For many enterprises, the recent global IT outage served as a stark reminder that in today’s age of hyperconnectivity, any system can be disrupted without warning. This incident has highlighted the critical importance of business continuity plans (BCP) and disaster recovery (DR) strategies.
Beyond human error, organisations must contend with the persistent threat of ransomware, the inevitability of natural disasters, and the growing complexity of hybrid and multi-cloud infrastructures. With all these mounting challenges, how are APAC enterprises ensuring the safety and security of their data?
To identify key challenges and share best practices, senior IT executives convened at the “Data in the Age of Ransomware, Disasters and Multi-Cloud” roundtable organised by Jicara Media and hosted by Zerto.
The outage aftermath
The aftermath of the global IT outage saw disrupted operations at airports, banks, media organisations, and multinationals. In response, businesses are now re-evaluating their priorities, determined to prevent such events from happening again.
Among those considering a transformation of their IT infrastructure is an international transport group.
“We are exploring ways to diversify our platform because relying solely on a single host for protection can lead to potential vulnerabilities,” shared a senior IT executive from the transport group.
Meanwhile, a global industrial company, which currently employs a multi-cloud approach, has recently globalised its HR systems. The company, operating in over seventy countries, now has a single repository for its HR systems worldwide.
“Everyone is interconnected in a decentralised manner, but we must also prepare a backup plan for countries with heavy data regulation, such as China. It is essential to have a contingency in place in case of a mandatory government shutdown,” said a senior HR technology executive from the industrial company.
According to Juancho Jerusalem, head of Zerto APAC, data protection and business continuity boil down to peace of mind.
“How do you know when an attack occurs? Can you recover within seconds or minutes, rather than facing months of data loss?” he said.
Aspects to consider
As decision-makers rethink their IT strategies amid numerous unknowns, what factors are shaping their next tech investments?
During the pandemic, some organisations sought to enhance their resilience by partnering with third-party logistics providers and streamlining their operations. These collaborations not only simplified end-to-end coordination but also enabled companies to develop robust capabilities for accessing and retrieving data during crises.
One IT executive highlighted the importance of diversification in IT infrastructure, particularly in the wake of recent global disruptions. They pointed out that relying solely on a single host for protection can lead to significant vulnerabilities, underscoring the need for a diversified approach.
“We saw how the IT disruption impacted operations globally, leaving everyone scrambling. Yes, diversification is essential, but the adoption of new solutions must be justified,” the IT executive remarked.
AI and data protection
The introduction of AI into the enterprise world has made processes smarter and systems more efficient. Moreover, organisations now have access to unprecedented amounts of data and numerous ways to extract value from them. However, this has also introduced a range of challenges, including data governance, increased regulatory pressure, and data quality.
Data quality is particularly crucial, as the principle of “garbage in, garbage out” applies to AI. According to a global IT director at a major consumer goods company, many organisations want to deploy AI but do not necessarily have access to sufficient quality data.
“We need to think more about the data lifecycle before we can really consider AI implementation,” the IT director noted. “While AI might be used in industries like banking or finance, there are still many areas where we are trying to identify use cases, because figuring out how to bring value to the business is a different matter. We have tried experimenting with AI, and while the output was good and everyone liked it, in terms of adoption, there has not been much progress.”
For the senior HR technology executive at the global industrial company, the adoption of AI within the organisation is expected to increase, underscoring the need for strong data backup and protection measures.
“The proliferation of generative AI will become integral to every part of our operations, including HR data and other business processes. Our entire operation will rely on this centralised cloud solution,” the HR technology executive said.
From Zerto’s perspective, enterprises have become more aware of the critical importance of integrating DR and BCP into their hybrid and multi-cloud strategies. Although cultivating a proactive data protection mindset across industries is still a long journey, every conversation marks a step toward success.
“Ransomware attacks are happening, but we still encounter the mindset of ‘I need to experience it first before deciding,’ which is unfortunate,” observed Juancho.
Nevertheless, business leaders are often overwhelmed by massive infrastructure undertakings, which can lead to reluctance in investing in proactive security measures.
“Not all virtual machines need protection. You just need to focus on those of critical importance,” Juancho concluded.
