Cloud to account for 95 per cent of data centre traffic by 2021

The cloud is set to account for 95 per cent of data centre traffic by the year 2021, marking an increase of 88 per cent from 2016, according to a new report from Cisco.

The network provider's Global Cloud Index 2016-2019 has predicted that a number of factors will lead to an increase in cloud usage, including the drive of data-intensive applications including video streaming and analytics.

The Cisco report also predicted that there will be more than 620 hyperscale data centres by 2021, up from 338 in 2016, with these centres accounting for 55 per cent of total traffic by 2021.

Figures showed that SaaS is set to remain the most common use of the cloud, including by four percent to 75 per cent by the year 2021. However, the number of businesses using the cloud for IaaS will fall by five per cent to 16 per cent in the same period.

When it came to public vs. private cloud, the report revealed that public cloud data centres are likely to experience the greatest level of growth in the next three years.

Specifically, figures suggested that the amount of data in private data centres will reduce from 58 per cent to 27 per cent. However, the level of cloud usage in the public cloud is expected to rise from 42 per cent to 58 per cent.

Concluding the report, Conway Kosi, SVP, head of managed infrastructure services at Fujitsu EMEIA, said: "Companies are increasingly recognising the agility and flexibility that cloud computing offer."

"However, there remain significant challenges in adopting the cloud," he added. "Many older organisations are still struggling with legacy infrastructures and ensuring that they will be able to access their existing data through cloud platforms."