The following excerpt is from a white paper originally published by our Rubrik partner. Click the link at the bottom of this post to read the entire white paper.

Backup and recovery need a radical rethink. When today’s incumbent solutions were designed more than a decade ago, IT environments were exploding, heterogeneity was increasing, and backup and recovery systems were viewed as the protection scheme of last resort. They were intended only to provide a low-cost insurance policy for data, so companies patched together backup and recovery solutions under a common vendor management framework and tried to minimize costs by spreading data across different infrastructure and media.

What has changed? For one, IT departments have moved toward private cloud models with virtualization and are looking for converged architectures to replace multitiered architectures. Second, because the amount of data under management has exploded, IT is challenged to do more with less. IT teams are now composed of fewer specialized roles, and more broad roles. Finally, public and hybrid clouds have opened up new data use cases such as analytics and test/dev, which create challenges for managing and securing that data.

Indeed, about the only thing that hasn’t changed is the need for backups to be reliable and restores to be fast and dependable. But how do you accomplish this when so much about your infrastructure has changed? At the same time, how do you innovate quickly to align with critical business objectives and drive growth?

Any IT professional reviewing existing backup and recovery system investment—or considering a new investment to meet new IT and business needs—should reconsider whether the old assumptions are still relevant or whether a new approach is warranted. In this guide, we discuss the evolving demands of backup and recovery and the emergence of Cloud Data Management, which provides opportunities for protecting data, capturing new value, and making data available whenever, wherever it is needed.

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Internet of Things (IoT): Gartner reported that by 2020 there would be over 26 billion connected devices. Smart devices are already commonplace in many households, and are expected to become more prevalent in the business setting too. These smart devices can help organizations improve productivity and minimize expenses. However, despite the significant advantages of using IoT devices, the vast amounts of data and interconnectedness of these devices can make them vulnerable to attacks. Therefore, in 2020, we can expect an even greater focus on IoT device security, as well.

Artificial Intelligence (AI): Many organizations are already benefiting from the power of AI. As we progress into 2020, the healthcare industry is expected to experience even more AI transformations. By acquiring data in real-time, AI will enable medical facilities to optimize scheduling, automate reporting, and integrate existing workflows. 

Artificial intelligence benefits all types of organizations by interpreting vast amounts of data and then turning that into meaningful information. In doing so, businesses can provide a more personalized customer experience. A recent study found that 63% of U.S. consumers are more willing to share their personal information with a company in exchange for improved customer experiences. When consumers trust a brand, they are more likely to buy from them too. Thereby, AI helps to bridge the trust gap between businesses and consumers, which in turn benefits both parties. As more and more businesses seek to improve the customer experience, we can expect to see more companies using AI for this in 2020.

Data Management: Data is getting produced at a rapid pace, and consequently, more and more companies will turn toward solutions that will allow them to get more control and usage over their data. By 2020, the entire digital universe is predicted to reach 44 zettabytes. As a result of increased data production, it is also likely that there will be a surge in jobs that require specialized data management skillsets. For example, the demand for data scientists is expected to rise by 28% in 2020 alone.

Even though technology trends can provide significant opportunities for businesses to get ahead and thrive in a competitive economy, it’s also important to consider how a given technology change helps to accomplish your organization’s short and long-term goals. Experis Technology Group’s team of IT experts are highly trained and certified to help businesses implement technology changes in a way that benefits your organization’s unique needs. We take a holistic and consultative approach to solving IT challenges. Whether you have minimal or more complex IT needs, our team can help. To learn more, contact our team at info@experistg.com.