Almost three-quarters of IT leaders rely on data to make business decisions, while a third believe the value of data has permanently increased since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to a survey of IT leaders by Druva, as organizational reliance on data continues to rise, 73% of businesses rely on data while 33% believe there has been an impact due to COVID-19. The 2020 Value of Data Report also found that 73% of respondents were more concerned with protecting their organizational data from ransomware than they were before the pandemic.
Also, while 79% see data management and protection as a competitive business advantage, 41% say the data they collect is not readily available or accessible when needed for decision making.
In an email to Infosecurity, BH Consulting CEO Brian Honan said the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted to organizations the value that timely and accurate data can provide.
“Organizations quickly adapted and adopted systems to facilitate the rapid sharing of data to enable them to survive through the initial waves of the pandemic,” he said. “However, it is important to remember, that for data to be effective information that a business can rely on, that data and information needs to be accurate and available. As a result, securing that data becomes even more critical to organizations.”
He went on to say that the type of data being shared and accessed needs to be managed in line with regulatory requirements. “In particular, any personal data belonging to EU residents needs to be protected in line with the requirements of the GDPR.”
Jaspreet Singh, founder and CEO, Druva, said: “The rapid move to remote work has permanently changed the way businesses operate, accelerated digital transformation and increased the value of data as a business asset.
“As companies realize that business resilience is data resilience, more and more are turning to Druva to protect and unlock its full value. Tomorrow as we bring together the industry’s most innovative leaders, our goal is for all organizations to realize the promise of the cloud era for their customers and communities.”