Data protection appliances provide an all-in-one solution that delivers a central interface for backup processes, tools, and infrastructure. These systems reduce complexity by removing the need to source individual components and consolidate hardware and software into a single platform. This simplified sourcing means fewer potential vulnerabilities, faster recovery, and higher availability.
Turnkey appliances provide many benefits, but there is some variation among solutions and the features they offer. Before committing to a data protection appliance for your organization, it’s important to first identify the specific problems you want the appliance to solve.
Here are four common use cases for data protection appliances and the capabilities to look for as you review potential platforms to find one that matches your business objectives.
Disaster Recovery
Calling the year 2020 an unmitigated disaster is like calling a T. rex a grumpy lizard. But if any good has come of it, it’s that we are officially paying attention now. Collectively, we have become painfully aware that disasters come in many forms, and it’s essential to be prepared for anything.
During these uncertain times, a robust data protection appliance can provide the peace of mind that when disaster strikes, your data is secure and your systems will be back up and running in no time.
To ensure your organization is ready to take on any threat—from ransomware to wildfire to global pandemic—look for an appliance with:
- Turnkey backup, disaster recovery, high availability, and cybersecurity capabilities
- High-availability options for continuous data protection
- Bundled flash-accelerated storage, robust server processing, high-speed networking, and heterogeneous data protection software
- Support for on-site, off-site, and cloud workloads
Cybersecurity
Cyberattacks have evolved from the early spray-and-pray phishing attempts to highly targeted campaigns that wreak havoc on corporate networks and critical infrastructure providers such as hospitals, government offices, and financial institutions.
Security experts have noted a rise in the frequency of cyberattacks over the past few years. In fact, Cybersecurity Ventures previously predicted that in 2021 a business will be hit with a ransomware attack every 11 seconds. Attacks are not only occurring more often, but they are also becoming more expensive to reconcile and more destructive.
Some ransomware operators are no longer just encrypting data and demanding payment for the key. There is a growing trend toward not only rendering an organization’s data useless, but also publicly exposing sensitive company and employee data to the public so that you end up with a legal and PR nightmare to boot.
Cybersecurity is (or should be) a priority for every organization, but those organizations in highly regulated industries or with known security vulnerabilities should look for an appliance with:
- Combined cybersecurity and data protection
- Threat prevention and removal capabilities
- Artificial intelligence and a deep learning neural network
Reliability
Today’s consumers demand nothing less than 100 percent availability for applications; downtime, planned or unplanned, is not well tolerated. When downtime is the result of ransomware or another security event, the stakes get exponentially higher.
A recent Arcserve study found that 59 percent of consumers would not do business with an organization that had experienced a cyberattack within the past year. The study also found that a quarter of respondents would switch to a product’s or service’s competitor after only one ransomware-related service disruption or failed transaction.
With these sky-high customer expectations, it’s crucial that your data protection strategy allows you to restore business operations and recover critical systems, applications, and data quickly so you can preserve your revenue, productivity, and reputation.
For minimal downtime and happier end users, look for an appliance with:
- Integrated endpoint protection
- High-redundancy hardware
- On-site hardware support
- Proven data protection software
Scalability
It’s no secret that data drives the modern world, but to put it into perspective: Cybersecurity Ventures estimates that by 2025 the world will need to store 200 zettabytes of data in the cloud.
This explosive data growth shows no sign of slowing, which means enterprise organizations need to be prepared to handle it.
Scalability is a critical component of data protection, so it’s essential to select an appliance that can grow with your organization. Next-generation appliances are designed to protect large datasets (think petabytes) and complex workloads from IT disasters and cyberthreats.
To ensure you get disaster recovery and backup capabilities that will scale indefinitely, look for an appliance with:
- Automated data restore capabilities
- Easy expansion options
- Global source-based deduplication
- Cloud-native capabilities that integrate on- and off-site disaster recovery
- Multi-site replication and tape integration
Enterprise organizations are facing many unknowns heading into the new year. There appears to be some light at the end of the pandemic tunnel, which hopefully signals more stable business days ahead. But there is also no indication that cyberthreats will do anything other than become more frequent and more damaging.
Data protection appliances can take some of the uncertainty out of the equation by simplifying data backup and disaster recovery with an all-in-one, consolidated solution. To ensure your organization gets the maximum benefit from an appliance, use the tips above to identify the capabilities that match your specific business objectives.
For more data security insights, download The 2020 Data Attack Surface Report to learn more about how to integrate appliances to protect your systems, applications, and data from both today’s and tomorrow’s threats.
