Secure data management has become the pinnacle of success for business leaders today as cyberattackers increasingly target organisations’ most valued asset. Florian Malecki, Executive Vice President of Marketing, Arcserve, outlines five trends influencing how organisations secure and manage their data in 2023 and beyond.
Data is the new oil, the new oxygen and the lifeblood of your business. Choose your metaphor. But without access to critical data and systems, your company will stall at the side of the road while your competitors race ahead. So it would be best to stay updated with the latest threats to your data and the tools you can use to protect it.
Here are five trends influencing how organisations secure and manage their data in 2023 and beyond.
1. A massive SaaS outage will serve as a wakeup call
In 2023, we could see the first significant Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) outage and the message – that data backup and recovery must be front and centre – will become apparent very quickly. Companies across the globe are increasingly consuming Software-as-a-Service rather than running their own IT infrastructure on premises. So, imagine if a service like Microsoft 365 has a major outage – then what? You should know that top-tier SaaS providers like Microsoft guarantee their service but don’t guarantee your data’s safety. That’s on you. And that’s why you need to have third-party software to survive an outage and protect your data long-term.
It’s also crucial for you to embrace the 3-2-1-1 data protection strategy. This strategy directs that you have three backup copies of your data on two different media, such as disk and tape, with one of those copies located offsite for Disaster Recovery. The final one in this equation is immutable object storage. Immutable object storage is a next-gen data security tool that continuously safeguards information by taking snapshots every 90 seconds. It guarantees that even in the case of a significant SaaS outage, you can quickly recover your data.
2. Cost cutting will cause more harm than good
With spiralling energy prices and runaway inflation, companies across the board will implement cost optimisation in 2023. But one thing that organisations cannot afford to do is cut back on their data protection efforts. Even as companies rethink their operational expenditures to deal with inflation, they still need to invest in protecting, storing and backing up their data.
Data protection may appear to be an easy place to trim and save some money, but any cuts to your data defences will come with higher costs. The most recent IBM Cost of a Data Breach Report found that the average cost of a breach to a US business in 2022 was US$9.44 million. In 2023, it will be essential to recognise the importance of your data and make sure that any cuts to your budget have minimal impact on your business operations.
3. Companies will have to allocate their security budgets wisely
That said, many companies will do some belt-tightening in security. Those that do should be aware that this is when the bad guys tend to pounce. Cyberthieves are always looking to exploit vulnerabilities. Therefore, companies that consider economic measures should do so wisely and look at where they allocate their budget concerning data security.
Today, most companies invest in the basics like firewalls, antivirus and intrusion-detection solutions. But know that the bad guys will inevitably get through those defences at least once. You should have a plan for that eventuality and allocate your security budget accordingly. For every dollar you spend on firewalls or antivirus solutions, you should spend another dollar on solutions that help you backup and recover your data in the aftermath of a cyberattack.
4. Companies will need solutions to protect data put at risk by remote workers
Most organisations successfully implemented remote work and hybrid work programmes during the pandemic. Many will continue these policies in 2023 because they know they will protect their companies’ financial health while keeping employees happier, more engaged and more productive. Many people prefer to work from home rather than commute to the office because, with the increase in fuel price, they can save money by not driving. Many companies are discovering that, with fewer workers in the office, they can save on their utility bills because they spend less on heating and cooling.
But be aware that when your workers are remote, your data is further fragmented and your vulnerabilities expand. So, now that hybrid work is here to stay, companies in 2023 will need to seek out simple, low-cost solutions that can effectively back up and protect data in their remote environments without any need to deploy additional resources or capital.
5. Companies that use cloud backup and recovery services will look for hosting partners that accurately report Scope 3 emissions
In many countries, big companies are asked to report their CO2 emissions and do their part to slow climate change. The trouble is that there are no global standards for this reporting. Companies are measuring their emissions in various ways, making it hard to track and compare performance. Further, most companies only report emissions that they produce directly, such as emissions generated when offices are heated. These are called Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions and are just a fraction of the global total.
Most emissions are in Scope 3, produced by the activity of all the participants in a company’s supply chain — produced currently and in the future. Scope 3 emissions are massive and are primarily unreported. This blank spot makes it easy for companies to claim they’ll be net-zero businesses by 2050 because they don’t have to report all the CO2 their customers produce.
In 2023, the pressure will be on cloud companies to accurately track their Scope 3 emissions or risk greenwashing. And organisations that use cloud backup and recovery services will look for partners that accurately report their Scope 3 emissions so that they can be good corporate citizens.
Final takeaway
In today’s ever-accelerating — and ever more unpredictable — world, business challenges of all kinds are growing more difficult to identify and solve. Data protection is one of them. The companies that do it successfully in 2023 and beyond will stay on top of the trends and implement the innovative tools and strategies they need to secure their data and move forward with competence and confidence.
