Industry executives and experts share their predictions for 2022.  Read them in this 14th annual VMblog.com series exclusive.

The Top 3 Tech Trends That Will Shape Disaster Recovery and Back Up in 2022

By ANDREW EVA - US Director of Technology and Operations at Assured Data Protection

Market forces and new cyber security threats will shape the data back-up, management and disaster recovery (DR) space over the next 12 months, as businesses look to secure their data and digital assets across on-premises, cloud and edge computing IT infrastructures. Here are my views on what 2022 has in store as cloud business models continue to adapt to support changing requirements.

The hyperscalers market their own brand of data protection

Up until recently, businesses always assumed the cloud would provide the safeguards and reassurance they needed when it came to hosting their prized digital assets. But there's a growing scepticism about the cloud providers' ability to secure data now that breaches and ransomware attacks are so prevalent. The hyperscalers have responded by adding new layers of data management and protection to their vast cloud infrastructures. A flurry of M&A that began with Google acquiring Actifio and AWS acquiring CloudEndure, culminated recently with HPE folding Zerto into its cloud platform. In 2022 we can expect to see the hyperscalers take the lead and announce their own data protection strategies, seizing the initiative from the traditional back-up and DR players.

This is a sensible move. The demand for cloud resources grew exponentially during the pandemic and it will continue to grow to support hybrid working and bandwidth intensive apps and use cases. We'll eventually reach a point where end users will expect the same levels of protection from their cloud provider as they would from a managed service provider. The same applies to businesses that are looking to retire their physical assets and move more of their operations to the cloud. They were already on that path pre-pandemic, but as they reach the end of hardware lifecycles their cloud investment decisions will be influenced by which provider has the most robust data management solution in place. With cyber insurance policies going through the roof and many insurers exiting the market; the emphasis will be on the hyperscalers to demonstrate cyber resilience and how well equipped they are to manage and protect your data in any event.

OEMS warm to MSP route to market

In 2022, we'll start seeing more OEMs building out their managed service provider (MSP) networks to drive revenues, with many reopening MSP lines of business they had previously neglected. It's a proven model that complements direct sales and helps organisations to drive new revenues and extend reach. OEMS and larger vendors are now recognising the value that MSPs have to offer. The demand for cloud technologies and managed services are on the increase and vendors are looking at ways to meet demand and lower the overall cost of a sale. Having a viable MSP option removes the need to invest in new sales teams. Instead, they can look at transforming their solutions into SaaS offerings to open new market opportunities with segments - and regions - they probably haven't considered targeting before.

We're seeing this across the board, but from a data back-up and DR perspective the MSP model makes sense because nearly all businesses are looking to achieve cyber resilience. This is driven mainly by the prevalence of data breaches and ransomware attacks, but also because it's getting much harder for businesses to insure themselves against the possibility of being attacked. With cyber insurance premiums rising and many insurers even refusing to offer policies, businesses are looking to vendors and MSPs as trusted third parties that can guarantee their data protection and security. We're seeing a huge shift in business priorities with SaaS companies and their partners emerging as a viable alternative to traditional insurance. Cloud service providers are already diverging into this space and we're going to see vendors capitalise on this opportunity by nurturing their MSP partnerships, to expand their networks and serve more customers. This MSP resurgence will provide a boost to vendors and OEMs looking to drive sales and resellers looking to grow their portfolios.

Time to call the professionals

The nature, sophistication and intensity of attacks is different today. Accelerated by remote work and cloud migration, cybercriminals are targeting critical data, crippling IT infrastructure and holding businesses hostage. With stakes higher than ever, security and data protection operations teams face significant challenges that often can't be handled in-house. 2022 will see a significant change in mentality from IT Managers as outsourcing DR and security to MSPs will increase.

We're seeing on a weekly basis that IT Managers are looking for a more diverse set of solutions that will protect themselves and outsource the risk and liability that they are now exposed to due to the lack of insurance options available to them. It used to be cheaper to build your own back-up, DR and security infrastructure and manage it yourself because insurance premiums were cheaper than the product or service. Now the outsourced service is half the new insurance bill and IT teams are seeing a more secure and efficient set up with MSPs where their staff can focus on more mission-critical initiatives or strategic projects to improve the business.

##

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Andrew ran backend operations for DS3 Datavaulting from 2004 through the acquisition of DS3 by Terremark. After the Verizon acquisition of Terremark, Andrew shifted from an operational role to product management for backup services. At the time of joining Assured Data Protection, Andrew had assumed responsibility for all storage as-a-service products under the Verizon Enterprise Solutions portfolio such as DR, object storage, managed backup, storage snapshots, and storage tiers. During his tenure at Verizon, Andrew presented at multiple conferences including NetApp Insight and Gartner Datacenter and Infrastructure.