As we close another record-breaking year for data, we look ahead with an eye towards protection. The world has never relied as heavily as it does today on the world’s accumulation of data, yet it has never been more vulnerable. The growth in digital data is happening exponentially according to an IDC report from last year; in fact, our digital universe could reach 160 zettabytes (ZB) by 2025. We at Spectra Logic predict that much of this data will never be stored or will be retained for only a brief time, making the “stored” digital universe a far smaller subset of the total digital universe. In 2019, enterprise IT organizations will look to enhance the ingesting, managing, sharing and storing of our digital universe for added protection and cost savings. Below find three additional Spectra Logic predictions for 2019:
Ransomware Numbers Increase
Ransomware has increased in impact every year since its inception. Look for malicious software to find its way into many enterprise IT operations in 2019. Cybercrimes increase in sophistication year over year and enterprise IT outfits need to find a way to mitigate and prevent Ransomware proactively as opposed to reactively. Putting a well-developed plan in place to mitigate ransomware with a specific chain of events to protect critical digital data will be essential in 2019. The plan should start with an offline copy of data stored on tape media, sometimes referred to as the “tape air gap.” Basically, an air gap denotes the method by which data is electronically disconnected from the network in order to protect it from online threats. Without an electronic connection back to tape, the data stored cannot be hacked. The tape air gap will be an essential component to fighting against ransomware in 2019. Nothing causes the public and customers to lose trust in an organization faster than a data breech. Enterprise organizations that store digital information need to get serious about the reality of Ransomware and deploy the most sophisticated security measures possible to protect their assets. One sophisticated concept that executives should consider next year is the 3-2-1-1 rule. Three copies of backups on two different media types, with one copy offsite and another copy offline. Taking all measures necessary to ensure that digital data will not be hacked or lost due to a ransomware attack should be top of mind for enterprise organizations.
Storage Expectations Change in Wake of Data Explosion
Data is being curated everywhere as IoT and smart cities have expanded our digital universe tenfold and the trajectory is only pointed up. In 2019 storage expectations will change in a major way. Accessing, managing and archiving data will require more attention, space and investment. The increase in data is making our world safer, organizations more money and consumers’ lives easier, but if data protection is not at the top of the priority list, all these benefits could go away rapidly. The only way to sustain the benefits of this data explosion is to economically and easily protect and preserve it.
Software and Hardware will work together in new ways
In 2019, more data will be created outside the data center than ever before. In many environments, including high performance computing (HPC), hardware and software solutions will need to come together in new ways to protect data across multiple geographies to support their storage needs. HPC research is becoming commonplace across numerous industries, including large academic research laboratories, and in 2019, many supercomputing infrastructures will integrate advanced software and hardware together to provide the highest level of protection. On a similar note, 2019 will also see numerous supercomputing organizations sharing data across sites during ingestion, research and after the information is published. To achieve proper storage for multiple HPC sites that share information, storage solutions will need to replicate data seamlessly, securely and allow quick and easy access to data, no matter where the users and IT staff members are located.
2019 will be a big year for storage: The ascension of data will continue and originate from new sources, such as AI, IoT devices, autonomous vehicles and 5G connectivity on data devices. These new additions, plus our data backlog needs to be protected to the nth degree. Data is the lifeblood of enterprise organizations and the catalyst for our collective future. We’re nearing a data tipping point. The endless amount of information being created combined with the various current and new threats to its safety create an immediate demand for reliable long-term storage, and in 2019, organizations will explore new ways to economically identify, share, store and access the growing digital universe.
