Asigra Inc., a leading cloud backup, recovery and restore software provider since 1986, today announced five information technology trends expected to impact data protection infrastructure and business outcomes in 2018. Like other technology segments, data protection has not been sheltered from the evolution of technology which is evolving as cloud computing, new regulatory requirements and a rise in malware targeting primary and secondary data increases in prevalence. Based on input from hundreds of IT services companies as well as industry experts and analysts, Asigra is forecasting five predictions expected to drive the evolution of data protection infrastructure over the next 12 months.

According to a recent report by Deloitte titled Tech Trends of 2018[1], “Business strategies are inseparably linked to technology, leading organizations to fundamentally rethink how they envision, deliver, and evolve technology solutions. They are transforming IT departments into engines for driving business growth, with responsibilities that span back-office systems, operations, and even product and platform offerings.”

Business-driven technologies and trends expected to drive the evolution of data protection infrastructure in 2018 include:

  • Ransomware and the Targeting of Data Recovery Systems: The rise of ransomware and its awareness among organizations and individuals has IT administrators re-thinking their approach to dealing with attacks. Recent exploits such as Bad Rabbit, increased the threat presented by ransomware with the deletion or encryption of backup sets. 2018 will usher in a new era where data protection vendors will expand cybersecurity strategies to provide greater protection of secondary storage.
  • Converged Data Protection and the move away from Traditional Backup: The consolidation of data recovery capabilities into a single, highly scalable hybrid platform and the increased efficiencies that come from a single universal solution are driving demand for converged data protection. This popular approach provides layers of protection in the form of backup, DR, data enablement and archiving, centralized to reduce capital and operational costs.
  • Increased Adoption of Public Cloud Based Data Recovery Services: Businesses are increasingly turning to infrastructure as a service (IaaS) to meet their IT requirements. Research indicates that more than 80% of CIOs were influenced by business management in 2017 to migrate data centers to the cloud. Most IaaS providers do not offer native backup to clients and specify in their agreements that the customer is responsible for this. With the rise in adoption of the cloud there will be a corresponding demand for backup/DR services to protect the data in these environments.
  • Regulatory Challenges go Mainstream in 2018: The amplified role that regulatory compliance is having on IT operations will become front and center in 2018. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and other privacy regulations will increasingly drive change in IT operations, especially data protection. Going forward, administrators will re-think their data protection strategies in ways that adhere to such regulations.
  • IT Budget Monitoring: While recent data suggests that IT budgets will expand in 2018, IT buyers are still cost conscious and expected to keep expenditures in check as they expand IT capabilities with a greater number of cloud services and data-driven solutions.

“The continued evolution of information technology and how data protection strategies are applied ensure that IT professionals will not be idle in 2018,” said Eran Farajun, Executive Vice President, Asigra. “In anticipation of changing market requirements, we are proactively engaged with customers and look forward to leading with business and technology innovation over the next 12 months.”