We all know that “Big Data” is a big thing now, but the sheer volume of data being created is a tough thing to really fathom, much less manage.

According to a 2016 study by IBM Marketing Cloud, “10 Key Marketing Trends For 2017,” 2.5 quintillion bytes of data is created per day. Per the report, the growth in data is the real story. 90% of the data in the world today has been created in the last two years alone.

Advancements in storage capacity, the number and sophistication of devices (smartphones, intelligent devices, etc.), and better and cheaper software to process it all, driven by the demand for more and better personalization, ensures that the explosion will continue apace.

Information Overload Research Group (IORG) has a great set of stats for a more detailed look in case you’re inspired to take in the vastness of it all.

With all of that data to process, we have some security concerns to deal with, and more regulations than ever before asking us to deal with it.

Kelly Sheridan at InformationWeek reports on the “how much security is enough?” question, by way of a recent Cisco survey of IT and security professionals.

The first striking, but not-hard-to-understand insight is this: most IT and security pros say they aren’t able to afford all of the minimum security needed to properly protect themselves.

According to the survey, most have seen major security compromises recently, and realize more than ever that they need to do more to combat it.

“Researchers with Cisco surveyed 80 IT decision-makers on security budgeting and planning and found that more than half (56%) had experienced a significant security event – a breach, intrusion, or malware infection – in the past year, and 94% admit they have further to go to implement effective security practices.”

While more budget would certainly help, there are a multitude of factors that need to be addressed as well. “Expertise, capability, and influence, along with budget, all play a role in security, says Wendy Nather, Cisco’s head of advisory CISOs.”

Add to that the sheer number of tools available, and specific expertise needed to handle them all, and it’s no wonder most companies feel they need to do more to protect the vast amounts of new data under their charge.

Read the full article here.