cisco. “Because of this continuing trend, we are seeing huge increases in the amount of cloud traffic within, between and beyond data centers over the next four years.”

Some highlights of the Cisco study:

• Cloud traffic growth by region: The Middle East and Africa will have the highest cloud traffic growth rate from 2012 to 2017 – The Cisco Global Cloud Index now includes regional forecast data for cloud traffic growth.

o   In 2012, North America generated the most cloud traffic (469 exabytes annually), followed by Asia Pacific (319 exabytes annually) and Western Europe (225 exabytes annually).

o   By 2017, North America will generate the most cloud traffic (1.886 zettabytes annually), followed by Asia Pacific (1.876 zettabytes annually) and Western Europe (770 exabytes annually).

• Workload transitions: From 2012 to 2017, data center workloads will grow 2.3-fold; cloud workloads will grow 3.7-fold – In 2012, 39 percent of workloads were processed in the cloud, with 61 percent being handled in a traditional data center. 

• 2014 will be the first year when the majority of workloads shift to the cloud; 51 percent of all workloads will be processed in the cloud versus 49 percent in the traditional IT space.
• By 2017, nearly two-thirds or 63 percent of workloads will be processed by cloud data centers; 37 percent will be processed by traditional data centers.
• The ratio of workloads to nonvirtualized cloud servers will grow from 6.5 in 2012 to 16.7 by 2017. Comparatively, the ratio of workloads to nonvirtualized traditional data center servers will grow from 1.7 in 2012 to 2.3 by 2017.

• Workload growth by region: By 2017, North America will have processed the most cloud workloads, followed by Asia Pacific – The Cisco Global Cloud Index now includes regional forecast data for workload growth.
• In 2012, North America had the most cloud workloads (15.2 million or 47 percent of global cloud workloads), followed by Asia Pacific, which had 6.8 million or 21 percent of global workloads in 2012.
• By 2017, North America will process the most cloud workloads (48.2 million or 41 percent of global cloud workloads), followed by Asia Pacific, which will have 36.5 million or 31 percent of global workloads by 2017.
• From 2012 to 2017, the Middle East and Africa region is expected to have the highest cloud workload growth rate (45 percent CAGR), followed by Asia Pacific (40 percent CAGR) and Central and Eastern Europe (31 percent CAGR).
• Globally, except in the Middle East and Africa and Asia Pacific, traditional data center workloads (rather than cloud workloads) will grow at a low-single-digit CAGR from 2012 to 2017.
• http://newsroom.cisco.com/press-release-content?type=webcontent&articleId=1274405