IT trends of 2012: enjoy the benefits without taking unnecessary risks

Jan. 10, 2012 - PRLog -- LONDON, 10 Jan., 2012 – Kroll Ontrack, the leading provider of data recovery, electronic discovery, and information management products and services, today announced its predictions for the most important technology trends for the coming year, which include virtualisation, cloud computing, social networking and energy efficiency. However it cautions that businesses that want to benefit from these trends need to also look at adopting iron-clad information management and security strategies to ensure data security and data loss avoidance.

“Virtualisation, cloud computing, social networking and energy efficiency present companies with major opportunities to develop their businesses – even in difficult economic times,” said Phil Bridge, Managing Director, Kroll Ontrack UK. “However, despite all the justified enthusiasm for these developments, it is important to keep one eye firmly fixed on the associated risks. Just as with any other technology, data loss can never be completely prevented with these technologies, and businesses should prepare for the possibility of these incidents.”

In 2012, virtualisation will continue to evolve and spark a variety of other trends, predicts IT analyst firm Gartner. Without a doubt, virtualisation provides more flexibility and hardware independence; however, the risk of data loss remains. Even in the virtual world, information is still ultimately stored on a hard drive or tape. Hardware independence does not therefore eliminate the risk of hardware failure, operating errors or insufficient employee training. Rather, companies should make sure they adjust their information management strategies for newly adopted technologies and their associated risks, as well as being aware that there are specialised tools and expertise that can achieve a successful data recovery from these complex infrastructures.

Companies will also continue to increase their use of cloud computing in 2012. According to a report recently published by Cisco Systems, cloud-related network traffic is increasing by 66 percent each year. In 2010, there were 130 exabytes of data flowing through cloud networks, and if Cisco’s predictions are correct, by 2015, this will increase to 1.6 zettabytes. Although cloud computing offers optimised storage that is not connected to a specific infrastructure, this technology still relies on hardware components and is consequently not immune to data loss. Cloud service clients should therefore work with their provider to understand what safeguards are in place in the event of data loss. A sound and tested disaster recovery plan, which includes data recovery provisions with an identified and experienced data recovery provider is imperative for any cloud service user.

Social networking, including Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn and Facebook, will be increasingly used by companies for Business Intelligence, marketing, recruiting and information sharing. While there is tremendous value in harnessing these sources of information, organisations can’t overlook how to protect it. Greater volumes of communication equate to increases in storage volume, and consequently increases in the probability of data loss and data security vulnerabilities. Organisations therefore need to make decisions regarding if and where this social networking content is physically stored and how this information can be protected.

The growing bring-your-own-device (BYOD) trend also presents businesses with new challenges, as privately owned mobile phones, tablets and laptops may not be sufficiently secured. Without an appropriate back-up strategy for personal devices, valuable information may be lost if the personal device is damaged or stolen. Further, proprietary data could remain on the personal laptop or tablet when the employee leaves the company. Companies need services that can retrieve data from damaged devices when necessary as well as professional solutions to securely delete data without damaging the device itself.

Flash storage drives and solid state disks (SSD) now offer greater storage capacities and are falling in price. As flash and SSD technologies become more widespread, the amount of critical company data stored on them will also grow. Users therefore need efficient ways of recovering data from flash media and SSDs. Standards have not yet been established, so manufacturers have developed their own versions of the technology. As new products hit the market quickly, data recovery engineers will have to stay up-to-speed with the necessary tools and technologies to successfully retrieve data from flash and SSDs. For flash and SSD users, this means that regular backups are even more important.

Finally, 2011 data breach stories and countless spot checks have shown time and again that confidential data has been and continues to be retrieved using relatively simple methods. As new technology is adopted in 2012 and older corporate and end user technology is discarded or donated to charitable institutions, organisations and consumers alike must develop strategies for securely deleting data before passing them on. This applies to all mobile devices, laptops, virtual infrastructure, USB sticks, archive volumes and memory cards that are discarded, donated or resold on the second-hand market.

“Kroll Ontrack data engineers specialise in these issues and regularly help organisations and home users with recovering lost or damaged data, as well as providing them with data deletion tools and services,” said Bridge. “We continually invest in creating current proprietary tools and technologies to address the latest technology developments and use trends.”

About Kroll Ontrack Inc.
Kroll Ontrack provides technology-driven services and software to help legal, corporate and government entities as well as consumers manage, recover, search, analyse, produce and present data efficiently and cost-effectively. In addition to its award-winning suite of software, Kroll Ontrack provides data recovery, data destruction, electronic discovery, document review and ESI consulting services. Kroll Ontrack is a subsidiary of Altegrity, an industry-leading provider of information solutions. For more information about Kroll Ontrack and its offerings please visit: http://www.ontrackdatarecovery.co.uk/?NEWS=text&PR_2012-d...