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Where the World's Data Is Stored [Infographic]

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The folks at backup service Mozy have created a nifty infographic that illustrates the staggering scale of modern data usage (we're storing 600 billion gigabytes of data! That's 13 layers of books covering the entire United States!).

Three things stand out to me: the recency of all this data (94% of digital storage is data that's two years old or less), the fact that digital tapes hold 11% of all data (your dad is still backing up his Compaq 386 onto tapes every weekend, apparently), and Chicago's place as a data center center (the city has three of the world's 10 largest data centers, including the largest, Digital Realty Trust's 350 East Cermak Road).

The world's largest data center sits in Gothic revival splendor just a couple of miles south of Chicago's downtown Loop in a former R. R. Donnelly printing plant. I happened to walk past the center a year ago and was impressed by the scale of the building and the serenity of the setting: what is arguably one of the most important commercial hubs in the world, the second-largest electricity user in northeastern Illinois (behind only O'Hare Airport), sits silently near Lake Michigan against the edge of one of Chicago's most beautiful historic districts.

[Via Mozy]