Within the business that is making its way in 2023 for the protection of data and storage, the channels will have important opportunities, mainly in the assurance and recovery of information, so it will be essential to invest time and human capital in training, certification, and specialization in these items, which will make them the enclave of digital businesses and, in turn, the most useful tickets will await there.
The storage and protection of data, with the passing of time and the dizzying advancement of technology, has become one of the most precious assets of companies, not only because of the responsibility of safeguarding the information but also because of its intrinsic value.
Which if used correctly, would allow companies to learn more about their customers and deliver more personalized experiences, elements that build end-user loyalty and generate better profits for organizations and specialized channels.
The demand and importance that this item has gained are such that, within the IT areas, data protection and storage are some of the areas that receive the most budget, due to their implication in business continuity, the reputation of the companies, and even its legal consequences in case of loss, extraction, theft or hijacking of information.
Federal Law On The Protection Of Personal Data
Before continuing to present the most relevant information on the market about data storage and protection, channels must keep in mind, as a sales pitch or simple warning, to remind their end customers of the importance of keeping information secure.
According to a report from the National Institute of Transparency, Access to Information and Protection of Personal Data (Inai), he assured that he obtained a collection of 60 million pesos for fines for violations of the Federal Law on Protection of Personal Data in Possession of Individuals (LFPDPPP) during 2022.
The efficiency of data protection can only exist in an environment previously defined by a cybersecurity strategy, in the opposite case, one of the most recurring incidents are those related to identity theft; hence the importance of the distribution channel in its role as facilitator and enabler of solutions that allow organizations to safeguard and secure their information, avoiding possible legal consequences.
Data Security
During the difficult years of the pandemic, cloud adoption accelerated in various organizations, with the help of services of all kinds, including security as a service, in addition, to support through the backup, however, it is estimated that Mexico is on the list of the six most vulnerable countries worldwide.
“Mexico is one of the 6 most vulnerable countries in the world (Global Cybersecurity Index). The Government increased spending by only 5% for improvements, which is nothing, compared to the cybersecurity industry that is growing; our strategy is, before implementing tools and solutions, to raise awareness about the risk of information hijacking.
Without losing track of the subject, Kingston stressed the importance of channels being trained and having in-depth knowledge of existing equipment and solutions on the market, since in this way they can ensure storage and, more importantly, data protection.
As stated by Oscar Martínez, Regional Director Mexico, Miami, Central America, and the Caribbean at Kingston Technology: “We are working through training with our channel and end users, looking for them to accept and understand these security risks, unfortunately, many realize of these risks until a bad experience happens to them.
Our challenge is to help them anticipate this problem with products, especially for companies that handle confidential information,
As Commvault rightly mentions, if the data was stolen, there is still the possibility of recovering it thanks to the backup services, so an essential element that the channel must include when offering a complete storage and data protection solution is the backups.
However, the company developed ThreatWise, a cyber-deception technology that works by sowing lures that capture the attention of cybercriminals, allowing early detection of the threat.
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The Market
Pausing for a moment the issue of data protection, not because it is less important, but to talk about the storage market and how its behavior is predicted for 2023, the specialists consulted for this report commented that there is some uncertainty due to various macroeconomic factors such as a possible recession, armed conflicts, and other elements, to this is added the growing demand for data center storage during 2020 and 2021, which stabilized after the gradual return to daily activities.
While sales won’t plummet, they won’t grow exponentially for the storage market either, but channels have the option to offer data protection and backup, which would allow them to continue to earn recurring profits due to pay-as-you-go In this regard, Adriana Bueno, Channel Director at Veeam Mexico, assured: “We are aligned with technological trends such as cybersecurity and hybrid cloud our version 12 has additional features that make our solution more robust and that allows clients to have cybersecurity and cloud, we also estimate that during 2023 data protection budgets will grow between 7.3% and 7.5% in Latam and we are also very focused on the implementation of Kubernetes, as well as the security around them”.
One of the dilemmas that companies face when implementing a data storage and protection solution is knowing what is most suitable for them, whether to have them physically on-site, that is, in a small data center, or, virtualizing them and hosting them in the cloud, both cases are viable and will depend on the needs that end customers have.
A clear example is banks, which by regulation cannot outsource information and must keep it on-site. Thus, the opportunities for the channel open up in both directions and, of course, in both supports, it is possible to implement data protection and backup services. During 2023 the market will continue to demand more and more storage, and the trend continues toward mobility, speed, and security,
“MR Solutions is characterized by analyzing what a client needs, and not what he would like. Under this scheme we prioritize the cost-benefit of acquiring an On-Premise infrastructure or a SaaS (Software as a Service) solution with which the client has security and peace of mind that their information is completely secure; so we see what type of storage you require and if your information is structured or unstructured; hardware and software will always be complementary, the only difference is that in HW to improve performance and speed, it will depend on tape drives, disk drives, cabling, etc., and in the case of software, it will depend on a good adequate backup policy and according to the needs of the client”: Paul Hernández.
Due to the budget limitations that companies often have, as well as the absence of specialized personnel or personnel assigned to technological management and, of course, the increase in the complexity of the data to be stored and protected, for organizations, these basic issues have become unaffordable, so the channel’s role is decisive in advising and directing them in this transition.
However, some businesses are advancing faster than others in this process, to which the Business Development Manager at QNAP, David Lira, explained: “Our allies are the most important thing and we support them in increasing their business in the verticals with the highest opportunities such as information engineering, video surveillance, content creation, professional video editing, retail, health or healthcare, education, and industrial manufacturing. Although it is important to mention that where we have the greatest request is in the segments of information engineering, video surveillance, and SMEs”.
The Role Of
The channel Distribution channels are faced with a great opportunity to integrate complete solutions for data storage and protection, as the demand will continue to grow mainly due to the increase in information, its management, and how it moves within the applications. , which will allow the channel to enrich its current offer and generate significant profits.
On the other hand, but no less important, the channels will be acting as ambassadors in the process of promoting companies to a digital business model, and it is that although digital transformation is still possible in organizations, channels must also bet on the next wave that will open important businesses and that is aligned with companies or digital businesses that will require advice on their processes of protection, storage, backup, recovery and full use of their data.
An element that adds to the issue of profits and that will certainly affect the demand and therefore the profit margins that the channel could obtain is the legal, regulatory, and mandatory framework on security reforms that are increasingly advancing in various countries worldwide, which will lead organizations to invest more in data storage, protection, and backup infrastructure, in this regard, the Business Development Manager at QNAP shared: “In 2023, the reforms in the Latin American countries in terms of information security. This will push to implement local clouds and establish infrastructure in companies, guaranteeing the security of data locally”.
Conclusions
According to the monitoring and analysis shared with eSemanal by some relevant players in the data storage and protection market, 2023 will have important opportunities, but challenges will have to be overcome that necessarily includes the preparation and specialization of the distribution channel since that one of the main businesses is making its way in the demand for data protection solutions, which includes cybersecurity, hence the importance of channels approaching wholesalers, manufacturers and developers to take advantage of the training they offer.
“The main challenge that we observe is how cybersecurity has taken a leading role in promoting the proper use of security means for data storage, contemplating cutting-edge strategies and technologies, given that the attacks reached the following figures: In 2022, the global average cost of a data breach reached approximately 4.35 million, not to mention the extensive IT resources required. For example, in Mexico we received 156 billion cyberattacks during 2022 (Fortinet)”, Paul Hernández.
For its part, Kingston Technology explained that one of the challenges for 2023 is focused on low-cost and quality products, which could be a gateway to lose information or worse, the theft and kidnapping of data. “The entry into Mexico of low-cost storage products and at the same time low quality represents a great challenge for everyone since the user puts his most valuable information at risk;
These products, both RAM, Flash, and SSD are critical for the security, operability, and processing of information in the equipment, and many times the end user does not foresee the consequences and additional costs of putting products that do not guarantee the necessary quality”: Oscar Martinez.
Of course, something that channels could also benefit from by taking training and certifications from specialist brands would be to take the next step after data protection, that is, in the event of an attack perpetrated, what alternatives (back-up, cloud) offers end customers to retrieve the information.
“An important issue is that in 95% of ransomware attacks, hackers tried to infect backup repositories and 71% of the attempts were successful; Companies have recognized that they were only able to recover an average of 69% of the data, so awareness must be raised since the vast majority of times attacks come from some human carelessness, which is why at Veeam we always look for ways to help them. If at any time they receive an attack and thus, they are as protected as possible and do not show themselves vulnerable”: Adriana Bueno.
