Data protection investments grow

September 2024 Infrastructure, Security Services & Risk Management


Byron Horn-Botha.

Arcserve Southern Africa has revealed that the Arcserve State of Data Resilience in the Enterprise survey, which involved senior IT professionals in small to large-sized businesses, indicates that these businesses are allocating a significant portion of their IT budget to data protection and recovery.

“The high standard deviation (21%) in responses indicates there is a lot of variance in the observed data around the mean, further pointing to the fact that the data observed is quite spread out. The finding that a substantial number of companies arguably vastly underinvest in this area is supported by this variance. Presumably, smaller overall IT budgets impose difficult trade-offs upon IT leaders,” says Byron Horn-Botha, Business Unit Lead of Arcserve Southern Africa.

The following data point offers some reassurance; IT leaders overwhelmingly aim to grow their data protection budget, with 89% of survey respondents’ organisations expecting to increase their data protection budget in the future.

They may find the 2023 Security Budget Benchmark Report helpful, as it showed that the average IT security budget increased by 6%. Overall, that is a growth pace that is 65% slower than previously. “In many cases, though, growth must accelerate in the data protection bucket. Even as an increased budget gets allocated to data protection, how can an organisation make the most of it?” asks Horn-Botha.

He says considering the trade-offs between having a disparate patchwork of individually configured fine-tuned components and an integrated, unified solution that reliably gets the job done is important. “The former may provide unique customisation opportunities, while the latter should be easier to deploy and faster to deliver value.”

Time is money when it comes to business continuity and disaster recovery

Horn-Botha says business leaders should be asking themselves what the cost would be —in money and reputational damage—if they could not access their data. The survey revealed that only 31% of respondents were confident in their ability to recover lost data in 24 hours. “The bottom line on this is that time is of the essence; the longer the business is down, the greater the operational cost and reputational impact.”

The survey asked, “Is taking more than 24 or 48 hours to recover acceptable for companies?” The answer was a resounding no for two out of every three companies. The survey revealed only 34% of respondents said their organisation could take more than 48 hours and still avoid significant business disruption.

Practice makes perfect.

While 70% of organisations reported they perform weekly or monthly data recovery drills to ensure business continuity, over one in five businesses were shown not to test their systems often enough. Horn-Botha confirms that regular data recovery drills are essential because they help ensure that the organisation’s Recovery Time Objective (RTO) and Recovery Point Objective (RPO) can be met when disaster strikes.

Click here to see Arcserve’s State of Data Resilience in the Enterprise Report, which includes tips for IT leaders on effectively communicating with internal stakeholders about mitigating the risks of data loss and downtime.




Share this article:
Share via emailShare via LinkedInPrint this page



Further reading:

Data resilience at VeeamON
Technews Publishing SMART Security Solutions Infrastructure Information Security
SMART Security Solutions attended the VeeamON Tour in Johannesburg in August to learn more about data resilience and Veeam’s initiatives to enhance data protection, both on-site and in the cloud.

Read more...
The role of drones in farm protection
Agriculture (Industry) Security Services & Risk Management
Laurence Palmer reminds us of the role drones play in agricultural security and offers a free security risk assessment template for downloading (link at the end of the article).

Read more...
SMART Surveillance Conference in Johannesburg
Arteco Global Africa Technews Publishing SMART Security Solutions Axis Communications SA neaMetrics Editor's Choice Surveillance Security Services & Risk Management Logistics (Industry) AI & Data Analytics
SMART Security Solutions hosted its annual SMART Surveillance Conference in Johannesburg in July, welcoming several guests, sponsors, and speakers for an informative and enjoyable day examining the evolution of the surveillance market.

Read more...
Troye exposes the Entra ID backup blind spot
Information Security Infrastructure
If you trust Microsoft to protect your identity, think again. Many organisations naively believe that Microsoft’s shared responsibility model covers Microsoft Entra?ID – formerly Azure AD – but it does not.

Read more...
Secure data protection without hardware lock-in
Infrastructure Information Security News & Events
New Veeam Software Appliance empowers IT teams to achieve instant protection with Veeam’s fully preconfigured, software-only appliance, delivering enterprise-ready simplified deployment and operational efficiency, robust cyber resilience.

Read more...
Hytera supports communication upgrade for Joburg
News & Events Infrastructure Government and Parastatal (Industry)
By equipping Johannesburg’s metro police and emergency services with multimode radios which integrate TETRA and LTE networks, Hytera is bridging coverage gaps and improving response times across the city.

Read more...
Combining TETRA or DMR with 5G broadband
Infrastructure IoT & Automation
As enterprises face rising complexity and connectivity demands, hybrid networks offer a transformative path, combining the proven reliability of TETRA or DMR with the innovation and coverage of 5G broadband.

Read more...
Your Wi-Fi router is about to start watching you
News & Events Surveillance Security Services & Risk Management
Advanced algorithms are able to analyse your Wi-Fi signals and create a representation of your movements, turning your home's Wi-Fi into a motion detection and personal identification system.

Read more...
Questing for the quantum AI advantage
Infrastructure AI & Data Analytics
The clock is ticking down to the realisation of quantum AI and the sought-after ‘quantum advantage’. In many boardrooms, however, quantum remains mysterious; full of promise, but not fully understood.

Read more...
The growing role of hybrid backup
Infrastructure Information Security
As Africa’s digital economy rapidly grows, businesses across the continent are facing the challenge of securing data in an environment characterised by evolving cyberthreats, unreliable connectivity and diverse regulatory frameworks.

Read more...










While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained herein, the publisher and its agents cannot be held responsible for any errors contained, or any loss incurred as a result. Articles published do not necessarily reflect the views of the publishers. The editor reserves the right to alter or cut copy. Articles submitted are deemed to have been cleared for publication. Advertisements and company contact details are published as provided by the advertiser. Technews Publishing (Pty) Ltd cannot be held responsible for the accuracy or veracity of supplied material.




© Technews Publishing (Pty) Ltd. | All Rights Reserved.