The Dell Technologies 2021 Global Data Protection Index (GDPI) findings reveal organisations are facing several data protection challenges driven by the constant threat of ransomware and the consumption of emerging technologies such as cloud-native applications, Kubernetes containers, and artificial intelligence.
According to a recent IDC survey, more than one-third of organisations worldwide have experienced a ransomware attack or breach that blocked access to systems or data in the previous 12 months. To help address these rising – and seemingly inevitable – issues, Dell Technologies is introducing new software and services to accelerate virtual machine (VM) backup data availability, simplify management of large data sets, and maintain business continuity while alleviating dependencies on day-to-day cyber recovery operations.
“Our newly launched Dell Technologies 2021 GDPI findings indicate that over two-thirds of the respondents from Asia Pacific and Japan are concerned that their organisations’ existing data protection measures may not be sufficient to cope with malware and ransomware threats,” said Lucas Salter, general manager, Data Protection Solutions, Dell Technologies, Asia Pacific & Japan. “In this age of increasing cyber threats, we understand that the stakes have never been higher and protecting data has never been more complex. We have been working with our customers across the region to address this growing challenge by adopting a holistic cybersecurity and data protection strategy to reduce risk and ensure resilience in the event of a ransomware or other cyberattack.”
New GDPI findings reveal increased state of complexity around data protection
The 2021 Dell Technologies GDPI survey of 1,000 global IT decision makers of which 250 are from APJ shows organisations are combatting continued data growth and increased data protection complexities. The study found that globally organisations are managing more than 10 times the amount of data they did five years ago – from 1.45 petabytes in 2016 to 14.6 petabytes in 2021. Additionally, 82% (APJ: 72%) of respondents are concerned their organisation’s existing data protection solutions won’t be able to meet all future business challenges. These concerns are well-founded, with 33% (APJ: 38%) reporting data loss in the last year and 45% (APJ: 42%) experiencing unplanned system downtime.
GDPI findings include:
- Global: 62%, APJ: 68% are concerned their existing data protection measures may not be sufficient to cope with malware and ransomware threats, while Global: 74%, APJ: 72% agree they have increased exposure to data loss from cyber threats with the growth of employees working from home.
- Global: 67%, APJ: 67%, lack confidence that all their business-critical data can be recovered in the event of a destructive cyberattack or data loss.
- Global: 63%, APJ: 64% believe emerging technologies—such as cloud-native applications, Kubernetes containers, artificial intelligence and machine learning pose a risk to data protection, and the lack of data protection solutions for newer technologies was one of the top three data protection challenges for organisations.
- On average, the cost of data loss in the last 12 months is approaching four times higher for organisations using multiple data protection vendors as compared to those using a single-vendor approach.
Delivering comprehensive data protection and trusted cyber resiliency
Dell Technologies is addressing the ever-evolving IT landscape with solutions that help organisations protect traditional and modern workloads with a singular approach. A leader in multi-cloud data protection, Dell protects about seven exabytes of data across all major public cloud providers.ii Through constant innovation, agile engineering and tight integration with VMware and other industry leaders, Dell continues to be the leading provider of data protection appliances and software globally.iii Dell offers one of the industry’s most comprehensive portfolios for cyber resilience at the edge, core data centers and multi-cloud environments, delivered with solutions such as Dell EMC PowerProtect Cyber Recovery and Dell EMC PowerScale with Superna Eyeglass Ransomware Defender.
New software and managed services offerings include:
- Dell EMC PowerProtect Data Manager adds Transparent Snapshots to give organisations a new and unique way to help protect their VMware VMs at scale. By simplifying and automating VM image-level backups and requiring less infrastructure, Transparent Snapshots deliver up to five times faster backups and up to a five-time reduction in VM latency iv, helping organisations ensure availability of VM data effectively and efficiently.
- Dell EMC PowerProtect appliances with Smart Scale helps organisations manage multiple data protection appliances at exabyte scale, allowing IT staff to make informed decisions about their capacity needs and keep up with data growth. With Smart Scale, customers can configure multiple appliances as a single pool giving them the ability to see and manage large data sets in one entity—as many as 32 PowerProtect appliances and more than three exabytes of logical capacity. Organisations can maximise resources and save costs with proactive monitoring and simplified management of backup data.
- Dell Technologies Managed Services for Cyber Recovery Solution helps organisations drive consistent operations and reduce risk of data loss by having Dell experts manage day-to-day cyber recovery vault operations and support recovery activities. These managed services build on Dell's portfolio of cyber recovery consulting, deployment, and support services, helping customers protect and manage this critical capability.
“When organisations leverage service providers to provide backup, disaster recovery, and Cyber Recovery as-a-Service, they need to be able to trust in their provider’s ability to deliver at scale and competitively. Our partnership with Dell Technologies, a leader in data protection, enables us to instill confidence and provide our customers with innovative solutions to keep pace with the evolving digital landscape,” said Barry Silic, CTO for Cloud and Cybersecurity, Macquarie Cloud Services.
“We work with organisations around the world to ensure they are data-driven, connected, digital, and secure,” explained Nathan Vandenberg, senior director, Technology Transformation, NTT. “Globally, we detected about a 50% increase in ransomware incidents in 2020 and nearly another 100% increase so far in 2021. With this increased need for data protection, the launch of Transparent Snapshots is a timely innovation from Dell Technologies. It is critical for an organisation to have a simplified and cost-effective view of operations, while also being proactive in applying techniques to reducing risk and protecting data, which is what Transparent Snapshots enables.”
“Transparent Snapshots in PowerProtect Data Manager simplifies backing up our virtual machines using less infrastructure and without impact to the production environment. By removing the need to deploy or manage proxies to move data, our virtual machines can be backed up faster, saving us time,” said Drew Hills, infrastructure analyst, IT Systems, Information Technology, USC Australia.
Tian Beng Ng, senior vice president and general manager, Channel, Dell Technologies, Asia Pacific and Japan said, “Hybrid work arrangements bring with it new threats that make effective cybersecurity practices a challenge for businesses of all sizes. Successful security transformation is based on working in collaboration with a wider ecosystem — from partnering with vendors in providing the best-in-class solutions to enhancing cyber resilience with their local know-how. Our channel partners play a vital role in how we drive new innovations that we bring to market, and new offerings such as Transparent Snapshots and Smart Scale will offer organisations greater speed and agility in the race to protect their virtual infrastructure.”
“As ransomware and other cyberattacks continue to evolve so does the need to outpace these threats with innovation,” said Phil Goodwin, research vice president, IDC. “Dell Technologies’ new advancements in software and services are designed to help organisations increase their ability to recover business critical data from a cyberattack with the least amount of disruption.”
Availability
- Dell EMC PowerProtect Data Manager with Transparent Snapshots will be globally available this quarter at no additional cost to customers with existing maintenance contracts.
- Dell EMC PowerProtect appliances with Smart Scale is in technology preview today and is expected to be globally available in 1H 2022.
- Dell Technologies Managed Services for Cyber Recovery Solutions are available globally today.
Additional resources
Gauge Your Cyber Resiliency with the Dell Technologies Cyber Resiliency Assessment
