
Industry executives and experts share their predictions for 2019. Read them in this 11th annual VMblog.com series exclusive.
Contributed by Alex Sakaguchi, Senior Director of Solutions Marketing, Eric Seidman, Director of Product Marketing and Pam Kerman, Senior Manager of Solutions Marketing, Veritas
Blockchain and Predictive Technologies Take Center Stage in 2019
Going
into 2019, we're going to see the technology market continue to transform and
adapt to new customer demands. In particular, IT and data companies will be
collecting, analyzing and providing insights about vast volumes of data - more
so than ever before. Businesses will need to start thinking about the future of
how they perform these tasks, and how to take advantage of new solutions that can
make the jobs and lives of the people responsible for these tasks easier. New
solutions can also guarantee more security and reliability, enabling better
relationships with customers.
In
particular, data and IT staff will tend to incorporate more blockchain
technology into their workflows for data security and protection. And with the
consistent stream of business, leveraging technologies that enable predictive
insights will give IT staff the tools to know how or when to upgrade technology
to ensure there are no business disruptions.
Blockchain's Effect on Data
Backup and Recovery
The benefits
that blockchain will bring to an organization's security protocols are
unparalleled. However, there are other areas that will be affected as
blockchain becomes more prominent in 2019. Traditional backup will give way to
hyperconverged solutions. Convergence will occur between compliance, protection
and security as businesses continue to address risks and exploit opportunity
with the data they have access to. In the coming year, organizations that can
effectively leverage blockchain will be the clear winners as technologies
continue to converge.
This makes
blockchain ripe for the backup and recovery market because it can touch all
pieces of data, stored in any location. As long as data exists, the need to tap
into that data will also exist - but who has access to this data will be the
real determinant of blockchain's power. As we look to 2019, we'll need to keep
three groups in mind: the user, the organization and any third parties.
Individuals will need the opportunity to delete their data and access it when
they like. Organizations will want to use insights from the data to explore new
opportunities. And both parties should be concerned with any threats from third
parties.
Blockchain
can provide a solution that enables all of the above. But before it can be
widely adopted, factors such as people, legality, business, culture and more
will need to be in agreement. In 2019, we will see more innovators experimenting with blockchain use cases that
demonstrate many of the blockchain data protection benefits.
AI Enables Predictive Insights
and Data Protection
As we move
into 2019, organizations will deploy more technology that enables predictive
insights into IT infrastructure. Right now, most IT managers are taking a
rearview mirror approach when reacting to unplanned downtime caused by
interruptions related to software or hardware error, component failure or
something even more catastrophic in the data center. Incorporating predictive
technologies will enable proactive monitoring for downtime and faults so IT
managers can take preventative action before a disruption ever occurs. Being
more prescriptive can lead to fewer disruptions and less downtime in
operations.
More frequently, AI is enabling
predictability and will play a key role in data protection in 2019 and in the future.
As businesses are continuing to adopt more complex IT environments, such as
hyperconverged infrastructures and other modern workloads, data protection will
also need to adapt. AI consistently learns from the system as these dynamic IT
environments adapt and change.
Data protection stands to benefit
the most from AI enabled predictive insights by reducing risk to data in a
power disruption. And with regulations such as GDPR guaranteeing data
protection for users at a business's expense, it is becoming increasingly
important to keep data under lock and key. Proactive strategies to avoid the
repercussions of even a moment of downtime will be critical for businesses in
2019 that need to provide round the clock data support.
##
About the Authors

Pam Kerman is a senior manager of solutions marketing at Veritas. She has over 15 years of experience working with the broad technology landscape including positions at NetApp and Sun Microsystems.

Eric Seidman is a director for solutions marketing at Veritas. He previously held positions at EMC, DataDirect Networks and Verari Systems in the product marketing departments.
Alex Sakaguchi is a senior director for solutions marketing at Veritas where he is responsible for creating content and product storytelling. He has been with Veritas for over three years.