The risk of data blindness and how to solve it
Article by Han Chon, Managing Director, SEA-Taiwan-Hong Kong-South Korea, Nutanix
Companies’ and executives’ attitudes towards cloud infrastructure have drastically changed in the past five years. In 2018, most IT leaders expected that one day they would run all their businesses’ workloads exclusively in either a private or public cloud one day.
Half a decade later, the fifth annual Nutanix global Enterprise Cloud Index (ECI) research report shows a very different reality where most enterprises now see the inevitability – and the benefits – of running workloads simultaneously across public clouds, on-premises and at the edge. According to the professionals surveyed, 60 percent of enterprises already use multiple IT environments, and this number is growing.
Data security, flexibility and costs are among the many reasons businesses have decided a hybrid infrastructure is the best solution. Micro Leasing Public Company Limited, which provides used truck financing services in Thailand, is one example of this change. It started by using the Nutanix Cloud Platform to optimize its systems and is now considering adopting Nutanix’s hybrid multicloud solution to support the company’s growth and to take full advantage of the resiliency capabilities available by using public cloud.
However, with the exponential growth of data generation, these new complex IT environments have also presented challenges for IT professionals. Data visibility has become one of the most critical issues for companies, and this year’s ECI research shows that the majority (60 percent) of executives don’t have complete visibility into where their company’s data resides.
Not knowing the location of all their data is a significant risk for organizations. When a company lacks data visibility, it becomes more vulnerable to security breaches, is potentially slower to respond to incidents, and is worse at recovering information. It can also fail to comply with regulations, which adds an additional set of issues to contend with.
When it doesn’t know where some data is, a business might not apply all the necessary security measures, such as access controls, encryption, and monitoring, leaving it unprotected and vulnerable.
Poor visibility can also impact incident response, as the lack of information may affect the ability of a company to coordinate an attack reaction, potentially resulting in significant damage and longer recovery times.
Another challenge is that when businesses lose even a small part of their data visibility, it becomes harder to implement adequate data redundancy and backup strategies. This can lead to data loss, no matter how it’s caused, be that a cyber-attack, system failure or natural disaster.
KTBST SEC, a securities service provider in Thailand, has found that using Nutanix quickly gives them visibility of their data and applications on a single screen. Nutanix also enables them to back up important data in seconds, ensuring they can provide smooth and seamless services to their customers.
Companies must also comply with multiple data protection regulations and/or data sovereignty laws in different countries. If a company is unaware of where its data is stored, it can inadvertently violate these regulations, resulting in fines, legal consequences, and reputational damage.
In Indonesia, the Ministry of Home Affairs knew that it needed a platform that could handle every aspect of big data collection and management to increase performance and support the One Data Indonesia policy. It also needed to leverage effective big data technology to analyze the growing volume, velocity, and variety of data for the greatest insights to all municipalities.
As a result of the deployment of their regional governance information system, Sistem Informasi Pemerintahan Daerah (SIPD) on Nutanix for 542 municipalities across Indonesia, the Ministry of Home Affairs has improved performance and data accuracy by at least 50 percent, increased operational efficiency by at least 2x, while achieving at least 40 percent in cost savings and was able to onboard 99 percent of their target provinces in less than a year.
Enterprises can achieve this by combining technologies, software-defined infrastructure, and automation tools. By giving complete data visibility, organizations can improve their decision-making process and optimize their operations for better results, ultimately leading to increased efficiency, productivity, and profitability. With the help of these platforms, they can unlock new opportunities for growth and success in today’s highly competitive business landscape.
