The study contributes to one of the key actions of the European Strategy for Data: the development of a first in kind Data Flow Analytical Framework to measure the volume and value of data flows.
The framework can support the monitoring of two of the Digital Decade’s targets: the cloud business uptake and the edge nodes deployment. It is based on the in-depth geographical mapping of cloud and edge infrastructures across both Europe and third-country regions.
One of the study’s findings was that in 2024, it is estimated that the volume of cloud data flows across the EU Member States will be 46,000 Petabytes (PB). This is around 300 times the data storage capacity of the Internet Archive, the world’s largest library of internet content, which archives over 860 million webpages. Of the 46,000 PB generated in 2024, 36,600 PB are expected to flow to cloud and edge capabilities within the EU. The economic value of cloud data flows in the EU in 2024 is estimated to be €77 billion, estimated to increase to €328 billion by 2035.
In 2023, enterprises that operated in the EU and used cloud services generated approximately 30,000 PB/year of European cloud-based data flows (ECBDF). This is around 200 times the data storage capacity of the Internet Archive, the world’s largest library of internet content, which archives over 860 million web pages.
In 2024 the economic value of European ECBDFs is estimated to be €107bn, of which €77bn in EU, €8bn in EFTA countries, and €22bn in the UK. To put this into context, the European total value of ECBDFs is greater than the GDP of Bulgaria. The total value is also higher than the GDP of several other European countries including for example Croatia, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.
The above can support ongoing and future EU policy, trade, and investment decisions in cloud and edge computing.
The results described in the study’s final report will directly enhance and fuel the current European Commission’s Cloud Data Flow Strategic Visualisation Tool. Via this tool, external users will be able to access online to 1,100 up to date data on volume, value and forecasts of cloud data flows per Member State, economic sector and company size from 2016 to 2036.