The New World of Data Protection: Do you see it?

Today’s new digital world requires you to have all eyes open, including your third eye. Unknowingly, your third eye is the one that may have been closed for the last decade as new technologies including cloud computing, data privacy, application containerization, and machine learning slowly crept into the virtual toolboxes of IT administrators around the world. Maybe you refused to embrace and open your mind up to containers, cloud-native, open source platforms, Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), RestFul APIs, or IT automation. I’m sure some of you may still be living in a world where you are still very reactive and consumed with the next outage, data center migration, or your Management by Objective (MBO) goals.

Welcome to the final stretch of 2020 where there is more in store for us beyond COVID-19. Let’s just say we have been on the ride of our lifetimes; personally and professionally. According to Pew Social Trends in an article titled Economic Fallout From COVID-19 Continues To Hit Lower-Income Americans the Hardest, it states that “of those who say they personally lost a job, half say they are still unemployed, a third have returned to their old job and 15% are in a different job than before.”

Tell me what do you see? Or, do you still want to continue doing the same things in your personal life and career, expecting different results?

I have been privileged to strategically maneuver my way through 20+ years of protecting a plethora of enterprise data owned by some of the largest organizations in the world across the financial services, healthcare, media & entertainment, oil & gas, education, and government industries to name a few. I’ve witnessed the shifting landscape grow more and more bumpy especially over the last couple of years.

The main challenge that I see with IT administrators today that are responsible for backing up and protecting enterprise data is the acquisition of new technology skills and the requirement to forge new relationships virtually due to the Work From Home (WFH) movement as 30% of professionals are working longer hours.

You are working longer hours, but are you advancing in your career?

So what do I see with my third eye in this New World of Data Protection?

I see three major invisible boulders hovering over those individuals chosen to protect the hundreds of zettabytes of data that has accumulated thus far in our digital universe. 

I hate to break the news to you, but welcome to the abyss of rapidly evolving technologies, SaaS applications, increasing cloud-native platforms, and multi-cloud architectures. These projects are now front and center on select Zoom meetings around the globe broadcasting from digital boardrooms all the way down to the laptop humming on your IT Administrators kitchen table.

Let’s start with the first invisible boulder that you should see.

1. The first invisible boulder is the shift to SaaS and cloud-native technologies such as containers (Docker and Kubernetes) and how they have enabled IT teams to spin up applications faster; however, this forces those responsible for protecting and recovering the data managed by those applications to learn those technologies in addition to the backup and recovery software platform that they are comfortable with today. Why is backup and recovery even more important now than it has ever been? Backup and recovery experts have a front row seat in the data center due to the rising importance of data and the fluidity and elasticity of these newer application technologies where data is being mined, analyzed, and fed to quantum computers across the globe. There are higher powers now utilizing this same data to prevent the world’s next pandemic or assist militaries with their campaigns before they sail off on their next mission.

It’s no longer just about “backup” or “recovery”, it goes deeper.

2. The second invisible boulder is the up-leveling of the current skill set that data protection experts have accumulated over the years learning specific software platforms and storage technologies. In order to grow, you must constantly acquire new skills. IT administrators responsible for protecting data are at a crossroads that can lead to either success or failure. The choice lies solely on the individual to recognize and move into action to learn and remain open to the rapidly shifting digital universe where we reside.

Are you investing in your IT administrators or are you only relying on them to execute that next recovery of a deleted file?

If you are not investing dollars in the training of your IT, Backup and Recovery, or Storage Administrators then you may miss out on an opportunity to use one of the most valuable assets on your team. Who else will understand how to protect your most critical applications and the importance of keeping your business running 24/7 than your secret weapon Data Protection Engineers, Architects, and Managers.

3. The third and final invisible boulder is one that links directly into your corporate strategy and roadmap; it’s giving Data Protection experts a seat at the table. Whether they are black, asian, latino, or any other flavor on the cultural spectrum, these are some of the most qualified people that can add extreme perspective and value to your next disaster recovery exercise, IT audit, or that new modernization project that the CIO just signed off on.

When is the last time you have genuinely had a virtual or physical conversation with your Data Protection experts?

Have you truly connected with your Data Protection experts one-on-one lately? I’m not just talking about your weekly scheduled 1:1 where you talk about the mundane tasks, priorities, and projects that they are responsible for completing anyway. I’m talking about going deeper; understanding and communicating to them in a way that truly taps into their soul especially in the midst of this pandemic, where working from home, racial unrest, and tensions that are growing even thinner as the US draws near to the election.

Hopefully, after reading this you can see more clearly, take these three invisible boulders and begin to discuss and eventually implement them into your budgets and corporate priorities. We are not only in the midst of a technology revolution, but a personal re-awakening where people will be more important than the technology. I feel strongly that we will unite, open our eyes, and truly begin to use our third eye to see the New World of Data Protection and appreciate the people that make it seem easy day in and out.

Be safe, stay vigilant, and speak your truth!