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Enterprises Will Scramble To Control Cloud-Driven Data Sprawl
By David
Ngo, Chief Technology
Officer at Metallic, a Commvault Venture
Enterprises were rapidly expanding their use of SaaS
applications and other cloud services prior to the pandemic. However, the
pandemic turned this wave into a tsunami, as enterprises suddenly found
themselves using the cloud to digitize every business process they could, so it
could be completed remotely and virtually, rather than on-site and in-person.
This rapid move to the cloud enabled enterprises to
outsource development and maintenance of many of their core applications to
SaaS providers, reduce on-premises infrastructure costs, easily spin up
cloud-resources for the development of new applications, empower their
employees to work from anywhere, and build stronger relationships with their
customers through multiple digital channels.
However, not all is sunshine and roses in this new cloud
dominated world. Enterprises now find themselves having to secure, protect,
govern, optimize, and otherwise manage data stored in a dozen (or more)
separate SaaS applications, multiple cloud services, on-premises
infrastructure, and their remote employees' laptops. Everyday this data sprawl
gets a little bigger, and while they can consolidate parts of it, they cannot
eliminate it without moving back to the inflexible, expensive, and less
scalable on-premises legacy systems of yesterday.
Many enterprises have taken some steps to use data security,
protection, and other data management point solutions to gain some level of
control over all this data sprawl. Yet without a comprehensive, unified view
and control of all their data, this data sprawl will continue to expand out of
their control.
The result? A massive data surface area ripe for
cyberattacks. Poor data governance resulting in failure to comply with an
increasing number of strict data privacy regulations. Fragmented data siloes
with multiple failure points, increasing the risk of data loss. Little to no
automation basic data administration processes. An inability to scale their
data environment to support growth. Hurdles like these will slow the digital
transformations that created this data sprawl in the first place.
Enterprises will seek to bring order to this growing chaos
as they increasingly find data sprawl hindering their digital transformation
efforts and even putting the integrity of their business data at risk of being
locked, altered, or destroyed by cyberattacks or other disasters. Specifically,
they will implement programs and solutions that allow them to comprehensively
manage the storage, security, protection, governance, optimization and use of all
of their data, whether it lives in a SaaS application, cloud service,
on-premises or on an employee's laptop.
In 2022, those enterprises that succeed in gaining this type
of control over data sprawl will be able ensure the fundamental integrity of
their business and accelerate their digital transformation efforts. Those that
do not will find their data sprawl creating a gap between where their data
environment is and where it needs to be if they hope to continue to grow in the
digital economy and ensure the fundamental integrity of their business.
Growth of the Cloud
Managed Services Market Will Accelerate
Over the past decade, and particularly over the last two
years, enterprises of all types and sizes have adopted new SaaS and other
cloud-based applications or moved their existing applications from on-premises
infrastructure to the cloud. Recently, they have begun taking the next logical
step in this journey - partnering with service providers to manage these SaaS
and other cloud based applications for them, so they can focus on innovating on
their own applications and on other priorities core to their business success.
Cloud Managed Service Providers (MSPs) have emerged to meet
his need, helping these enterprises procure and use SaaS and other cloud
technologies so they can concentrate on more strategic digital transformation
and other business new objectives. By working with these cloud MSPs,
enterprises can outsource previous in-house IT responsibilities -
responsibilities like customizing off-the-SaaS applications for their
particular business requirements, ensuring their SaaS applications comply with
government data privacy regulations, and protecting their SaaS and other
cloud-based data from malicious cyberattacks. Some enterprises are even
contracting with cloud MSPs to help them with more strategic digital
transformation initiatives, allowing them to speed up these initiatives and
expand their development of unique cloud-based digital services that
differentiate them from their competitors.
Enterprises have already rounded second base in their cloud
journeys by outsourcing management of the infrastructure for their applications
to SaaS and other public cloud service providers. In 2022, expect these
enterprises to turn for home by partnering with cloud MSPs to help them manage
the set-up, customization, and administration of their cloud-based applications
-expanding revenue opportunities for IT service providers with the expertise,
resources, and solution provider relationships required to deliver these types of
cloud-based managed services.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
David Ngo is a 22-year veteran of Commvault and serves as
the Chief Technology Officer for Metallic, the SaaS division of Commvault.
David joined Commvault after graduating from Rutgers University with a BS in Electrical
Engineering and has held roles in Products and Engineering, Development, Office
of the CTO, and Professional Services. He started as a developer and led the
Windows development group, during which time he was granted a number of
patents. He went on to leading engineering alliances with strategic partners,
such as Microsoft and NetApp before joining the Office of the CTO and leading
cloud and virtualization efforts. He most recently served as the Vice President
of Products and Engineering for Metallic. Prior to joining the Metallic group,
David established the Remote Managed Services group.