When COVID-19 forced the world into lockdown, the business world quickly pivoted to modernize operations and transition workloads to the cloud. Now that we are two years in, many companies are enjoying the benefits of the cloud-based future that allows for greater convenience and helps them be nimbler in a hybrid workspace. With the cloud, businesses can also predict technology costs more accurately, reduce burdens on IT teams and achieve faster time-to-value. One of the specific ways in which SaaS applications have promoted business and IT agility is by making it easier for organizations to leverage data in decision-making and operations. With this ease has come a dramatic increase in the velocity, volume and variety of data in SaaS applications. This new digital reality fundamentally changes how organizations should think about SaaS data protection.
Just because a business’s data is in the cloud does not mean it’s automatically protected. While SaaS providers secure and protect all of the hardware and much of the software foundation of their applications, there are still two data protection responsibilities that fall squarely on customers: Properly implementing the security controls delivered with the SaaS application and recovering from accidental or malicious data loss and corruption. SaaS security posture management along with automated backup and recovery tools can help organizations strengthen their data protection strategies by addressing these shared responsibilities.
SaaS Security Posture Management
There’s no question the world runs on SaaS. But for all of the value it adds, there are some overlooked and somewhat alarming ramifications to security. As SaaS solutions are adopted by more and more parts of a business, it becomes increasingly difficult for organizations to manage, secure and protect their data while simultaneously driving digital transformation projects—primarily because the security controls provided by SaaS providers become more difficult to manage as data and users scale.
SaaS security posture management (SSPM) programs allow businesses to optimize SaaS environments, minimize risks and boost trust, resilience and digital innovation. By implementing proactive SSPM programs, companies can limit the primary security issues that lead to data loss and corruption such as lax permissioning, social hacking, insider threats and other vulnerabilities.
Automated Data Backup and Recovery
The number of reported data breach incidents broke records last year, rising 68% to the highest total ever recorded. Many business leaders shuddered at high-profile incidents that caused widespread business disruptions and cost companies precious time, not to mention untold damage to reputation and revenue. These external threats, coupled with the risks that have always existed—problems like data loss caused by errant system integrations—require companies to have a solid backup and recovery plan to ensure business continuity in the event of data loss or corruption.
When evaluating solutions, companies should consider the risks they face, whether their backups are isolated from their production systems, and how long they can afford to be without their data. There are a number of features that should be considered when choosing a solution provider, like the ability to back up all important information (including files and attachments), proactive monitoring for loss or corruption and the tools available to ensure data recovery is fast and precise. After finding the right partner to guide you through that process, companies should run regular tests to ensure the effectiveness of backup protocols.
Final Thoughts
A cloud-based future is here to stay. As business becomes increasingly reliant on SaaS and the cloud becomes essential to day-to-day operations, companies must consider implementing a robust and well-rounded SaaS data protection strategy. By enacting a plan focused on both the key elements of automated backup and recovery, as well as SaaS security posture management, companies will be well-positioned to fortify data security and recover from data loss and corruption.
