With semi-conductor shortages expected to last until 2023 and the global supply chain feeling the pinch as the demand for “chips” surges in an increasingly smart world, there are very few industries left unaffected.
From cars and games consoles to smart phones, manufacturers are having to limit supplies and revise delivery times, with consumers braced to take the hit.
As organisations increasingly take technology-driven approaches, IT professionals are also preparing for the effects, finding that orders for critical hardware such as switches, and networking equipment are being delayed by weeks if not months.
With the availability of hardware in particular servers presenting a concern to organisations that still rely heavily on hardware to run backend systems, the way that data is managed and protected becomes even more vital.
What are the possible challenges of a hardware-based approach to data management and protection in the current climate?
- Delays to planned strategy reviews
With hardware lifecycles typically being 3 to 5 years, strategy review projects for data management and protection may have been pencilled in for years. But with current supply-chain issues, renewing a hardware-based approach may not be feasible as extended delivery times may leave data unprotected.
It may be possible to delay projects, but with existing hardware coming to end of life, this may present challenges of its own, including time spent on maintaining existing kit, or having to partially renew software subscriptions to keep data protected.
- Server-based backups may lead to a single point of failure
Backup represents a vital part of an organisation’s data management and protection strategy, and the knock-on effects of a failed backup server cannot be underestimated.
Although adoption of cloud-based backup and protection solutions has grown rapidly in recent years, many organisations still rely on hardware to complete backups, whether copying to a local backup server before sending to the cloud or relying on ‘traditional’ approaches that utilise servers and removable hardware such as tape.
With the current strains on acquiring new hardware, an onsite backup server can represent a critical single point of failure in the event of capacity limitations, hardware failure or even ransomware.
- The potential of running out of disk
For any organisation that operates its own hardware, planning for growth and managing available capacity remains an issue.
The global data sphere is expected to push 180 Zettabytes by 20251, and data growth at any scale can present challenges for organisations.
With limited availability to order storage hardware, adding capacity to current estates can be a headache. IT professionals face the problem of having to identify and delete data, slow data growth, archive data in a timely manner or move data to cloud platforms.
Archiving solutions may be expensive or require hardware themselves and moving data to the cloud can present new problems if this data is not included in data protection policies.
How does Redstor’s approach to data management and protection solve the issues?
Redstor’s smart, serverless, cloud-native suite of services delivers the new standard in data management and protection, ensuring organisations can protect data in minutes, without the need to wait for hardware. Enabling organisations to benefit from:
- A cloud-first approach with no reliance on hardware
- Streamed on-demand recoveries and serverless access to data with InstantDataTM
- Rapid set-up in as little as 15 minutes
- Built-in archiving that extends the capacity of existing primary storage infrastructure
- The ability to protect SaaS data, such as M365, Google Workspace and more, for payloads that have been or will be migrated to the cloud, from a single application
Get protected on day 1 with no requirement for hardware, zero upfront costs and end-to-end online onboarding that takes minutes. Speak to the team now to find out how.
1 – https://www.statista.com/statistics/871513/worldwide-data-created/