IT decision makers still need to follow data trail
Thu 21 Aug 2014
Two recent industry surveys have shown that the increase of data is seriously affecting how data centres users and operators monitor and manage data.
Epiq Systems says that three-quarters of the corporations that it surveyed felt confident in their ability to locate key data in the face of litigation or investigation. However, only around half of these companies continually monitor and update their data map, suggesting such confidence may be misplaced.
The company surveyed senior-level decision-makers within leading blue-chip businesses across four European regions to establish broad eDisclosure and document review trends within the corporate sector.
“The capture, storage and retrieval of data is a constantly evolving challenge, complicated by the sheer variety of connected and mobile devices that now generate data,” said Martin Bonney, director, international consulting services, Epiq Systems. “Regulatory deadlines for document production can be as short as 14 days. If data is not continually assessed, the ability to respond to requests quickly, accurately and defensibly is severely tested.”
The survey found that 68 per cent of major corporations believe that growing data volumes, and the variety of devices on which that volume is now generated, cause challenges related to the safeguarding of information and data privacy and that 60 per cent of respondents report that growing data volumes generated by an increasing variety of devices make it difficult to identify where information is stored.
Martin concluded, “It is not enough to adopt an irregular pattern of data monitoring. Leading businesses are recognising the benefit of partnering with experts to adopt a pro-active, continual approach to information governance.”
The issue of where data is stored on a physical level, was also at the forefront of attendees minds, at Node4’s recent open day. A survey at the event found that 80% agreed that backing up their organisation’s vital information near their offices gives them peace of mind. The attendees’ survey also found that 86% of IT decision makers are using or are planning to use cloud-based solutions and storage in the near future.
The survey also found, that nearly a quarter of attendees do not trust providers that store data overseas. They want to know where their data is at all times and some would only store information with organisations that are based in the UK.
Paul Bryce, business development director, Node4, commented, “While companies now appreciate the merits of cloud-based computing, they still like to know exactly where their data is. They don’t want highly sensitive company information to be on a server that could be anywhere in the world. They want the peace of mind that their infrastructure is stored in a nearby location and access to a local support team should the worst happen.”
