Key issues surrounding storage management and data protection

Within the public sector and vertical markets, data remains the lifeblood of all organisations. 

Every minute of every day, data is transported and stored across numerous global networks to provide businesses with vital information and insight. Data helps drive business intelligence and provides valuable insight into customers.  From a business’s perspective, it is one of the most vital assets in a company’s armoury and it’s critical that this data remains accessible, manageable and protected at all times.

Within the public sector, financial constraints continue to be an obvious challenge for local authorities and public services.  Yet despite the fiscal constraints, the emergence of big data and cyber security issues means that IT departments are under serious pressure to deliver efficient and robust solutions to meet business requirements. 

The same of course can be said to those companies operating in vertical markets – in particular those in the energy and utilities sector. The pressure on carbon fuels, emergence of new technologies, changes in government policy and more demanding consumers are all playing a part in how utilities businesses will be using and managing data in the future.

With this in mind, lets dive into the numerous data protection and storage management challenges facing local authorities and utilities companies.

Systems vs efficiency

Recent years have seen the introduction of a number of large-scale IT projects aimed at increasing efficiency and reducing headcount across public services and those in vertical markets. Not all of these implementations have been managed effectively and many have come in over budget and past the projected delivery dates. However, the demand for more, and better information is always increasing and this means that the likelihood of new, better and faster systems being introduced remains.

Increased data protection and storage management costs

Given the vast volume of data managed by local authorities and utility companies, the need to ensure that data is securely protected and stored safely has never been more important. Having said that, the costs associated with data protection and storage management are a challenge. Amid rising costs and lower budgets, data protections and storage management solutions need to be cost effective and commercially viable to meet changing requirements.

Lack of internal resources

In local government, there is a constant pressure to cut costs and the financial challenges imposed by government costs and increase in demand for services means that departments need to make smarter use of IT resources. Whether it be a lack of staff or systems, the vast amount of data being stored and the constant threat of debilitating cyber-attacks mean that organisations of all shapes and sizes need to have efficient and robust systems in place.

Lack of confidence in backup solutions and concern of reliability of backups

Organisations require data protection and management solutions using technologies to meet business requirements. IT professionals need to ensure their company data is securely and automatically backed up to the cloud where it is fully replicated to a secondary site for resilience and failover capabilities.  By improving the reliability of your backup solution the productivity of your organisation as a whole will benefit

Concerns over data security from cyber-attacks

The consequences of a cyber-attack can be catastrophic. Not only can it cripple networks and cause long-lasting damage to vital data, but the PR effects can be equally detrimental. Given the frequent nature of cyber-attacks, it’s often a case of when, not if, your organisation will be targeted. Therefore, managing and storing data securely has never been more important. Ensuring you are meeting compliance regulations as well as minimising risks are vital considerations.

Interested in Learning More?

Celerity's Data Security and Resilience Services can help you get to grips with any data protection and storage management issues that your organisation may be facing. Get in touch with us today to learn more!