IT leaders spend all day, every day thinking about their organizations’ cloud-based data, from how to save on storage to protecting themselves against ransomware. In contrast, most consumers don’t think twice about data storage and maintenance. Even Generation Z consumers, a younger, digitally native demographic, aren’t much better. Many of them hold on to unused online accounts and associated data without thinking about the data protection risks, environmental impact and financial costs of digital storage.

Earlier this year, a survey* of more than 13,000 consumers examined some of their digital data habits and what they know about the environmental implications of data storage. Here are three key takeaways from the data and how IT leaders and consumers can make data protection and sustainability a priority.

As Data Storage Grows Exponentially, so do the Environmental Impact & Security Risks

The size of real-time data in the global datasphere is expected to expand tenfold—from five zettabytes to 51 zettabytes—between 2018 and 2025. Most of this is enterprise data. And when an average of 50 percent of a company’s data is redundant, obsolete or trivial, and another 35 percent is dark, meaning it has unknown value, the potential repercussions of storing this vast quantity of data outweighs the benefits.

Beyond the financial cost of storage, data has a large impact on an organization’s carbon footprint. More data means more energy used for data storage, leading to more CO2 emissions. More data and online customer accounts also mean a larger digital footprint, which opens companies and individuals up to increased cybersecurity and data compliance risks. There is an even greater risk when it comes to unused accounts, which consumers have plenty of—60 percent of Gen Z respondents have online accounts they no longer use. Of those, four-fifths (80 percent) report having entertainment and shopping accounts they no longer use and nearly three-fourths (71 percent) report having an online bank account they no longer use. If an individual ignores inactive accounts that hold financial or other sensitive information and their passwords are compromised, they could experience a data breach and not even know it.

Gen Z Doesn’t Realize the Part They Play in Data Storage Pollution

While the environmental impact of broader enterprise data management is under constant scrutiny, the survey found that Gen Z consumers are not aware of how their own digital habits tie into that and can negatively impact the environment. In fact, 51 percent of Gen Z consumers failed to recognize that the electronic versions of their account-related statements and other unnecessarily stored digital information have a negative environmental impact.

For the average consumer, it’s easy to forget that data centers are mostly fossil fuel-powered and generate about the same amount of CO2 as the airline industry. Most sustainability efforts focus on broad stroke concepts of energy reduction or opting for more sustainable materials to reduce carbon footprints, so it’s not surprising that many consumers are unaware of the environmental implications of data storage associated with their own online accounts. Organizations should plan accordingly for this knowledge gap and implement deduplication strategies for customer data to efficiently minimize redundant data stored in the cloud.

Where Does the Responsibility Lie? Educate Customers to Align Expectations & Relay Best Practices

Nearly half (44 percent) of Gen Z respondents said it’s wrong for businesses to waste energy and cause pollution by storing unneeded information online. But keeping in mind consumers’ propensity for keeping unused online accounts, the responsibility lies with both consumers to delete their inactive accounts and unneeded information, and organizations to wipe any redundant, obsolete or trivial consumer data from their data storage and backups.

Storing unnecessary data in the cloud increases the carbon footprints and data protection risks for organizations and individuals, so it’s important that everyone is aware of the part they play in the creation and reduction of unoptimized data in the cloud. To do this, organizations should arm their customers with the facts and outline personal data management best practices in plain terms. Using infographics and visuals can make this information easier to understand for those with limited technical background and knowledge. Organizations should also send reminders to users who have not been active in over a year to close any unused accounts and delete any obsolete data, noting the positive data protection and environmental impacts this can have.

Now is the Time to Address Data Management Strategies

Consumers will continue to closely scrutinize the sustainability practices of organizations, and as time progresses, become increasingly aware of data protection and security risks. If an organization has not prioritized techniques to reduce unnecessary storage in the cloud and relayed the importance of this issue to consumers, now is the time to start. With the countless benefits of streamlining data storage, including reduced cost, better environmental outcomes and increased preparedness for ransomware attacks, the entire business will gain from an overhaul of poor data management practices.

*The study of 13,000 consumers was conducted by 3Gem on behalf of Veritas Technologies across Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, the UAE, the UK and the US from February 1-16, 2023.

The post In the Cloud, Out of Mind: Three Takeaways from Gen Z’s Security and Sustainability Data Storage Perception Gap appeared first on Best Enterprise Data Storage Software, Solutions, Vendors and Platforms.

Everybody’s jumping ship right now — or, more correctly, jumping from cloud-only strategies to hybrid strategies. This migration came to light when the Cloud Industry Forum conducted a survey and discovered the desire for seamless solutions, regardless of the type of data transformation and storage, drives 60 percent of businesses toward a hybrid cloud ecosystem (as opposed to a cloud-only strategy).

Hybrid Cloud Benefits: Evergreen Flexibility and Staying Up to Date

The competition of the public clouds has been fierce, and on-premises technologies have noticed and are reemerging as a value add in conjunction with the public feature set. A hybrid cloud, which can include on-premises and public platforms, can provide reduced costs, greater agility, security, compliance, and deployment flexibility while getting the most out of existing infrastructure investments.

The rising cost of cloud and advances in cloud hybrid technologies has led many companies to choose a hybrid solution. Mordor Intelligence performed a 10-year forecast ending in 2028, and it estimated that the hybrid cloud market will grow by a compound annual growth rate of almost 22 percent. Additionally, according to Cisco’s “2022 Global Hybrid Cloud Trends Report,” 82 percent of IT leaders are shifting to hybrid cloud environments.

The studies detail the public cloud struggles to merge with new technologies that are often required for a strong enterprise data storage strategy and other business practices. That is not the only concern. Here are some other reasons you might opt for a hybrid solution over selecting a single cloud provider:

• Vendor lock-in
• Higher costs
• More control over sensitive data
• Compliance requirements
• Inflexible physical storage is required for on-premises information
• Improved business continuity

Data virtualization is a solution because it leaves data where it sits in existence. However, there are different methods for replicating it into an ingestion layer. For example, an SQL database sits on-premises. You can virtualize that data and consume it from a cloud product without moving it from that environment. It can reduce some of the efforts of cloud transformation that can occur, helping you avoid a massive migration process while you benefit from the downstream effects of cloud products.

The Pros and Cons of Hybrid: Both Sides of the Story

Integrating multiple systems can be a lot of work. But in most cases, when companies choose to stick to a cloud-only ecosystem, it’s more about familiarity and habit than efficiency and productivity. However, as these businesses expand, they tend to see a few red flags — all warning that their current cloud system is not robust enough to meet the company’s growing needs. Signs include uncontrolled cloud costs, the inability to connect with other companies because they have a hybrid system, and growing expenses.

It’s safe to say that traditional cloud-only ecosystems are getting rather long in the tooth. This begs the question: Which hybrid cloud benefits are the biggest magnets drawing companies toward this type of ecosystem?

Pro: Improved ROI

Adding a public cloud provider to your existing on-premises infrastructure allows you to expand your cloud computing capacity without increasing your data center expenses. Hybrid cloud models also open the door to the latest technologies, such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, without extending or replacing your existing infrastructure. You can speed up the development and delivery of apps by maximizing resources and increasing productivity.

Pro: Reduced Security Costs and Risk

Hybrid cloud infrastructure is a more cost-effective operation, especially in the field of security. It allows you to store all critical and sensitive data on private servers while keeping applications and less sensitive information on a public cloud. This approach also allows for effective application governance, which lets you decide where your application sits and where hybrid computing happens. As a result, it assists in improving privacy and ensuring compliance for your regulated applications. In short, using a hybrid cloud ecosystem means that you will keep premium control over all your business data as the platform strongly limits exposure to unauthorized individuals.

Pro: Fluid Innovation

A hybrid cloud platform allows your business to optimize IT performance, increase marketing, and, perhaps more critically, foster the ability to respond quickly and efficiently to changing work demands. You can also operate in an environment that makes sense for you. This gives you a natural edge over competitors who prefer cloud-only solutions.

Con: It Takes Planning to Migrate

While hopping from the cloud to a hybrid platform isn’t technically a drawback, it should be mentioned. Why? Because in the beginning, the process will require a level of planning to successfully migrate all the necessary aspects of your business to hybrid cloud storage.

Con: Training and Security Mismanagement

When people come together on a more complex platform, not everyone might have the training to deal with the new ecosystem or have the knowledge to stay on top of any security issues that might arise as the network grows. At best, this could lead to the underutilization of the hybrid cloud’s full potential and, at worst, security breaches and data leaks. Training, choosing the right network protection tool and habits, and fostering a culture of open dialogue will keep everyone on the same page.

How to Effectively Adopt a Hybrid Cloud Strategy

Ready to embrace a hybrid cloud strategy? Here’s what you should know about making the switch.

Utilize Automation & AI

When considering a hybrid cloud strategy, automation is a solution that can help with the transition and data transformation in general. You can automate scale-out and provisioning as well as deployment in private clouds, public clouds, and edge locations. In data observability, for example, automation and AI effectively make migration and abstraction easier by helping identify, tag, and put governorship in place around data.

Migrate in Small Increments

If your data system is very simplistic, doing a full swap in a day is possible. However, it’s generally advised to migrate to a hybrid system via small steps. Focus on securing one aspect of your business on the new network and then make sure it’s functional before moving on to the next. This doesn’t have to be stressful; automation solutions can help with the transition process.

Governance & Observability are Key

You need better monitoring if you have more systems. When you have more pieces where data sits, you need to have that identified and documented in a glossary and dictionary. You need good lineage when there are more transformation components because there are more stages through an ETL.

All of these things become paramount with the complexity of the system in order to receive all the security benefits, including cost savings, vendor lock-in, and control.

At the end of the day, a hybrid cloud represents an incredibly flexible environment. You can add what works for you and create a tailor-made ecosystem that supports your business’s continued security, productivity, and growth. This fluid ability to adapt quickly to new technology, growth, and demand is what sets it apart from the traditional cloud.

The post What Hybrid Cloud Storage Strategies Mean for Data Transformation appeared first on Best Enterprise Data Storage Software, Solutions, Vendors and Platforms.

Solutions Review’s Premium Content Series is a collection of contributed articles written by industry experts in enterprise software categories. In this feature, Quantum Senior Director of Product Eric Bassier offers a commentary on the next era of data usage and the infrastructure implications of AI.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the most discussed hot topic of the moment, and it seems as if the possibilities may be endless – but the long-term potential impacts to enterprises is still unknown. When machine learning and deep learning are properly implemented, they have the potential to revolutionize entire industries. For instance, AI can use data to learn how to successfully diagnose diseases, be the first line of defense in ever-important fraud detection, or to customize a customer’s journey based on past history. AI models begin by being trained on existing data, and then once trained, they can also then go through future data on their own to continue that training. This use of AI may make finding future value in the rapidly growing amount of data being generated each day a little less overwhelming.

However, this “next era” of data usage has raised some questions and challenges for organizations everywhere. The data being generated and stored by organizations worldwide is scaling in volumes that are exponentially larger than anything before. In addition, 80 percent of all of that exponential data growth being collected is unstructured, which is far more complex to store and manage.

Simply put, legacy storage systems were not made for this level of scale. This is not a fault of legacy storage systems- the amount of data being generated is immense and not something we could’ve predicted even a decade ago. Because of the challenges this presents, it’s important to understand the need for this data, what the data does, and what it could do in the future – and therefore why legacy storage systems just aren’t cutting it.

The Process of Processing

To develop AI applications, we generally follow a three-step process for the data involved in that training process. First, we have data preparation, where the huge amounts of “raw materials” are translated into useable data. Next, software programs are then trained to learn a new capability from all of that processed data in what is called “model training.” Finally, there’s the inference stage, where the program applies this training to new data. This cycle occurs 24/7, which contributes to massive data growth. In fact, industry analysts project that the amount of unstructured data will double or even triple in capacity over the next few years thanks in large part to AI/ML applications and initiatives.

In addition, as AI continues to rapidly evolve, we’re now facing a data storage crisis. Applications are either suddenly requiring and relying on data to function because of machine learning, or they’re simply outputting data at a massive rate. Because we are still in the midst of the AI evolution, organizations still aren’t sure what data will be valuable and when, so most organizations are taking the route of storing everything for reuse, repurposing, and for extracting value from the data. That data includes the large datasets used for data preparation, and the datasets that AI, machine learning, and deep learning rely on to function. This data requires a storage solution that delivers high-performance, makes cataloging, tagging, and indexing that data for easy retrieval and reuse, and offers long-term, low-cost archiving capabilities.

The Numbers Game

AI/ML applications also put huge demands on storage system performance. Processing these massive unstructured datasets requires extremely low latencies and high performance. To this end, legacy disk-based storage systems simply can no longer keep up to meet these new performance requirements. Because of this, there has been unexpected growth in all-flash file and object storage, and this growth will only accelerate in the next five years, particularly as the price of flash decreases and as new architectures use modern memory technologies like NVMe and RDMA to enable ultra-low-latency distributed storage architectures.

Remember: all of this data doesn’t live in just one place. Data is usually generated outside the data center, whether by applications or physical objects, and then is moved elsewhere to be processed. Processing can happen in a public cloud, a private data center, or anywhere in between. This poses the additional issue of the management of this data across its lifecycle as it moves from one place to the next. And, as such, storage solutions must be flexible and have the ability to operate wherever the data resides.

Building for a Better Future

When you really think about it, most of the world’s unstructured data is stored on systems that were designed over 20 years ago. When these systems were designed, the idea of trillions of files and objects and exabytes of data that may need to be stored for decades wasn’t even a thought, so legacy systems simply weren’t built to scale to this degree.

As AI/ML adoption increases in popularity and ubiquity, it has the potential to improve our lives in every way, and it’s just getting started. This means that having the right storage solution in place in anticipation will benefit not only the organizations managing this data, but, ultimately, the customers they serve.

The post The Next Era of Data Usage: Infrastructure Implications of AI appeared first on Best Enterprise Data Storage Software, Solutions, Vendors and Platforms.

Solutions Review editors created this short resource to offer the business case for data centers in the enterprise.

In today’s data-driven world, organizations face the constant challenge of effectively managing and harnessing the vast amounts of data they generate and consume. As businesses increasingly rely on data for decision-making, compliance, and operational efficiency, having a centralized and secure infrastructure becomes paramount. This is where an enterprise data center comes into play. In this article, we will explore the business case for an enterprise data center and how it enables organizations to streamline data management, enhance security, achieve cost efficiencies, and drive innovation.

Business Case for Data Centers

Centralized Data Management

One of the key benefits of an enterprise data center is the ability to centralize data management. By consolidating data storage, processing, and analysis capabilities in a dedicated facility, organizations can efficiently manage data across various business units and departments. A centralized data center allows for standardized data management practices, uniform data governance policies, and consistent data access and sharing protocols. This leads to improved data quality, reduced data redundancy, and enhanced data integration, enabling organizations to make informed decisions based on accurate and reliable data.

Enhanced Data Security and Compliance

In an era of increasing cybersecurity threats and data privacy regulations, ensuring data security and compliance is a critical priority for organizations. An enterprise data center provides a secure environment for storing and managing sensitive and confidential data. It enables organizations to implement robust security measures, such as access controls, encryption, and intrusion detection systems, to protect data from unauthorized access and breaches. Additionally, a data center facilitates compliance with data protection regulations, industry standards, and internal policies through stringent data governance and audit capabilities.

Improved Reliability and Business Continuity

Downtime or disruptions in data access can have severe consequences for businesses. An enterprise data center offers enhanced reliability and business continuity capabilities. With redundant power supply, backup systems, and disaster recovery solutions, organizations can minimize the risk of data loss and ensure continuous access to critical data and applications. This resilience ensures that organizations can operate seamlessly, even in the face of unexpected events or system failures, reducing potential financial losses and reputational damage.

Scalability and Flexibility

As organizations experience data growth, scalability and flexibility become crucial. An enterprise data center provides the infrastructure to scale storage, processing, and computing resources as needed. This flexibility allows organizations to adapt to changing data requirements and accommodate future growth without significant infrastructure investments. Whether it’s expanding storage capacity, adding computing power, or adopting new technologies, a data center provides the necessary foundation for agility and scalability.

Cost Efficiencies

While establishing and maintaining an enterprise data center requires upfront investments, it offers long-term cost efficiencies. By centralizing data management, organizations can eliminate data silos, reduce duplicated infrastructure, and optimize resource utilization. A data center enables efficient data storage, effective resource allocation, and streamlined data management processes. Moreover, economies of scale can be achieved by consolidating IT infrastructure, negotiating better vendor contracts, and utilizing virtualization technologies. These factors contribute to cost savings and improved ROI over time.

Facilitating Innovation and Collaboration

An enterprise data center provides a platform for innovation and collaboration within organizations. It enables data scientists, analysts, and business users to access and analyze data in a secure and controlled environment. Centralizing data fosters cross-functional collaboration, as teams can easily share data, insights, and findings. Furthermore, a data center facilitates the adoption of advanced technologies, such as machine learning, artificial intelligence, and predictive analytics, enabling organizations to derive valuable insights and drive innovation initiatives.

Final Thoughts

An enterprise data center offers a compelling business case for organizations seeking to manage data effectively, enhance security, achieve cost efficiencies, and drive innovation. By centralizing data management, organizations can streamline processes, improve data quality, and reduce redundancy. Enhanced data security and compliance measures ensure protection against cyber threats and facilitate adherence to data privacy regulations.

Improved reliability and business continuity capabilities minimize downtime and ensure uninterrupted access to critical data. Scalability and flexibility allow organizations to adapt to changing data requirements and accommodate future growth. Cost efficiencies are achieved through resource optimization and economies of scale. Finally, an enterprise data center fosters innovation and collaboration, enabling teams to leverage data for insights and drive business growth.

When considering the implementation of an enterprise data center, organizations should assess their specific needs, evaluate costs, and consider factors such as data volume, security requirements, and scalability. It is essential to engage with experts and leverage their knowledge in data center design, infrastructure, and maintenance. Additionally, regular monitoring, proactive maintenance, and periodic updates should be performed to ensure optimal performance and security.

In conclusion, an enterprise data center provides a robust foundation for centralized data management, enhanced security, cost efficiencies, and innovation. By investing in an enterprise data center, organizations can streamline their data operations, adhere to compliance regulations, ensure data integrity, and leverage data-driven insights for strategic decision-making. As businesses continue to generate and consume increasing amounts of data, establishing a centralized and secure data center becomes a strategic imperative for long-term success in the data-driven era.

The post The Business Case for Data Centers in the Enterprise appeared first on Best Enterprise Data Storage Software, Solutions, Vendors and Platforms.

Solutions Review editors created this short resource that highlights key Google Cloud storage challenges you need to know about right now.

Google Cloud Storage has emerged as a popular solution for businesses to store, manage, and access their data in a scalable and reliable manner. While Google Cloud Storage offers numerous benefits, it also comes with its own set of challenges. In this article, we will explore the top challenges that organizations may face when using Google Cloud Storage and provide insights on how to overcome them. By understanding and addressing these challenges, businesses can maximize the potential of Google Cloud Storage and leverage it effectively for their data storage needs.

Google Cloud Storage Challenges

Data Transfer and Upload Speed

One of the common challenges in Google Cloud Storage is the speed of data transfer and upload. Transferring large volumes of data to the cloud can be time-consuming and may impact business operations. To overcome this challenge, organizations can consider using tools and techniques such as parallel uploads, compression, and multi-threaded transfers. Optimizing network bandwidth and utilizing Google’s Transfer Appliance or Transfer Service can also help streamline data transfer and improve upload speed.

Data Security and Access Control

Ensuring data security and maintaining proper access control is a critical challenge for organizations using any cloud storage solution, including Google Cloud Storage. It is essential to implement robust security measures such as encryption at rest and in transit, fine-grained access controls, and identity and access management policies. Organizations should also regularly monitor and audit access logs, set up intrusion detection systems, and stay updated on Google’s security best practices and recommendations.

Cost Management and Optimization

While Google Cloud Storage offers cost-effective storage options, managing and optimizing costs can be a challenge. Storing excessive data or inefficiently utilizing storage classes can result in increased costs. To overcome this challenge, businesses should analyze their data storage requirements, leverage lifecycle management policies to transition data to lower-cost storage classes or archival storage, and regularly monitor and optimize storage usage. Utilizing tools like Google Cloud Storage Cost Management tools and analyzing storage usage reports can provide insights into cost optimization opportunities.

Data Durability and Reliability

Data durability and reliability are crucial considerations for organizations using Google Cloud Storage. Ensuring that data remains intact and available, even in the event of failures or disruptions, is vital. Google Cloud Storage offers built-in redundancy and replication options across multiple regions and availability zones. Organizations should design their storage architecture to take advantage of these features and implement backup and disaster recovery strategies to ensure data durability and availability.

Data Lifecycle Management

Managing the lifecycle of data stored in Google Cloud Storage can be a complex challenge. Over time, data can become outdated, less frequently accessed, or no longer required. Implementing effective data lifecycle management practices, including data retention policies, data archival, and data deletion strategies, is crucial. By defining clear data lifecycle policies and leveraging automation tools and mechanisms, organizations can optimize storage costs, improve data organization, and ensure compliance with data governance regulations.

Data Governance and Compliance

Maintaining data governance and compliance is a significant challenge when using any cloud storage solution. Organizations need to ensure that data stored in Google Cloud Storage meets regulatory requirements and internal data governance policies. This includes managing data access controls, implementing data classification and labeling, and adhering to data privacy regulations. Businesses should familiarize themselves with Google’s compliance and security frameworks, maintain clear documentation of data handling practices, and regularly perform data governance audits to ensure ongoing compliance.

Final Thoughts

Google Cloud Storage offers organizations a powerful platform for storing, managing, and accessing their data. However, it is important to be aware of the challenges that can arise and take proactive steps to overcome them. By addressing challenges related to data transfer speed, data security and access control, cost management, data durability and reliability, data lifecycle management, and data governance and compliance, organizations can leverage Google Cloud Storage effectively and maximize its potential. By optimizing data transfer and upload speeds, implementing robust security measures, managing costs, ensuring data durability and reliability, implementing effective data lifecycle management practices, and maintaining data governance and compliance, businesses can overcome the challenges associated with Google Cloud Storage.

Moreover, organizations should stay updated on the latest developments, best practices, and resources provided by Google Cloud. Regularly reviewing Google’s documentation, attending webinars, and engaging with the Google Cloud community can provide valuable insights and guidance on overcoming challenges specific to Google Cloud Storage.

As businesses continue to adopt cloud storage solutions like Google Cloud Storage, it is crucial to address and overcome these challenges to maximize the benefits while mitigating potential risks. By understanding and proactively addressing these challenges, organizations can leverage Google Cloud Storage as a reliable, scalable, and secure solution for their data storage needs, enabling them to unlock the full potential of their data assets and drive business growth in the cloud era.

The post 6 Google Cloud Storage Challenges to Know Right Now appeared first on Best Enterprise Data Storage Software, Solutions, Vendors and Platforms.

Solutions Review editors assembled this resource containing essential enterprise data storage security best practices to know. For an even deeper breakdown of securing storage, we recommend reading Continuity’s NIST Special Publication: Security Guidelines for Storage Infrastructure.

Enterprise data storage security has become increasingly complex and challenging in recent years due to the exponential growth of data and the proliferation of cyber threats. While organizations have reaped the benefits of increased efficiency and accessibility of data, they are also faced with the daunting task of safeguarding it. With the growing threat of data breaches and cyber-attacks, there is a growing need for enterprises to implement comprehensive security strategies to protect their data.

One of the key challenges for enterprise organizations in data storage security is the sheer volume and diversity of data. The rise of big data and the Internet of Things (IoT) has led to a massive influx of data from various sources, such as sensors, social media, and mobile devices. This has made it increasingly difficult for organizations to manage and secure their data effectively. With data scattered across multiple platforms, devices, and applications, enterprises must implement a unified security strategy that covers all data storage locations.

Another challenge for enterprise organizations in data storage security is the constantly evolving nature of cyber threats. Cyber-criminals are becoming increasingly sophisticated in their tactics, using advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to target and exploit vulnerabilities. This requires enterprises to be constantly vigilant and proactive in their approach to security, adapting to new threats and vulnerabilities as they emerge.

Despite these challenges, there are also opportunities for enterprise organizations to enhance their data storage security. With the emergence of advanced security technologies such as blockchain and biometrics, enterprises have access to a wider range of tools to protect their data. Furthermore, the growing demand for cloud-based storage solutions presents an opportunity for enterprises to adopt scalable and cost-effective data storage solutions while maintaining a high level of security.

Enterprise data storage security is a complex and challenging area that requires a proactive and comprehensive approach. While organizations face numerous challenges in managing and securing their data, there are also opportunities to enhance security using advanced technologies and cloud-based solutions. By adopting a unified and proactive security strategy, enterprises can mitigate the risks of data breaches and cyber attacks, and protect their valuable data assets.

Enterprise Data Storage Security Best Practices

Encryption

Encryption is the process of converting data into a secret code to ensure its confidentiality. All sensitive data should be encrypted, whether it’s at rest or in transit. One actionable advice organizations can take right now is to implement full-disk encryption for all devices that store or access sensitive data.

One of the primary benefits of encryption is that it helps enterprises to protect sensitive data. By encrypting data both at rest and in transit, enterprises can reduce the risk of data breaches and other security incidents. This is particularly important for industries that handle sensitive data, such as healthcare and finance, where the loss or theft of data can have serious legal and financial implications.

Another benefit of encryption is that it helps enterprises to maintain compliance with regulatory requirements. Many industries have regulations in place that require enterprises to protect sensitive data, and failure to comply with these regulations can result in legal and financial consequences. By implementing encryption measures, enterprises can ensure that they are meeting these requirements and avoid potential legal and financial implications.

Moreover, encryption can help enterprises to improve their overall security posture. By demonstrating a commitment to protecting sensitive data, enterprises can increase stakeholder confidence and trust. This can also help to reduce the risk of reputational damage in the event of a security incident.

In addition, encryption can also help enterprises to protect their intellectual property. By encrypting proprietary information, such as trade secrets or product designs, enterprises can reduce the risk of theft or unauthorized use of their intellectual property.

Access control

Access control is the process of controlling who can access sensitive data. Access control policies should be implemented to ensure that only authorized personnel have access to sensitive data. One actionable advice organizations can take right now is to implement two-factor authentication for all personnel who access sensitive data.

One of the primary benefits of access control is that it helps enterprises to protect sensitive data. By limiting access to sensitive data to only those employees who need it to perform their job functions, enterprises can reduce the risk of data breaches and other security incidents. This is particularly important for industries that handle sensitive data, such as healthcare and finance, where the loss or theft of data can have serious legal and financial implications.

Another benefit of access control is that it helps enterprises to maintain compliance with regulatory requirements. Many industries have regulations in place that require enterprises to protect sensitive data and maintain audit trails of data access. By implementing access control measures, enterprises can ensure that they are meeting these requirements and avoid potential legal and financial consequences.

Moreover, access control can help enterprises to improve their overall security posture. By implementing measures such as two-factor authentication and role-based access control, enterprises can reduce the risk of security incidents and demonstrate a commitment to protecting sensitive data. This can help to increase stakeholder confidence and trust in the enterprise’s ability to protect data and other assets.

Backup and Disaster Recovery

Backups are crucial in case of data loss or corruption. Companies should have a backup strategy in place to ensure that all data is backed up regularly and that backups are stored in a secure location. One actionable advice organizations can take right now is to implement a cloud backup strategy that automatically backs up data to a secure cloud-based storage system.

One of the primary benefits of BDR is that it helps enterprises to minimize data loss in the event of a disaster. By creating regular backups of critical data, enterprises can ensure that they can recover data quickly and easily, minimizing the impact of a disaster on their operations. This is particularly important for industries that handle sensitive data, such as healthcare and finance, where the loss of data can have serious legal and financial implications.

Another benefit of BDR is that it helps enterprises to maintain business continuity in the event of a disaster. By having a disaster recovery plan in place, enterprises can quickly recover their systems and resume operations, minimizing downtime and reducing the risk of lost revenue and customer dissatisfaction. This is particularly important for enterprises that rely heavily on their IT systems to conduct business, such as e-commerce businesses or financial institutions.

Moreover, BDR can help enterprises to meet regulatory compliance requirements. Many industries have regulations in place that dictate how long data must be retained and how quickly systems must be restored in the event of a disaster. By implementing a BDR strategy, enterprises can ensure that they are meeting these requirements and avoid potential legal and financial consequences.

Data Retention

Companies should have a data retention policy in place to ensure that data is kept only for as long as it’s needed. Data that’s no longer needed should be securely destroyed. One actionable advice organizations can take right now is to implement a data retention policy that specifies how long data should be kept and how it should be securely destroyed.

One of the primary benefits of data retention is that it helps enterprises comply with legal and regulatory requirements. Many industries have strict regulations in place that dictate how long certain types of data must be retained, and failure to comply with these regulations can result in legal and financial consequences. By implementing a data retention policy, enterprises can ensure that they are meeting these requirements and avoid potential legal implications.

Another benefit of data retention is that it enables enterprises to manage their data more effectively. By retaining data only for as long as it is needed, enterprises can reduce the amount of data they need to store and manage, making it easier and more cost-effective to store and access the data they need. This can also help to improve data quality, as enterprises can focus on maintaining only high-quality data that is relevant to their operations.

Moreover, data retention can help enterprises to protect sensitive information. By securely destroying data that is no longer needed, enterprises can reduce the risk of data breaches and other security incidents. This is particularly important for sensitive data, such as customer data or intellectual property, which can be targeted by cybercriminals and other malicious actors.

Monitoring and Logging

Organizations should implement monitoring and logging tools to track all access to sensitive data. This helps detect any unauthorized access or suspicious activity. One actionable advice organizations can take right now is to implement a logging and monitoring tool that alerts security personnel in real-time to any suspicious activity or attempted access to sensitive data.

Monitoring involves continuously observing and analyzing system activity to identify any abnormal or unauthorized behavior. Logging involves recording system events and activities for future analysis. Together, monitoring and logging provide valuable insights into an enterprise’s security posture, enabling proactive threat detection and response.

One of the key benefits of monitoring and logging is that they can help enterprises identify and respond to security incidents quickly. By monitoring systems in real-time, enterprises can detect security incidents as soon as they occur, allowing them to take immediate action to mitigate the risk of further damage or data loss. Logging provides a record of system activity, enabling enterprises to perform post-incident analysis to identify the root cause of the incident and take steps to prevent it from happening again.

Another benefit of monitoring and logging is that they can help enterprises meet regulatory compliance requirements. Many industries have regulations in place that require enterprises to maintain audit trails and record system activity. By implementing monitoring and logging systems, enterprises can ensure that they are meeting these requirements and avoid potential legal implications.

Furthermore, monitoring and logging can help enterprises improve their overall security posture. By analyzing system activity and identifying patterns and trends, enterprises can identify potential vulnerabilities and proactively implement measures to prevent security incidents from occurring. This can help to reduce the risk of data breaches, cyber attacks, and other security threats.

Regular Security Audits

A security audit is an assessment of an organization’s security policies, procedures, and controls to identify vulnerabilities and risks to the security of its assets, including data and infrastructure. The purpose of a security audit is to evaluate the effectiveness of security measures and provide recommendations for improvement.

One of the key benefits of regular security audits is that they help enterprises stay on top of emerging threats and vulnerabilities. As technology evolves, so do the tactics used by cybercriminals. By conducting regular security audits, enterprises can identify and address any vulnerabilities or weaknesses in their systems, networks, and applications. This helps to minimize the risk of security breaches and cyber attacks.

Another benefit of regular security audits is that they can help enterprises meet regulatory compliance requirements. Many industries, such as healthcare and finance, have strict regulations in place to protect sensitive information. Regular security audits can help enterprises ensure that they are meeting these compliance requirements and avoid potential legal implications.

Furthermore, regular security audits can help enterprises improve their overall security posture. By identifying and addressing weaknesses in their security measures, enterprises can enhance their security framework and minimize the risk of security breaches. This can also help to increase stakeholder confidence in the enterprise’s ability to protect sensitive information.

Regular security audits should be performed to identify any vulnerabilities in the enterprise data storage system. This helps ensure that the system is secure and that all security measures are working as intended. One actionable advice organizations can take right now is to schedule regular security audits by an external security firm to identify any vulnerabilities and ensure the enterprise data storage system is secure.

Final Thoughts

Implementing these enterprise data storage security best practices can go a long way in ensuring that sensitive data is secure and protected. While there are many other security best practices to consider, these six practices should serve as a foundation for any company looking to secure their enterprise data storage system.

For an even deeper breakdown of securing storage, we recommend reading the NIST Special Publication: Security Guidelines for Storage Infrastructure.

The post 6 Essential Data Storage Security Best Practices to Know appeared first on Best Enterprise Data Storage Software, Solutions, Vendors and Platforms.

Solutions Review’s Expert Insights Series is a collection of contributed articles written by industry experts in enterprise software categories. In this feature, Secure Data Recovery‘s Yevgeniy Reznik offers commentary on improper hard drive disposal and best practices to know.

According to the FBI’s most recent Internet Crime Report, the cost of cyber-crime is rising. Some experts speculate that the enhanced posture of corporations and other large organizations is causing malicious actors to pivot toward small and medium-sized businesses.

While most users and IT departments are aware of well-publicized cyber-crimes, such as phishing or ransomware, they are often unfamiliar with a cheaper, lesser-known method of accessing compromising data:

Acquiring old hard drives or solid-state drives that have not been sanitized.

Dangers of Improper Hard Drive Disposal

Improper hard drive disposal can have devastating consequences. Companies that relinquish control of devices still storing sensitive data could encounter several problems.

The immediate concern is containing the data breach. The average cost of a data breach in the United States in 2022 was $9.44 million. That staggering sum jeopardizes the survival of most small businesses that suffer an attack. In addition, if mishandling hard drives exposes customers’ personal information, organizations could incur significant legal liabilities. These expenses do not even consider the reputational damage that occurs when a business experiences a data breach.

So, what is the likelihood of obtaining confidential information from discarded drives?

Greater than one would expect.

How Far $100 Will Go

We decided to explore the issue at Secure Data Recovery.

For less than $100, we acquired fourteen hard drives.

Sellers listed the devices as available for parts or dead. Purchasing donor drives facilitates our hard drive repair operations. However, in this instance, we examined whether the sellers sanitized these devices before shipping them.

Our engineers discovered that those parties sanitized a single drive within the sample. The remaining thirteen disks were not. Out of the thirteen unsanitized devices, we recovered all the stored data from seven. Most hard drives did not require extensive repairs to retrieve their files.

In the end, we recovered 216,109 files. The final collection of data included 187,630 images, 19,223 documents, 5,931 audio files, and 3,325 videos. Our technicians extracted four mailbox databases as well.

To reiterate, we spent an average of $7.06 on these devices. Yet malicious actors could attain financial statements, medical records, trade secrets, log-in credentials, and other critical data.

Achieving data protection is impossible without proper data destruction procedures.

6 Best Data Destruction Practices

Following the best data destruction practices gives businesses the best chance to prevent data breaches. Different destruction methods offer different degrees of protection. The ideal approach depends on each organization’s circumstances. Companies storing more personal or private data should prioritize the most effective options.

Despite concerns over cost, data destruction is more economical than recovering from a crippling attack or mishandling incident.

Shredding

Hard drive shredding is one of the most popular forms of data destruction. Operators run the device through a media shredder. The shredder tears the hard drive’s platters into small, irregular pieces. At that point, its data is unrecoverable.

Disintegrating

Similar to shredding, disintegrating leaves the device in an unrecognizable state. Rather than cutting platters, disintegrators reduce hard drives to a fine residue. Though more expensive, enterprises with large amounts of data tend to select disintegration.

Degaussing

Degaussing is an efficient means of hard drive destruction. A degausser is a machine or wand that scrambles the hard drive’s magnetic field. The demagnetized device is unreadable and unusable.

Melting

Melting is the process of dipping a hard drive in harmful chemicals. The chemicals corrode the drive’s mechanical components and strip the film from its platters. Despite its effectiveness, melting is the most dangerous method. Therefore, it is not recommended.

Drilling

Drilling is a common choice for individuals or organizations that need a cost-effective deterrent. Puncturing the device’s case with a drill ruins its internal components, including the platters. Drilling a random pattern through the drive’s platters delivers the best results.

Overwriting

Overwriting saved data is a potential DIY method. Users can overwrite the hard drive’s contents through full formatting or a data erasure program, such as DBAN. Adhering to the Department of Defense’s three-pass standard provides greater data protection.

Safe Data, Safe Future

Data is one of an organization’s most valuable assets.

That makes safeguarding it essential. While it is in use and once it reaches the end of its lifespan.

Too often, businesses view data destruction as an avoidable cost instead of an investment. However, the financial and reputational ramifications of a data breach are impossible to ignore.

There have been extraordinary advancements in RAID and hard drive recovery in the past decade. The state-of-the-art tools and techniques of data recovery services have made once-complicated recoveries routine. But a growing number of cybercriminals are gaining access to the same equipment and knowledge.

Businesses should assess their threats and address their weaknesses.

Failing to implement proven disposal procedures could inflict irreparable damage.

The post Improper Hard Drive Disposal Could Be a Million-Dollar Mistake appeared first on Best Enterprise Data Storage Software, Solutions, Vendors and Platforms.

Data Protection Demo Day Q1 2023 will feature live product demonstrations from leading enterprise storage and data protection vendors Arcserve and VAST Data.

What is Data PDemo Day?

Data Protection Demo Day for Q1 2023 is an exclusive virtual event featuring an inside look at the technologies of prominent enterprise storage and data protection solution providers. Solutions Review is hosting this online event as a way to present the latest data protection tools from the comfort and safety of your own desk, and the best part? It’s free to attend!

Join the largest data protection end-user community

Solutions Review Data Protection is the largest enterprise storage, backup, and recovery software buyer and practitioner community on the web. Our Universe of Influence reach is more than 7 million business and IT decision-makers, as well as C-suite and other top management professionals. Our readers primarily use us as an enterprise technology news source and trusted resource for solving some of their most complex problems.

Our Expert Insights Series resources are designed to provide forward-thinking analysis that helps business software practitioners and buyers remain on-trend, offer best practices for successful implementation, deployment, and piloting, and provide decision support during product/vendor evaluations. Solutions Review’s collection of vendor-agnostic buyer’s resources also aims to help data protection practitioners during the research and discovery phase of a buying cycle.

Featured Solution Providers

Arcserve offers several different backup products, including Arcserve Unified Data Protection (UDP), Arcserve Replication and High Availability, Arcserve UDP Cloud Direct, UDP Cloud Hybrid, and a legacy offering. UDP provides comprehensive Assured Recovery for virtual and physical environments with a unified architecture, backup, continuous availability, migration, email archiving, and an easy-to-use console. The product enables organizations to scale their IT environments easily while delivering against recovery point and recovery time objectives, on-prem, or in the cloud.

VAST Data has developed the first all-flash storage platform that transforms the economics of flash storage in order to make flash infrastructure affordable for all classes of data, effectively making the hard drive and storage tiering obsolete. VAST’s platform is applied across a range of industries, offers next-generation life science advancements, and helped financial services organizations to stabilize the economy during the coronavirus outbreak.

FAQ

What: Solutions Review’s Data Demo Protection Day, Q1 2023

When: Thursday, March 30, 2023, from 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM Eastern

Where: Zoom meeting (see registration page for more detail)

Register for Data Protection Demo Day FREE

The post What to Expect at Solutions Review’s Data Protection Demo Day Q1 2023 on March 30 appeared first on Best Enterprise Data Storage Software, Solutions, Vendors and Platforms.

Solutions Review editors offer this brief resource for enterprise technology leaders highlighting the business case for data storage. For an even deeper breakdown of one of the top data storage vendors in the market, consult this exclusive IDC research on Infinidat.

Now more than ever, data is the lifeblood of modern businesses. Data storage is a critical component of any business operation, as it allows companies to store and manage large volumes of data effectively. IDC research shows that organizations plan to continue investing in server, storage, and network hardware despite the challenging economic climate. However, budget tightening means many will face pressure to achieve a quick return on their investments.

In this article, we will discuss the business cases for data storage in the enterprise.

The Business Case for Data Storage

Improved Data Management

Data storage helps organizations manage their data more effectively by providing a centralized repository for storing and managing data. With data storage, organizations can store data in a structured manner, enabling them to easily search and retrieve data. This can lead to improved data management, better decision-making, and a competitive advantage.

Improved Data Security

Data storage can help organizations improve their data security by providing the necessary controls and access management to ensure that data is stored and processed in a secure manner. With the right data storage in place, organizations can implement encryption, access controls, and other security measures to protect their data from unauthorized access, theft, and loss. This can lead to improved compliance, reduced risk, and a competitive advantage.

Improved Business Continuity

Data storage can help organizations ensure business continuity by providing the necessary redundancy and failover capabilities to ensure that data is available when needed. With the right data storage in place, organizations can ensure that their data is available even in the event of hardware or software failures, enabling them to maintain business continuity and respond to customer needs more quickly. This can lead to improved operations, increased efficiency, and a competitive advantage.

Reduced Costs

Data storage can help organizations reduce costs by enabling them to store and manage data more efficiently. With the right data storage in place, organizations can reduce the need for multiple databases, data sources, and data management tools, leading to lower costs and increased efficiency.

Improved Data Accessibility

Data storage can help organizations improve data accessibility by providing the necessary infrastructure to store and retrieve data. With the right data storage in place, organizations can make data available to authorized users more quickly and easily, enabling them to make informed decisions faster. This can lead to improved operations, increased efficiency, and a competitive advantage.

Improved Compliance

Data storage can help organizations comply with various regulations governing how data is stored, secured, and processed. By providing the necessary controls and access management, data storage can ensure compliance with regulations such as GDPR and CCPA.

Final Thoughts

Data storage is critical for organizations looking to improve their operations, gain a competitive advantage, reduce costs, improve data security, ensure business continuity, improve data accessibility, and compliance. The benefits of data storage include improved data management, improved data security, improved business continuity, reduced costs, improved data accessibility, and regulatory compliance. By investing in the right data storage infrastructure, organizations can leverage the benefits of their data and gain a competitive advantage in their respective industries.

For an even deeper breakdown of one of the top data storage vendors in the market, consult this exclusive IDC research on Infinidat.

The post Enterprise Technology: The Business Case for Data Storage appeared first on Best Enterprise Data Storage Software, Solutions, Vendors and Platforms.

Solutions Review editors offer this brief resource highlighting and defining mission-critical storage for beginners. For a more in-depth look at boosting the performance of mission-critical applications, we recommend this exclusive ESG Technical Validation on Infinidat.

Data has quickly become an indispensable asset for organizations. However, not all data is created equal, and some data is more important than others. Mission-critical data storage refers to the storage of data that is essential for an organization’s daily operations and continuity. In this article, we will define mission-critical data storage and discuss its importance in an enterprise setting.

Mission-critical data refers to data that is essential for an organization’s daily operations and continuity. This includes data that, if lost or unavailable, would result in significant financial and reputational damage to the organization. Examples of mission-critical data include customer data, financial data, and business-critical applications such as enterprise resource planning (ERP) and customer relationship management (CRM) systems.

Mission-critical data storage refers to the storage of this essential data in a way that ensures its availability and accessibility. It involves designing a data storage infrastructure that can support the organization’s daily operations and ensure business continuity in case of a disaster.

This ESG Technical Validation documents an expert evaluation of the Infinidat InfiniBox Solid State Array (SSA) II. ESG reviewed how the Infinidat InfiniBox SSA II can help organizations to maximize application performance via low storage latencies, increase operational efficiency, and bolster data security.

Mission-critical data storage is critical for organizations in the following ways:

Mission Critical Storage

Business Continuity

Mission-critical data storage ensures business continuity in case of a disaster. By storing mission-critical data in a secure and redundant manner, organizations can ensure that they can recover their critical data and systems in case of a disaster such as a natural disaster, cyber attack, or human error.

Risk Mitigation

By storing mission-critical data in a secure and redundant manner, organizations can mitigate the risk of data loss or downtime. This ensures that they can continue to operate even if they experience a data breach or other security incident.

Regulatory Compliance

Many industries are subject to various regulations governing how data is stored and secured. For example, the healthcare industry is subject to HIPAA regulations that dictate how patient data should be stored and secured. By storing mission-critical data in a compliant manner, organizations can avoid legal and financial risks associated with non-compliance.

Customer Trust

Customers trust organizations with their data, and they expect organizations to protect their data. By storing mission-critical data in a secure and redundant manner, organizations can demonstrate to their customers that they take data protection seriously. This can help build customer trust and enhance the organization’s reputation.

Final Thoughts

Mission-critical data storage is critical for organizations looking to ensure business continuity, mitigate risk, comply with regulations, and build customer trust. By storing mission-critical data in a secure and redundant manner, organizations can protect their essential data and systems and ensure that they can continue to operate even in the face of a disaster. As such, mission-critical data storage should be a top priority for organizations looking to protect their most valuable asset – their data.

For a more in-depth look at boosting the performance of mission-critical applications, we recommend this exclusive ESG Technical Validation on Infinidat.

The post A Brief on Mission Critical Storage for Beginners appeared first on Best Enterprise Data Storage Software, Solutions, Vendors and Platforms.