While business continues in its pace amidst the uncertain and unpredictable times, the way we work is changing and will continue to change drastically in the future. As our lives are taking a more digital route, with everything on the cloud, effective data backup and recovery become the hallmark of successful businesses. On this World Backup Day, March 31, CXOToday caught up with Huzefa Motiwala, Senior Director, Sales Engineering, APJ, Commvault, who throws light on why data backup and recovery are crucial in these times, and how enterprises can protect and safeguard data in the most effective ways.
CXOToday: What do you consider to be the biggest security threat for customers in the times of the ongoing global crisis and why?
Huzefa Motiwala: I believe that Ransomware is by far the most notorious of all the malignant cyber threats that exists today. The financial reward associated with it makes it a very lucrative and prevalent choice among cyber criminals.Unlike natural disasters and regulatory norms, ransomware has a direct and immediate impact on core business productivity, which can even cause serious consequences to the bottom line. And let’s not forget the repercussions on the overall brand, as ransomware not only attacks the live business critical data, it can even virtually bring the businesses down to its knees– hampering the brand credibility and image.
CXOToday: How can CIOs address the costs and regulations when it comes to implementing backup and disaster recovery in their organization?
Huzefa Motiwala: One of the biggest challenges for CIOs and IT managers is keeping operational costs low while at the same time abiding by regulatory norms. However, by implementing an effective data management strategy, organizations can have more control over their data and in turn the costs.
For this reason it is important for organizations to partner with an experienced third party vendor like us. By gaining insights into their organizational data, IT managers can reduce unstructured data sprawl to a great extent and keep only what is necessary. This can directly bring down all the associated data management costs for that unwanted data, while improving the regulatory posture of organization – now that’s what I call a win-win situation.
CXOToday: What is the significance of World Backup Day in general and how can our customers be prepared all year round?
Huzefa Motiwala: Today, we find ourselves in unprecedented times, where the crisis around COVID-19 has become the biggest learning, in terms of BCP preparedness, for almost all companies. With many organizations being caught off guard in their ability to run seamless operations even on a day-to-day basis, the power to have seamless, secure control and access over organizational data could not be undermined anymore.
On this World Backup Day, I would urge all businesses to take a pledge to make data and business continuity planning their number one priority on their business agendas. To become truly future-ready, businesses should also conduct timely mock test runs for distressing times, like today.
