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As we make our way through 2023, data management and security continue to be top priorities for businesses of all sizes, and — in a fast-paced, constantly-changing industry — it can be hard to keep up with the most important developments. Luckily, studies like Veeam’s annual Data Protection Trends report offer valuable insight into the current state and future direction of the industry. In this article, we’ll pick three tidbits from the study to explore important trends in more detail and discuss how they are shaping the future of data management and security.
Focus on Hybrid Infrastructure
Hybrid and multi-cloud solutions are here to stay. 95% of IT leaders say hybrid or multicloud environments have been crucial to recent successes, and 86% plan to increase their investment in those solutions in the future. Cloud-hosted services combined with data center servers and virtual machines are now firmly cemented as the way forward for businesses in almost every industry, and for good reason.
First, hybrid and multi-cloud approaches increase operational efficiency. Second, they facilitate and accelerate innovation. Third, they enable companies to meet customer expectations more readily in the future. Fourth, they reduce total cost of ownership. Finally, and perhaps most critical of all, they help companies reach their financial goals: companies that use hybrid and multi-cloud environments are 43% more likely to report increased annual revenue.
Reliability is Key
As Veeam reports, reliability is the primary reason organizations switch backup providers. More than the variety of data protection tools offered, more than on-prem compared to cloud, more than reduced costs — reliable success of backups is the most important factor for organizations using cloud services. This is an important lesson for cloud backup providers: users do not want to worry about technology upgrades, amounts of data stored, migrations, or obsolescence. They simply want to know their data is safe, and assuring backup reliability is reason enough to change providers if they aren’t satisfied.
Data Protection Budgets Are Growing
According to Veeam’s most recent survey results, the data protection market is expanding at a rapid pace, as companies plan to increase their data protection budgets by 6.5% in 2023. This figure is significantly higher than projections by Gartner (5.1% increase in IT budgets) and the IDC (5.2% increase in IT spending), indicating a growing demand for data protection solutions.
The reason most likely lies in the increased frequency and severity of cyber attacks. Ransomware specifically stands as the prime obstacle to digital transformation, and 80% of IT leaders feel their data lacks adequate protection. Cyberattacks like ransomware are costly in more ways than one, and can be difficult to recover from quickly. Rather than focus on response, IT leaders are betting on prevention and mitigation by investing more than ever in protecting themselves before an event occurs.
Future Focus
Halfway through 2023, industry developments are taking shape. To begin, with the exponential growth of data, companies are investing more in data protection budgets to ensure that their critical information remains secure. Next, hybrid cloud solutions are also continuing to gain momentum as they provide businesses with greater flexibility, scalability, cost-effectiveness, security, and reliability. Lastly, with the increased reliance on cloud-based services, the importance of cloud backup reliability cannot be overstated.
Curious about which cloud is right for you? We’ve got you covered in a recent post on the topic here. Or to learn more about DartPoints’ advanced cloud services, click here.