ESG Research

Abstract:

Over the last few years, there has been a disconnect by which organizations rely on their SaaS vendors to protect, back up, and recover their data when they should actually perform their own backups. Younger organizations have more faith in their SaaS providers, while older organizations have the experience to back up and protect their own data. Some of the bigger names in the as-a-service industry are mission-critical to countless organizations, but they still require organizations to put their own strategies in place.

Abstract:

Abstract:

ESG conducted a comprehensive online survey of IT professionals from private- and public-sector organizations in North America (United States and Canada) between January 22, 2021 and January 31, 2021. To qualify for this survey, respondents were required to be IT professionals responsible for data protection technology decisions for their organization.

This Master Survey Results presentation focuses on understanding cloud data protection challenges, plans, and strategies by probing how organizations are protecting data in the cloud, as well as how they are leveraging cloud services to protect data to the cloud.

Abstract:

The broad adoption of public cloud services as a source and repository of business-critical data is placing the onus on data owners to deliver on data protection SLAs of applications, and their associated data, that are cloud-resident. Many users are confused about what exact data protection levels public cloud infrastructure and SaaS solutions provide, leading to potential data loss and compliance risks. Concurrently, on-premises backup and disaster recovery strategies are increasingly leveraging cloud destinations, resulting in hybrid data protection topologies with varying degrees of service levels and end-user tradeoffs and opportunities. How do IT organizations utilize cloud services as part of their data protection strategy today?

Abstract:

Tape is back on the forefront with new use cases and possibilities. The need for unlimited and cost-conscious storage for long-term retention has never been stronger, particularly for “cold” layers of storage in public and private clouds. Hardware, software, and product usability evolutions make tape solutions an attractive option for long-term archiving, ransomware remediation, and massive storage for media or media-like applications.

In order to gain insight into these trends, ESG surveyed 303 IT professionals at organizations in North America (US and Canada) personally responsible for or familiar with their organization’s data protection environment and strategy, including tape technology. The respondents’ organizations had to be current users of tape technology. This research aimed to understand the current state of enterprise tape deployments, uncover specific use cases (including vertical-specific ones), identify gaps, and highlight future expectations. Special attention was also paid to cloud use cases such as the usage of tape for long-term retention by hyperscalers, leveraging cloud-like services that use tape as a replacement for on-premises solutions and migration of tape to cloud.

Abstract:

ESG’s Master Survey Results provide the complete output of syndicated research surveys in graphical format. In addition to the data, these documents provide background information on the survey, including respondent profiles at an individual and organizational level. It is important to note that these documents do not contain analysis of the data.

This Master Survey Results presentation focuses on 2020 IT trends for the existing and emerging technology influencing tape usage, buying intentions of IT teams, existing challenges and drivers influencing buying decisions, and buyer preferences for changing tape topologies.

Abstract:

No one could have predicted the COVID-19 pandemic and the profound impact it has had on our lives, our society, the way we now work, how we market our products, and the ripple effects on IT infrastructure and data in general. This once-in-a-lifetime event is placing data protection at the top of many lists, something that our research highlighted in 2020 and, looking ahead to 2021, will directly affect IT strategies against a backdrop of accelerated digital transformation/optimization.

Abstract:

Container adoption is accelerating and so too is the requirement to properly protect container environments and the data in them. ESG research indicates that, so far, IT professionals are kicking the can down the road. While many recognize the growing importance of containers relative to other vital application platforms, confidence levels in organizations’ ability to protect containerized workloads are lagging. As was the case with other recent disruptive shifts in the IT landscape, including the VMware and cloud computing phenomena, newer data protection approaches are needed.

In order to gain insight into these trends, ESG surveyed 334 IT professionals at organizations in North America (US and Canada) personally responsible for or familiar with their organization’s container-based application environment and strategy, including the associated data protection tools and processes.

Abstract:

ESG conducted a comprehensive online survey of IT professionals from private- and public-sector organizations in North America (United States and Canada) between June 12, 2020 and June 24, 2020. To qualify for this survey, respondents were required to be IT professionals responsible for/familiar with their organization’s container-based application environment strategy.

This Master Survey Results presentation focuses on understanding the current state of end-users’ application and container deployments, identifying data management gaps, and determining current practices and potential disconnects that may exist when protecting Kubernetes/ containers infrastructure at scale.

Abstract:

Data protection technologies and processes mean nothing unless objectives are not only established and aligned with business and IT objectives, but also measured and improved over time. As organizations increasingly shift to more hybrid and data-intelligent infrastructures, understanding real-world data protection and availability SLAs is becoming more critical for both IT practitioners and the vendors that provide supporting technology.

In order to gain insight into these trends, ESG surveyed 378 IT professionals at organizations in North America (US and Canada) personally responsible for or involved in data protection technology and process decisions for their organizations, specifically those pertaining to the ability to meet SLAs associated with applications/workloads. This research aimed to understand the current state of end-users’ deployments, identify gaps, and highlight future expectations. Tolerance for downtime, downtime metrics, and real-world SLAs in the context of actual data loss were studied against the backdrop of availability technologies and methods, including hybrid environments.