Data resiliency is much more than backup

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Data resiliency isn't a technology, it's not a solution, it's a mindset that all organizations should embrace. Its primary purpose is to fulfill business continuity and to create business continuity plans. A comment by Florian Malecki, Arcserve.

The good news: According to a global study by Arcserve, 83 percent of IT decision makers include data resiliency in their business continuity strategies. On the downside, only 23 percent have a mature approach to data resiliency. This is by no means enough, even from a benevolent perspective, because a solid plan is essential for data security, especially as organizations move to hybrid IT environments. When high performance is required and a catastrophic failure occurs, organizations need to have a well thought out and tested data recovery plan in place.

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No data, no company

An old adage: Data is the fuel of modern companies. So when a company loses access to its data, it is unable to move forward. Data resiliency solves this challenge. It enables any business to quickly recover from a data-threatening event and continue to thrive in the digital economy.

There are three key steps for organizations to develop a robust data resiliency strategy:

1. Create a plan and test it regularly

The strength of any data resiliency strategy depends on the extent to which all components are regularly tested and adjusted. Being reactive is not enough. Businesses can't wait for a disaster or attack to strike and then rush to implement what they think is a good strategy and then figure out if it's good enough or not. Planning and testing are essential for success. A well thought out and continuously tested data resiliency strategy can mean the difference between working and not working businesses.

In addition to data loss, for example due to a cyber attack, there is a risk of further adversity: numerous studies show that companies affected by a ransomware attack or another type of data loss have great difficulty winning back their customers. A study found that 88 percent of clients use the services or products from a company they don't trust. Additionally, 39 percent of customers lose trust in a company that misuses data or suffers a data breach.

2. Management involvement

Data resiliency should not only be the responsibility of the IT department, but also of senior executives and business owners. However, in many companies, data resiliency is still not a top management priority. But it should, especially with the introduction of new cybersecurity measures like the NIS 2 directive in the EU. A successful data resiliency initiative begins at the top of the organization with executive and board approval. When this is the case, the rest of the company will also recognize the importance, keep an eye on it and address the situation if necessary.

In many organizations, initiatives to improve data resiliency are slow to be adopted because of a lack of top-level ownership. Like any investment, a data resiliency initiative needs broad support across the organization. In addition, it should also be supported by external partners and service providers. For an initiative to work, everyone involved must know their role in day-to-day operations and in the event of a disruption.

3. Layered approach

The key to establishing data resiliency is taking a layered approach and providing an infrastructure that supports all data resiliency requirements. One important layer is to perform regular backups and make copies that are stored in a digital, immutable “vault”. In this context, storage snapshots should also be created and saved in an unchangeable place in a safe place. In the event of a disaster or attack that corrupts data, these snapshots are available for instant recovery. This is how the Italian city of Palermo recently recovered its data after a cyber attack.

Automation and orchestration are two other key components of a layered approach that contribute to orderly and rapid data recovery. This should include processes and automated workflows that ensure consistency and minimize complexity - especially when time is of the essence and quick action is required. In this way, data can be recovered quickly and the business can get back to business as usual without damage.

Three backup copies on two different media types

Another key element of a layered approach is 3-2-1-1 backup. Three backup copies of data are kept on two different types of media - tape and disk - with one of the copies offloaded to allow for quick recovery. There should also be an immutable copy in an object store. Immutable object storage continuously protects data by taking a snapshot every 90 seconds. The advantage: Even in the event of a disaster, these data snapshots can be used to return to the current data status.

Conclusion on data resilience

A good data resiliency strategy is highly beneficial to organizations. It enables them to handle rapid data growth and diverse workloads, unify data recovery, and quickly recover from an event that compromises data. Companies benefit from advantages such as improved performance, lower costs, reliable and efficient business processes, minimized risk and strong protection in all areas of the company.

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