Unfolding data explosion means Irish organisations need to think about how and where data is stored, says Kickham of Datapac

Pro

Patrick Kickham, Datapac

13 October 2015

Irish businesses are storing more data than ever before, and research from marketing intelligence firm IDC suggests that this trend will increase exponentially over the next few years.

Datapac, in association with TechPro magazine, recently commissioned a survey of almost 200 senior IT professionals about the risks, struggles and successes of managing data in the enterprise. Findings revealed that many organisations are falling short by using legacy systems, storing data in unsecure locations, not having documented processes in place, failing to test regularly and being unable to retrieve mission-critical data in an acceptable timeframe.

For example, more than 20% of Irish organisations store data in an unsecure location, such as back-up tapes taken home at the weekend. This is a legacy practice that should have no part to play in the modern workplace. There are an abundance of secure storage options available now, whether on premise or leveraged from the cloud, and it’s important that organisations are using these.

“It’s important to consider all elements of your data holistically, and ensure that any business continuity solution is completely integrated”

Worryingly, many organisations are failing to test data recovery solutions. More than 25% of those surveyed admitted to never testing their recovery and a further 11% only test once every two years. The importance of testing cannot be stressed enough — having the best solutions in place means nothing if they’re not operating effectively.

It’s also important to think about what threats there are. Irish organisations are conscious of natural disasters, such as fire, flooding and prolonged power loss, with 80% prepared for such events. However, less than 50% are prepared for a cyberattack, which is a far more likely occurrence.

One of the more promising findings was that more and more organisations are backing up their data regularly. A quarter is doing so in real time with a further 63% backing up daily. Organisations in the minority backing up weekly, monthly or even less regularly may need to consider the impact if they lost a few days or more worth of data.

It’s important to consider all elements of your data holistically, and ensure that any business continuity solution is completely integrated. Fortunately, there is a wide range of options available. Choose an experienced and highly accredited service provider, such as Datapac, that can understand your organisation’s unique set of needs and match this with an appropriate scalable solution.

Patrick Kickham is a director of Datapac