Industry executives and experts share their predictions for 2023.  Read them in this 15th annual VMblog.com series exclusive.

Companies will invest heavily to protect their data in 2023

By Tony Liau, Vice President of Product Marketing at Object First

Ransomware is evolving: The threat landscape is moving toward ransomware-as-a-service, data exfiltration, and targeting backup storage. According to a recent report, 72% of organizations had partial or complete attacks on their backup repositories last year. Because of this increased threat, organizations will need to shore up their data protection strategies and change the way they interact with consumers around these topics. Here are my top three predictions that data administrators and leadership should be paying attention to in 2023.

Next year, organizations will continue to invest heavily in information security and risk management services to protect their data and assets. They’ll focus on new technologies and services to help them manage and secure their data more effectively. Ransomware protection, detection, recovery, and mitigation will continue to be top priorities.

Even with the best possible protection and detection measures in place, smart organizations know that it is only a matter of time before they are hit with ransomware. As a result, these organizations will put even more emphasis on proper data protection strategies that make use of truly immutable storage. Immutability offers the assurance that the information in your database cannot be modified, esentially making your data ransomware-proof. Data security will also be a key concern for companies as they adapt to retain their customer base in the new year, and they will need to have policies and procedures in place to ensure that customer data is properly protected.    

The public is becoming more aware of ransomware threats and data privacy issues, and the way companies interact and communicate with their customers will have to shift in 2023 as a result. As data leaks become more and more public, instead of trying to downplay the incident or hide it, organizations will need to be more transparent in their messaging. They’ll need to admit to the problem and provide details on what steps they are taking to mitigate the issue and prevent future breaches. Customers will appreciate this honesty and will be more likely to do business with companies that are open and transparent about their cybersecurity practices.      

The degree to which a company’s data leak will affect its relationship with its consumers will depend on the severity of the leak and how the company handles the situation. If the company is transparent, able to contain the leak quickly and effectively, and takes measures to prevent it from happening again, it will be able to maintain the trust of its consumers.   

Along with more thoughtful communications around data leaks and data protection, organizations will need to make sure that the way they are marketing and describing their technologies and solutions is in line with recent updates in the workplace. The remote work revolution will have a significant impact on tech marketing as it becomes not only more of a mainstream way to work, but the standard way of working moving forward. Companies will need to adapt their marketing strategies to accommodate the trend which will require a greater focus on digital and online marketing tools and techniques. Additionally, companies will need to invest in employee training to ensure that they are able to effectively work remotely.  

Businesses realize that data protection and data backup is important, but 2023 will be the year that they start to put more money into their defenses rather than risk a cyberattack or data leak that could shut down their business, hurt their credibility, and cause them to lose customers. The way that IT teams handle data storage best practices in the new year, as well as how leadership chooses to talk about data protection externally, will have major implications on which businesses thrive and which fall behind.

##

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Tony is a seasoned executive with experience building high-impact teams. He serves as Vice President of Product Marketing for Object First – a new object storage startup on a mission to eliminate ransomware and simplify data protection. In this role, he is responsible for corporate strategy, messaging, positioning, go-to-market, thought leadership, and the overall marketing engine.