The Biggest Storage Trends and Predictions for 2017
Working for the leading global data recovery company, Ontrack specialists see a variety of storage devices and technologies come and go over the years when they fail to function and data loss occurs. As older storage technologies make way for newer technologies - and since no medium or technology is failure-proof, one day it will come into one of our several data recovery labs around the world. Today, these experts take a look into the crystal ball and predict what storage trends they think will affect the market and data recovery in the long run. We have uncovered the leading storage trends and predictions for 2017.
Common Storage Trends and Predictions for 2017
The last several years in data recovery and data storage technology have seen faster flash storage technology, tremendous growth in adoption of hyper-converged storage, and the proliferation of ransomware cases. In 2017 and beyond, we will be on the lookout for continued changes to technology used in data centers, additional implementation of data encryption, and an increased emphasis on enterprise information security.
Flash/SSD Technology Continues its Impact
As personal devices get smaller and are able to store even more data, so too do enterprise storage technologies. Flash continues to change the market at a blistering pace. While the cost of SSD continues to be higher than traditional storage, many enterprises are nevertheless taking a hybrid approach. Since 2014, Ontrack experts have seen a 239 percent increase in the number of hybrid drive recovery requests. Flash drives are often paired with more dated HDD technologies to save cost, but enterprises still reap the benefits of a storage technology that is faster, higher density, and requires less power.
Hyper-converged Storage on the Rise
As predicted in Ontrack´s 2016 list of future trends, hyper-converged storage systems have had a major impact on data recovery. Since these complex systems consolidate storage resources via software and run on any manufacturer’s hardware, they are not easy to recover. They often require a custom data recovery solution because data full integrates within the unit, making it difficult to gain sector-level access to the disks. Nevertheless, look for enterprises to continue moving data to hyper-converged storage environments because of their many benefits, e.g. cost-efficiency, scalability, and data storage efficiency.
Easy-to-use User Interfaces
At first glance, these highly-sophisticated systems have a more intuitive user interface and tend to be easier to set up. As a result, organizations are employing less specialized individuals to operate hyper-converged storage systems – employees who may not have the depth of knowledge needed to solve more complex problems. This presents new challenges when backups need to be verified or when a data loss occurs, for example. This trend will continue to grow in the future as more complex technologies will bundle together in even more easy-to-use enterprise storage systems.
Ransomware: No Slow Downs in Sight
As many experts have claimed over the last few months, there has been an incredible increase in global ransomware attacks and companies are becoming more aware of the serious threats these special viruses pose. Ontrack also believes that we’ll continue to see a rise in ransomware attacks. Ransomware poses not only danger to the data of companies, but also individuals, hospitals, government entities and hospitals. And the experts warn: it’s not only computers where ransomware will target, but wearables are especially vulnerable, as there can be little to no real security on these devices.
When struck by a ransomware attack, turn to a professional data recovery company and don’t pay any money to the criminals. It’s likely that you will not get your back your data and your money will support other criminal activities, too! Ontrack has tools to recover data from 55 different ransomware variants. As data and devices continue to proliferate our lives in every way, know how to protect yourself. Set strong passwords and dispose of unnecessary data.
High-quality Encryption: A Go-to Standard
Ontrack also sees an increase in encryption across many verticals, not just government, finance or healthcare. Every organization that stores sensitive information should take care to protect their data through encryption.
IT Decision-Making Transformation
Due to additional focus on data security and planned implementation of measures to comply with data protection, information security has become a driving force and a key decision maker in IT departments. Therefore, companies are eager to find solutions and services to meet their data recovery needs without giving their devices and data off-site.
Ontrack must meet these changing customer demands and offer relevant services. This is the reason why Ontrack data recovery engineers have seen a 60 percent growth in on-site data recovery requests in the last year. As data recovery protocols continue to change, due to the increase in data security sensitivity, more data recovery requests will either be done off-site, or when possible, as a remote recovery, which also meets the highest data security standards.