The COVID-19 pandemic has taught us that protecting our data needs to be an adjustable process. Now, more than ever, data protection is under the gun. Businesses are concerned that their standard data protection practices will not hold firm due to lack of resources and the move to digital at-home practices.
We know that investing in good data protection technology offers long-term payoff, but are we making the most out of what we’re paying for?
It can be all too easy for businesses to slip into the habit of neglecting data backup and recovery practices. We pay for it, we get it, it does its thing, right? Wrong! Like everything else revolving around technology, data management tools are continuously advancing and improving over time.
Typical backup systems tend to start small with various building blocks consisting of applications, hardware, software and admin. Let’s liken it to growing a garden. You decide to plant some roses; you water them and fertilise them. Once they grow, you think they might look nice with some sunflowers, so you do the same. Before you know it, you’ve got a big beautiful garden but it’s overgrowing, and you don’t have all of the tools to maintain it. The same goes for backup systems.
Backup and recovery assets multiply over time and need constant monitoring via IT administration teams. The mistake that many businesses make is investing money into more of these assets in order to fill in any gaps, rather than investing in tool kits that aid IT professionals and exercising their right to upgrade.
For many companies, data is tied to large systems that have been in place for donkey’s years! Whilst these systems still function technically well and conform to GDPR regulations, they might not be working in tandem with newer applications – which will also eventually become outdated. This means that companies can end up in a tangled web of different backup and recovery technologies.
As a result, companies spend millions on data backup and recovery assets. But, the cost pales in comparison to the value of the data that needs protecting. If something were to go wrong, and an outdated backup and recovery method failed to protect the company’s data, the company could be fined hundreds of millions. In 2019, British Airways was fined $230 million for a data breach!
Ultimately, companies are missing out on opportunities to reduce the amount of admin and to modernise their systems that protect this data. Continuously adding new assets rather than upgrading:
- Creates vulnerable points in your data protection defences (more products, more ways for data to be compromised and more ways for recovery to go wrong!)
- Is uneconomical for businesses to pay for several data and backup recovery products
- Doesn’t consider modern models of data storage, like the cloud
Simply upgrading your current backup systems to modernise the process can greatly reduce the likelihood of things going wrong, whilst remaining cost-effective. It can:
- Improve security, protecting you from threats (think about adding encryption!)
- Foster efficiency. Newer versions of software can reduce infrastructure costs
- Need more space? An upgrade can bring into play cloud storage as an alternative to tape, which though inexpensive, can be cumbersome to manage
Many Predatar customers own IBM Spectrum software, paying an annual maintenance fee which includes the right to upgrade their software. It’s time to think about exercising that right.
The latest release of Storage Protect supports everything from Unix machines to virtual workloads and now container-based clusters. A single, secure home for all your data needs. It’s efficient, powerful and easily controlled.
And remember, if you don’t have time to modernise your Storage Protect system, our global network of Apex Partners can help, providing you with local expertise!
