Five things that shaped the new dawn of data this 2017

Managing the growing volumes of data will not be a chore if you simply have proper oversight and a well-defined management strategy

What a year it has been. Ransomware attacks such as WannaCry, new data legislations like the upcoming GDPR and the continuously growing demand for IT efficiency have all given rise to a new focus on data – and data protection. Data is the heartbeat of information-driven businesses and this year, we saw executives focus on the management of their most strategic assets, which helped shaped the new dawn of data.

Let’s look back at how data took center-stage in 2017 –

1. Enterprises became more aware that data is critical to their success

Data is now the focal point of most organizations’ business strategy. There has been an increased focus in managing, moving, protecting, and most importantly, using data. In 2017, organizations started to realize that data is the heartbeat for information-driven businesses. From building smart cities, to developing targeted and personalized marketing campaigns, this year we’ve seen data used to create some of the greatest works and create immensely positive impacts in businesses and through them, their customers.

2. Cyberattacks incidents served as a wakeup call for business leaders to think about data recovery

Business leaders realized they should no longer think about what happens if but when cyberattack incidents happen. We saw disaster recovery strategies being changed to factor in how disruptions to business operations can be minimized – an acceptance of the fact that outages will happen, and they need to be considered.

But outages are not limited to cyberattacks or natural disasters such as earthquakes. They now include man-made human errors, and routine accidents and outages that are part of our interconnected world. As technology continues to leave a deeper footprint on businesses and personal lives, the frequency and impacts of these attacks have been amplified.

This complex landscape of mixed outages and threats has made it important for business leaders to know their data in the cloud, enabling them to protect the most strategic asset of their business – data.

3. Software-defined capabilities are driving more efficient storage and data management infrastructures

The cloud is the new black and organizations are taking full advantage of this environment. Cost-effectiveness, efficiency and revenue growth are just a few benefits that companies can reap from the cloud, and it’s no wonder that business leaders are moving towards a hyper-converged infrastructure. This year, we saw software-defined capabilities increase business agility when data was involved, especially through the provision of workload portability. Software-as-a-Service applications have also empowered businesses to deploy analytics and other services on their existing infrastructures while providing the flexibility and convenience to better manage their data.

4. Cloud is getting practical but there is Cloud “FOMO” (fear of losing out) mentality.

Are people using cloud capabilities correctly? We observed growing symptoms of cloud FOMO, where businesses jumped on the cloud bandwagon without a clear data strategy. This has often led to increased security and compliance data problems, and unfortunately, a lack of oversight into where data now actually lives. These issues can make or break an organization’s journey to the cloud, especially in today’s digital age.

The demand for workload portability is becoming intense as enterprises work on various environments such the AWS public cloud, Google cloud, on-premise data center, AliCloud, private clouds, not to mention cross-border business operations. The reality is that organizations need to support workloads across all architectures and those workloads must be easily migrated to and from different environments, making workload portability the ultimate key to success in the cloud.

5. The digital transformation journey has reached a new peak

There has been a significant increase in the types and amount of data companies must manage in today’s digital economy. The Internet of Things, an increase in customer information, and data specifically for security purposes have made the management of data much more complex. This has led to an increased impetus on business leaders to manage, protect and use data to make better informed decisions, and ensure they make use of it to gain a competitive edge. External factors such as the tightening of legislations and regulations – most notably GDPR and the financial risk of non-compliance – will make it harder for companies to manage data. However, this can be easily conquered when businesses know their data in all environments – both in the cloud and on-premise. Having a unified overview of where data lives empowers business leaders to be compliant, agile and competitive – three key factors that drive success today.

Conversations around data that were discussed in 2016 are tremendously different today and will continue to evolve as we focus on new areas of data. However, data will continue to be a requirement for businesses to stay competitive in a digital economy. These five areas have shaped this new dawn of data this year, so reflect on what your organization has done and analyze if you’re heading in the right direction.

Managing the growing volumes of data will not be a chore if you simply have proper oversight and a well-defined management strategy. So, get to work, organize your data and unlock all the opportunities that are awaiting your business in 2018. The new dawn of data is here. Don’t be the one caught napping through it.

Authored by By Ramesh Mamgain, Area Vice President, India and SAARC Region, Commvault