DataGeddon: The Surprisingly Relevant Predictions of a Fictional Billionaire
Silicon Valley, an HBO-produced comedy show, follows the hilariously unlucky struggles of data compression startup Pied Piper. The company’s nemesis and competitor, though, is Gavin Belson, the charismatic and slightly sadistic billionaire founder of Hooli (which overtly satirizes Google).
In a scene of particular desperation for Gavin, he begins ranting to his subordinates about the inevitable breaking point of data storage. He says that consumption rates are astronomically increasing, while available storage is plummeting. There will be data shortages, he says. Data rationing, data strikes….it’s full-fledged data-geddon.
Of course, the hyperbolic scene is played for laughs. But might there be an element of truth in the fictional maverick’s foresight?
The Hockey Stick of Progress
There is prevailing thought and substantial statistical backing to roughly compare the graphical growth rate of data consumption to a hockey stick. Imagine the stick laying on its side in the graph, the main shaft extending positively along the x-axis. At the end of the slight upward slope, though, is the area of contact, which shoots quickly upwards. It seems as though technology has reached that contact area, and rates of use and improvements to match are skyrocketing.
In mathematical example, if the length of the human step had increased at the same rate as the volume of data created since 1990, it would only take 27 steps to walk around the globe. For reference, normal steps would total upwards of 65 million for the same journey.
Adjusting to a New Reality
As the amount of data the world is producing grows exponentially each year, the need to prove the integrity of that data becomes more and more important. But immutably proving data integrity has always been difficult to achieve.
If a single organisation has control over data, others have to trust that the data won’t be changed in some way. There also has to be trust that the organisation has the security in place to protect the data from third-party interference. This raises the question as to whether Ethereum blockchain technology can be leveraged to solve this problem — by immutably and verifiably storing the provenance of data.
Blockchain technology’s ability to permanently record all the steps in a process is well known. But optimising blockchain technology to provide a legal certificate demonstrating a specific chain of events feels like a huge opportunity. Brian explains: “As the amount of data in the world, and its value, continues to grow, compliance requirements are becoming more stringent, and the ability to prove provenance increasingly important. We recognised that the tools previously available to address these issues had limitations and saw a critical need for a service that would provide immutable, unhackable proof securely, efficiently and cost-effectively.”
Looking Forward
While the world may not be forced to ration data storage or risk societal collapse, there are very legitimate issues presented by the exponential rate of usage increases. With those increases, obviously, comes an equally (if not more) pressing need to ensure absolute security and self-determination of said data. Blockchain is absolutely the answer to both questions, providing totally decentralized solutions with far superior security standards.
Analogously, imagine traditional methods of data storage and processing as a room with a single wooden door. Once the door is breached, the data is free to access. It’s possible to secure that door with locks, but its fundamental structure and purpose of that storage method still allows for access.
Blockchain, on the other hand, isn’t even a door. It’s not even a room. Rather than collecting and building a room around important information, blockchain technology uses the data to build a wall. There’s nothing to break into for access; the information is the structure.
Ventures like Evident Proof have recognized this nearly-limitless potential, and work to provide secure verification of processes and other important corporate sticking points. Check out the white paper here
About the Author
Brian McClafferty|Co-founder Evident-Proof.io
An experienced creative entrepreneur who has built online-based companies and provided consultancy since 1999. Brian’s first company was a social media site launched in 1999 which received more than one million hits a month. Since then he has used the experience gained to help build other online companies and communities, and to provide marketing direction for clients such as Bloomberg, Wonderbra and Sungard. Brian is co-founder of Evident Proof, a tech start up that uses blockchain technology to bring ‘trusted, distributed consensus’ to supply chain management.

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