Cloud Adoption and DR Testing Growing, Yet 30% of Organizations Still Experience Data Loss

Unitrends, Inc. announced survey findings from its fourth annual Cloud and DR Survey.

The survey sheds light on the current state of data protection and DR, as well as IT attitudes towards cloud usage and adoption.

Incorporating input from over 800 surveyed IT professionals across the world, the report also offers advice for implementing cloud into DR practices.

Survey results show that many organizations are not following baseline best practices for data protection and DR. At the opposite end of the spectrum, leaders in DR are increasingly using the cloud to play a critical role in BC.

Key survey findings include:
Data growth continues to be exponential, however data loss continues at an unacceptably high rate. 27% of respondents say they need to protect more than 100TB of data, more than double the figure compared to 2016. However, 30% of respondents report losing at least some of their data – a figure that has remained consistent since 2016. Data loss clearly continues to be a problem for the enterprise.

Percent of Companies That Experience Data Loss Over Last Year?
2016, 2017, 2018

More organizations conduct regular DR testing and have secondary recovery site.

Do You Have a DR Site? 2016 vs 2018

Compared to 2016, 46% more companies today say they conduct DR testing every month.

How Often Do You Test Your DR Plan? 2016 vs 2018

A full 75% of IT professionals conduct DR testing at least annually (64% in 2016). Additionally, the survey shows a 16% drop in the number of organizations who lack a secondary recovery site to store data copies or host recovery operations, compared to 2016. However, there is a 24% increase in companies that use their own site or a co-location facility as their secondary DR site.

Cloud continues to see acceptance, as its role in backup and data protection grows. The majority of survey respondents trust the cloud enough to use it for data protection and BC. 22% more companies use the cloud for backup and DR compared to 2016 – considerable growth in just two years’ time. Indeed, cloud is replacing legacy media options to get backup data offsite, as more report storing backups in the cloud (36%) than using physical media (disk to tape, removable, tape) combined (31%).

Are You Using Cloud for Backup, Archive, or Recovery? 2016 vs 2018

Cloud acceptance grows with resistance now settling around cost – not technical concerns. Among respondents who do not currently use the cloud, more say they plan to do so much sooner than compared to 2016 (when 55% said they had no plans). Cost is the most frequently cited reason today for non-adoption, compared to functional concerns in previous years.

However mid-sized companies lag in cloud adoption, and cloud usage varies greatly by industry. Cloud adoption rates are not equal across companies of different sizes, as findings show that mid-sized corporate cloud adoption is 12 to 18% lower compared to smaller and larger organizations, respectively. Not surprisingly, technology companies lead cloud adoption with 68% of respondents saying they use the cloud for BC and DR (BCDR) purposes. 
           
“Findings from this year’s Unitrends Cloud and DR Survey unearthed some interesting trends, as we were able to analyze survey data across three consecutive years,” said Joe Noonan, VP of product management and marketing, Unitrends. “Remarkably, 30% of organizations say they still experience data loss – a figure that has surprisingly remained consistent since 2016. It’s clear from this data that there’s still much work to be done to help organizations successfully implement and leverage backup and DR solutions and best practices. As a leader in the BCDR space, it’s our responsibility to educate and empower enterprises with the knowledge and technologies they need to protect and recover their data.”