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Data Mobility and Unbreakable Backup: Two Major Issues That Will Shape IT Strategy in 2021

Data Mobility and Unbreakable Backup Two Major Issues That Will Shape IT Strategy in 2021

Data Mobility and Unbreakable Backup Two Major Issues That Will Shape IT Strategy in 2021Data Mobility and Unbreakable Backup: Two Major Issues That Will Shape IT Strategy in 2021

By Charles Burger, Global Director of Assureon Solutions at Nexsan, A StorCentric Company, contributing to the #BUDRInsightJam. 

This year has been among the most unpredictable that any of us will have experienced. From an IT perspective, the macro trends we were all focusing on at the beginning of 2020 were abruptly replaced by ubiquitous global challenges, with medium and long-term planning set aside in favor of the need to act on a public health emergency. Who would have predicted, for example, that the idea of a ‘new normal’ would become such a talking point? Similarly, few people could have imagined that important but emerging trends, such as remote working, would see such dramatic growth. 

As we look forward to 2021 and the hope of a post-pandemic recovery, the industry is again placing bets on where IT leaders will focus their time and investment. Some of the major trends to emerge this year, particularly those driven by lockdown and social distancing, will remain a permanent part of the technology ‘establishment.’ But beyond those issues, we’re likely to see a gradual return to business as usual, and in 2021, organizations will shift focus to opportunities and risks that are more grounded in the ‘old normal’ of technology strategy.  

Take, for example, the importance of data – a huge, diverse topic driven by a widespread belief in its power to deliver insight that cannot emerge from experience and expertise alone. Next year will see a more pragmatic approach to the collection and use of data – away from visionary perspectives and towards deliverables. Most of us agree that data has the potential to have a transformative effect on business and society, but now it is time to deliver on the underlying technology infrastructure. 

More specifically, data migration, replication, and synchronization have historically been complicated endeavors that create obstacles to progress instead of delivering the strategic business value, IT benefits, and budgetary advantages for which they were intended. 

Consequently, in 2021, data mobility will climb the priority list of virtually all data center professionals — especially as they accelerate their integration of multiple cloud providers alongside existing infrastructure. It will, therefore be critical that they employ strategies and solutions that enable seamless movement of data across heterogeneous on-premises, remote, and cloud environments. 

And next year, we inevitably must return to cybersecurity, which will remain at the forefront of virtually every data center professional’s mind. Increasingly aggressive and rampant ransomware and other bad actors will continue to attack not only onsite production data but every possible copy or backup, wherever data resides.  

Ransomware attacks are the new “go-to” for criminal enterprises, which alongside state-sponsored entities, are costing businesses and economies billions of dollars. Industry losses are projected to increase to $20 billion USD in 2021, forcing legislators, regulators, and company leaders to face the problem of ransomware head-on. As cyber-criminals become more emboldened by the current economic and health crisis, and more sophisticated in their network attacks targeting backups, CIOs and CISOs must adapt their backup solution to stand up against modern cyber-crime. 

In 2021, it’s critical that organizations raise their cybersecurity game with data security, protection, and “unbreakable” backup solutions that not only serve to protect against an attack, but in the worst-case scenario, enable the victim to recover and maintain uninterrupted operations quickly. The unbreakable concept focuses on protecting unstructured data from ransomware attacks by also including backups, and by creating an immutable copy of their data, organizations can quickly recover unaltered files without disruption or need to pay a ransom. 

Those organizations and leaders who can mobilize their resources after a challenging year that has seen security breaches continue to rise can face whatever 2021 throws at them with renewed confidence.  

About the author

Charles Burger is the Global Director of Assureon Solutions at Nexsan, A StorCentric Company. For over nine years, he’s served as the architect for customers within the strictly regulated financial, medical, law enforcement, state/local, and federal government markets. Nexsan channel partners and end customers value and depend upon his wealth of knowledge and hands-on expertise in enterprise storage and regulations compliance, especially those with ECM applications that are core to successful medical systems like PACS and patient history. Prior to Nexsan, Burger held senior sales and systems integrator positions with Sterling Computers; Sun Microsystems, where he designed, sold, and integrated commercial and federal systems (SunFed); and Procom Technology.

Thanks to Charles Burger for contributing to the #BUDRInsightJam. Learn more about data mobility and backup in our Backup and Disaster Recovery Buyer’s Guide and keep an eye out for Burger during the Jam.

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