Industry executives and experts share their predictions for 2024. Read them in this 16th annual VMblog.com series exclusive.
2024: Data Recovery and Resiliency Will Have Its Turn in the Spotlight
By David Bennett, CEO of Object First
In 2023, we saw ransomware attacks hit an all-time high with major campaigns from some of the most prolific threat groups – LockBit, BlackCat, Cl0p, and more. High-profile attacks such as the hack of the MGM casino in Las Vegas brought to light the financial and reputational consequences caused by cyberattacks that result in data leaks and operational downtime.
In 2024, reality will hit the IT and cybersecurity market, and we’ll see more than just the IT admins care about data recovery and resiliency. As CEO of a startup that’s taking a new and disruptive approach to data storage, here are my predictions for 2024 in the world of data protection.
Investments in data recovery and resiliency will increase massively in 2024
As business leaders take a second look at their data protection strategies in the wake of these major cyberattacks, they’ll realize their organization is more vulnerable than they thought. Companies will realize they’re in over their head when it comes to ransomware and effectively protecting their data, and will look to their channel partners and vendors for guidance. The answer many channel partners/vendors will come back with is to focus on simple and secure backup storage solutions.
Therefore, we’ll see a massive increase in data recovery and resiliency investments, including manpower to strategize and implement new frameworks and tech to support these strategies. As part of this, immutability and object storage will be elevated to the security stack. Object storage-based data backups with built-in zero-access immutability means that no matter what, the data stored in that device cannot be tampered with. Protected from cyber-criminals trying to encrypt backup data, employee mishaps, or anything in between, this data is guaranteed to be recoverable when a disruption occurs and primary data is corrupted.
Another reason I see investments in data resiliency increasing in 2024 is because of where the economy stands. Research group The Conference Board predicts U.S. GDP growth of just 0.8% in 2024, including a “shallow recession” in the first half of the year. This means that while organizations cannot afford any downtime in their business, they also may not be willing to invest in pricey new cybersecurity defenses. Shoring up data protection is a simple yet very effective way to solve the ransomware problem and protect the bottom line.
Cyber insurance underwriters will bring reality to the market
If companies do not take it upon themselves to invest in better data protection practices, the market will force their hand. One way this will happen will be through changes in the cybersecurity insurance landscape.
The average ransomware demand increased by 74% this year and cyber claims have already jumped 12%. In 2024, this will leave cyber insurers with no choice but to raise premiums – a lot – in order to reel in losses, or take it upon themselves to advocate for better cyberattack preparation amongst their customers.
In 2024, we’ll see immutable backups become a requirement for companies to be covered by cyber insurance, in addition to things like encrypted data. The ability to get cyber insurance will be a major driver of the adoption of better data backup practices in the enterprise. Those who fail to adopt will be left without insurance or an effective recovery plan and will not be able to financially recuperate when the inevitable ransomware attack hits. This could be an irrecoverable situation, especially for small businesses or those already struggling during an uncertain economy.
There’s no doubt that data recovery and resiliency will have its moment in 2024. As immutability and object-based storage become more mainstream and enter the vernacular of industries beyond technical IT, we’ll also start to see these concepts spread outside of the enterprise. There’s a lot of change headed for the backup market, and it’ll definitely be one to watch in 2024.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
As Object First’s CEO, David Bennett is a tech veteran and a seasoned channel executive with more than 30 years of IT channel leadership. Before joining Object First, he was CEO of Axcient and Chief Revenue Officer at Webroot. Bennett has also held international leadership roles within such companies as Lenovo, Sony, and Kingston. British born, and now residing in Colorado with his wife and family.
