Internet Users Face Storage Challenges as Online Content Expands

Strategic Insights -

Growing numbers of internet users are finding valuable resources, including databases, multimedia files, and free software, on the World Wide Web, but many are struggling to store them on their computers due to limited hard drive space. A survey conducted in May by Fleishman-Hillard Research for 3M found that internet users, both in business and at home, expect their online usage to increase significantly in the coming year, which will likely exacerbate the storage problem. Users are increasingly downloading multi-megabyte files, with one in five experiencing frustration due to insufficient disk space.

Key Takeaways:

  • Consumers are rapidly closing the gap with business users in terms of internet and online service usage, with both groups expecting significant increases in the next year.
  • The majority of users (90% of business and 61% of consumers) expect their online usage to increase, with many already experiencing frustration due to limited storage capacity.
  • The average hard drive size for business users is 760 megabytes, while for consumers it is 500 megabytes, leaving many with insufficient space to store larger files.
  • Users are eager to download larger files, including audio and graphics-intensive ones, but are hindered by storage constraints.
  • The large majority (94% of business and 78% of consumer users) use computers both at home and at work, further increasing the demand for increased storage capacity.
  • Users are expected to download large files regularly, with 90% of business users and 35% of consumers downloading files daily or weekly.
  • Nearly 20% of business users and 11% of consumers are already downloading files in the 5-10 megabyte range, and most expect to download more files if they had adequate storage space.

Statistics:

  • 3 million-plus users on commercial online services and an estimated 30 million users on the Internet, with 22,000 World Wide Web servers.
  • 90% of business users responding said they download information, with two-thirds saying they do so on a daily or weekly basis.
  • 35% of consumers reported downloading files daily or weekly.
  • 20% of business users and 11% of consumers are downloading files in the 5-10 megabyte range.
  • Average hard drive size for business users is 760 megabytes, while for consumers it is 500 megabytes.
  • Users expect to download 25 MB of files to their systems each month.

Sources:

  • 3M (no date provided)
  • Fleishman-Hillard Research (no date provided)
  • Fleishman-Hillard Inc. (no date provided)
  • Business Wire (June 20, 1995)
  • 3M Data Storage Products
  • Fleishman-Hillard, Minneapolis/St. Paul