World Backup Day from the tech industry’s perspective

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World Backup Day is observed every year on March 31. However, it was a digital consultant Ismail Judan, who started the backup day in 2011, after he read a user’s post on Reddit about losing a hard drive and not being able to backup data.

And since then, technology wold has been evolving and changing constantly, much faster than before with data becoming more and more critical. Not just for businesses and organisations but individuals as well.

Data explosion and exponential growth

Today, almost every digital devices and systems including smartphones generate huge volumes of data in a variety of forms and formats.

And this has led to a constant explosion of data, which also comes with its complex challenges right from storage to protecting to securing against data thefts, breaches, hacks, cyberattacks and malicious software.

“From smartphones, autonomous vehicles and streaming services, to even the local mom and pop shop down the road, the connectivity powered by digital transformation is driving an explosion of data,” says W. Curtis Preston, Chief Technical Evangelist – Druva.

“This exponential growth presents a vast opportunity for businesses to turn data into knowledge and insights that can ultimately shape products, services, and our lives,” adds Preston.

However, Preston also admits that turning data into information remains very complex and critical with more challenges in protecting it. “Protecting it has never been more challenging than the present day as cyber attacks, fueled by the current geopolitical landscape, continue to surge,” points out Preston.

Data is the new oil

For the world, data is the ‘new oil‘ that further amplifies the significance of data and its value in today’s data-driven digital world. However, Gofrugal CEO and Founder Kumar Vembu say that the only difference between data and oil is that oil would run out in a few years.

“Data, on the other hand, keeps getting accumulated exponentially. With more than 50% of the world’s population using smartphones and digital devices, with new ones adding day by day, there are massive amounts of data created,” adds Vembu.

The significance and value that data holds today are being constantly challenged through data hacks and cyberattacks. And that also indicates why data backup and protection are an absolute must as Vembu shares.

Data risks, threats and dangers

“We walk, talk, eat, drink and breathe data. We are constantly leaving behind digital footprints. More so, when we engage with online platforms and are engrossed with digital channels,” says Vembu.

“What most of us fail to notice, far less comprehend, is the lurking dangers and sneaking threats that we invite unintentionally,” Vembu cautions against risks and dangers of not protecting personal data.

And these risks and dangers are not just for people and their data but are equally or even very high for businesses as their dependency on data is growing with every passing day.

“It is evident that the dependency of businesses on data, and the amount of data generated by them is consistently growing. This is creating new challenges for organisations of all sizes, making them even more vulnerable to cyberattacks,” says Sandeep Bhambure, VP – Veeam Software – India & SAARC.

Citing Veeam Data Protection Report 2022, Bhambure states that Indian organisations were unable to recover 36% of their lost data on average, while 90% of organisations were unable to recover at least some of the data they had lost.

This study finds why it is essential for businesses to have a comprehensive data backup plan in place and to be fully prepared at the time of a data breach.

Further, Bhamubure points out that only backing up may not protect data from ransomware. “It is equally important to ensure that the backup is well protected and securely stored,” he says.

“Organisations need to ensure their data protection capabilities keep pace with the demands of their business, to close the gap between how much data they can afford to lose after an outage versus how frequently data is backed up,” advices Bhambure.

Hybrid environment and the changes in data backup solutions

Interestingly, the data backup exercise in today’s organisations and businesses is no longer simple. As many of them operate in a hybrid environment, where data is stored and located in multiple spaces.

“With businesses in India running workloads in a hybrid environment, it is critical to securely store data in multiple spaces like databases, file servers, and network-attached storage (NAS),” says Ripu Bajwa, Director and GM – Data Protection Solutions, Dell Technologies India.

In such a scenario, Bajwa urges businesses to consider those data backup solutions which offer them the flexibility to access, upload, protect and analyse data. “An asset that will have the advantage of long-term retention, reporting and insight into cloud storage use, will serve Indian organisations better,” adds Bajwa.

Along with the changes in how organisations and businesses operate, the way data is being used and stored has also undergone changes. And this has led to a new set of data backup and workload management solutions in the market offered via cloud or as-a-Service model.

“An as-a-Service model can be a redefining solution for businesses across where an enterprise solution provider manages their data needs while they focus on business growth,” says Bajwa.

Database or data management workloads are a good fit for the as-a-Service model, says 25% of IT decision-makers states Dell Technologies APEX Backup Services study.

On this World Backup Day – what is expected

According to Bajwa, businesses should consider this World Backup Day as a welcome opportunity to reconsider their storage solutions and upgrade to safer cloud environments secured by cutting-edge data protection amenities, which will support their digital transformation journey.

While Gofrugal’s Vembu emphasizes that it’s time to wake up to the realities and compulsions of data protection at large. “It’s not just about data backup and the restore methods, but it’s also about freeing businesses from digital slavery,” he says

“It is the capacity to decide what data should be stored, how it should be used or not used, and to make sure it doesn’t make us enslaved by hardware and enchained by software,” explains Vembu.

On this World Backup day, according to Vembu businesses need to understand and commit to the importance of data backup and enjoying the freedom of sharing data in a secure environment. “It is high time the world moves from celebrating the backup day to daily backup!” he comments.

As organisations seek to move their business forward and safeguard critical data against today’s threats, solely relying on backup is no longer a sufficient strategy, according to Druva’s Preston.

“Businesses must adopt a modern approach to data resiliency,” he says.

The approach should be is grounded in the cloud, positions teams to recover data rather than just trying to make a backup, stops ransomware attacks before they spread, and protects data and applications against emerging threats,” opines Preston.

In Preston’s view, businesses’ approach should be grounded in the cloud and their teams’ focus should be to recover data rather and not just make a backup. ” Should stops ransomware attacks before they spread, and protects data and applications against emerging threats,” recommends Preston.

“This World Backup Day, instead of solemnly swearing to just back up your most important data – reevaluate your protection strategies and take the pledge of resiliency,” concludes Preston.

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