Organizations invest in digital initiatives with technologies such as cloud computing, Big Data, AI and the Internet of Things (IoT). Data management practices urgently need improvement the Veeam Cloud Data Management Report states as most organizations can’t meet user demand for uninterrupted data access. An overview and comments.
Cloud data management adoption is on the rise and intelligent data management is what organizations try to do although there are serious data management maturity differences across the globe.
As the name indicates cloud data management enables to manage data across various cloud environments, often in a hybrid cloud and multi-cloud approach, including on-premises storage.
73% of organizations admit to not being able to meet users’ demands for uninterrupted access to data and services.
Veeam Software, the Switzerland-based provider of backup, disaster recovery and intelligent data management software enabling cloud data management has released its Veeam Cloud Data Management Report, based upon a survey conducted by Vanson Bourne.
Pointing out that data management is critical in the ongoing desire of organizations to leverage technologies such as the mentioned technologies in their digital transformation efforts, the report finds that 72% of respondents are looking to embrace cloud data management, “often by exploiting hybrid cloud capabilities, to ensure success and drive more value from their data”.
Data management challenges – most organizations can’t meet user’s demands for uninterrupted access
Citing IDC’s often mentioned forecast that the datasphere could reach 175 Zettabytes per year of data created, captured and replicated on a yearly basis by 2025, Veeam Software states that 73 percent of organizations that filled in the survey admit they are not able to meet users’ demands for uninterrupted access to data and services.
This would cost ‘the typical company’ $20 million each year, illustrating the impact of downtime on loss of revenue, productivity and consumer confidence.
The overall field of data management (the gathering, validation, storage, protection and processing of data to make sure it is accessible for users when needed in a reliable way) and data models and paradigms are in flux. The growing importance of edge computing and emerging use cases needing ever more computing capacity, storage, analysis, cybersecurity maturity, and management overall, are transforming the dynamics of data and analytics in an age where cyber resilience rules. The need to increase analytic velocity and focus on analytic outcomes for data consumers has put DataOps on the map. The list goes on.
Most data management challenges are known. From culture and skills to the sheer fact that things do evolve very fast and we’ve already passed the point where all data being generated could be stored, even if we wanted to, let alone had a good reason to as there are rules and regulations to be followed as well of course in relation with particular types of data and the purposes they are created or collected for, not to mention the increasing enterprise attack surface with all data gathering and connecting/sharing happening.
Three-quarters of companies report using Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platforms. Many are utilizing the cloud for their backup and recovery services, with 51% using Backup-as-a-Service (BaaS) and 44% using disaster recovery-as-a-service (DRaaS).
Data protection and backup challenges as organizations recognize the need for ‘intelligent data management’
Ratmir Timashev, Co-Founder and EVP of Sales & Marketing at Veeam Software, states that organizations need to wake up, take action to protect their data and manage their data in a way that delivers the availability needed and enables to leverage its value.
The Cloud Data Management report survey further found that only 37% of businesses are ‘very confident’ in their current backup solutions. The mentioned fact that a majority can’t meet user demands hinders the adoption of tools and processes that can increase business benefits, but the responding CXOs recognize they need to work on it. Over half of those surveyed want to deploy intelligent data management and multi-cloud solutions throughout the company to address this shortcoming.
According to Veeam organizations on average intend to 41 million dollars in ‘transformative technologies’ such as the mentioned ones and almost half of the respondents acknowledge that data protection is ‘imperative’ to leverage these investments – which seems rather worrying when you start wondering what the rest thinks.
To quote TÜV Rheinland’s Björn Haan, when announcing an industrial cybersecurity trend report for 2019: “the existential question for many companies will be whether they can manage the security challenges in the digital economy” and this may simply boil down to a question of success or failure, without any opportunity to compromise. If you want to know what other respondents think about the importance of data protection to leverage AI, IoT, Big Data, cloud and the likes you can download the 2019 Veeam Cloud Data Management Report here.
Since money makes the world go round: as data management indeed is important, let alone ‘imperative’ to deploy digital initiatives using data and technologies and all the other elements needed to succeed, then Veeam’s statement that there are big benefits to be had from the deployment of digital initiatives as organizations on average attribute $124 million additional revenue (per company) to these innovations annually seems important.
Cloud data management and artificial intelligence as part of the journey towards the ‘intelligent business’
Some recommendations from the Veeam Cloud Data Management Report for the road towards ‘a more intelligent business’. The Veeam Cloud Data Management Report shows that organizations are on this journey.
This means that they want to make better use of technologies such as cloud data management and artificial intelligence (always present in anything that’s called intelligent) to get a real-time view of the entire company and the ability to act in an intelligent way based on this real-time view.
54% of companies experience a loss of customer confidence as a consequence of downtime.
Among the companies that follow this journey towards a more intelligent business the study emphasizes four common components across the globe.
According to Veaam these are the four areas you should focus on:
- Cloud. Cloud data management is an essential component to deliver intelligent data management Veeam says. Three quarters of companies use Software-as-a-Service platforms (SaaS) according to the survey. Many companies use the cloud for their backup and recovery services; 51% use Backup-as-a-Service (BaaS) and 44% use Disaster Recovery-as-a-service (DRaaS). Veeam concludes that managers recognize the benefits of a multi-cloud and hybrid cloud-based approach. They cite cost, reliability, flexibility and data security of the cloud as their main reasons for choosing it.
- Capabilities. Organizations need to expand their capabilities to ensure that employees can rely on data insights and use new technologies as they are deployed. 9 out of 10 companies believe that improving the digital skills of their employees is essential for their digital success.
- Culture. It is essential to create a culture that is adaptable and open to new technologies so that people can evolve with the organization. More than two thirds of respondents believe that the company culture should be more open and responsive to digital technologies.
- Confidence. Organizations must create a sense of confidence in the digital skills of the business, based on a strong data foundation. Currently, only a quarter of respondents have full confidence in their ability to address digital challenges. And with that data foundation and confidence we’re back at data management and the case for cloud data management Veeam makes.
‘A global digital arms race’ – differing data management maturity levels and intelligent data management plans across the globe
Some of the world’s largest economies risk catching up on their investment in digital innovation, the 2019 Veeam Cloud Data Management Report further found.
This, among others, relates to the maturity of data management practices and plans to invest in intelligent data management and cloud data management.
Ratmir Timashev: “We’re seeing a global digital arms race develop today, with some of the world’s most advanced economies at risk of being left behind when it comes to their digital adoption. It’s essential that organizations get the right digital foundation in place to intelligently manage their data and safeguard their future. To achieve this, businesses must be united internally, with IT and the business working collaboratively and addressing cultural and skills challenges.”
We are living in a data-driven age, and organizations need to wake up and take action to protect their data. Businesses must manage their data in a way that always delivers availability and leverage its value to drive performance. This is no longer a luxury, but a business necessity (Ratmir Timashev, Co-Founder and EVP of Sales & Marketing at Veeam)
41% of Japanese businesses and 48% of Brazilian organizations describe their data management as mature, compared to little over a quarter in France and Germany, and just 11 percent in the UK.
Moreover, change doesn’t seem to be on the agenda with Japanese and Brazilian organizations planning to invest on average $105 million and $73 million intelligent data management over the next twelve months, considerably more than the average expected investment from companies in the UK ($14 million), China ($17 million) and the US ($38 million).
More details about these findings and all the others in the 2019 Veeam Cloud Data Management Report, which you can download here. You can also check out a summary of the report here.
All images are property of their respective mentioned owners. For the 2019 Veeam Cloud Data Management Report, Vanson Bourne conducted an online survey of 1,575 CXOs in 13 different countries, in Spring 2019. The countries surveyed include Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Russia, Middle East, UK and the US.
