Research from Framingham, MA-based IDC describes the digital universe as bigger than anyone expected--and growing faster than anyone predicted. In a report produced by IDC and sponsored by information technology firm EMC of Hopkinton, MA, analysts note, "For the first time, we're in the situation where we couldn't store all the information we create even if we wanted to."

The report estimates:

• At 281 billion gigabytes (281 exabytes), the digital universe in 2007 was 10% bigger than originally estimated
• With a compound annual growth rate of almost 60%, the digital universe is growing faster and is projected to be nearly 1.8 zettabytes (1,800 exabytes) in 2011, a 10-fold increase over the next five years.
• The average person's "Digital Shadow"--a term used to describe all the digital information generated about him on a daily basis--surpasses the amount of digital information individuals actively create themselves.

Technology expert Rob Enderle says there is already enough digital data to build the equivalent of 12 stacks of books from the earth to the moon. And by 2011, there will be 10 times more, along with two billion people on the Internet and three billion mobile phone users. "All will be interconnected; all will be creating and consuming content at an alarming rate," the report notes.

It's no wonder the data center market is "the fastest-growing sector of the site selection field right now," says John Boyd, founder and president of the Boyd Co. Inc., a Princeton, NJ-based site selection consulting firm.