Introduction
Backup I
Backup II
Disaster Recovery I
Disaster Recovery II
IT Department
Cyber Security
Cloud Computing I
Cloud Computing II
Data Storage
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2015

DATA HEALTH CHECK

Welcome to the sixth annual Databarracks Data Health Check. This year we surveyed 404 IT decision makers from 19 different business sectors to find out how they’ve experienced the IT services they use in the last year, and what they expect to change in the next 12 months.

Survey Results

Introduction
Backup I
Backup II
Disaster Recovery I
Disaster Recovery II
IT Department
Cyber Security
Cloud Computing I
Cloud Computing II
Data Storage
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Backup

As tape continues its decline into obsolescence, cloud backup is now the most popular method.

TAPE

3%

of respondents use tape as the only backup method – down from 4% in 2014

CLOUD

30%

of respondents use cloud backup to a third party provider as principal backup method

Introduction
Backup I
Backup II
Disaster Recovery I
Disaster Recovery II
IT Department
Cyber Security
Cloud Computing I
Cloud Computing II
Data Storage
Find Out More

Human error returns as the overall leading cause of data loss.

Leading causes of data loss across all respondents

24%

Human error

21%

Hardware failure

19%

Data corruption

However, for the second year in a row, large organisations have lost more data to hardware failure than human error.

Leading cause of data loss in large organisations (500+ employees)

29%

2014

Hardware failure

31%

2015

Hardware failure

Introduction
Backup I
Backup II
Disaster Recovery I
Disaster Recovery II
IT Department
Cyber Security
Cloud Computing I
Cloud Computing II
Data Storage
Find Out More

Disaster Recovery

There's still a significant appetite for business continuity planning among respondents...

55%

have a Business Continuity Plan (BCP)

15%

intend to create one next year, including specific IT disaster recovery plans

88%

already outline a specific IT DR plan within their BCP

95%

either already outline IT DR in their BCP or intend to next year

Introduction
Backup I
Backup II
Disaster Recovery I
Disaster Recovery II
IT Department
Cyber Security
Cloud Computing I
Cloud Computing II
Data Storage
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Organisations that test their DR plans feel more confident about them.

How confident are you in your DR plan?

“Very confident”

DR plan testers

58%

DR plan non-testers

28%

“I have concerns”

DR plan testers

DR plan non-testers

16%

Introduction
Backup I
Backup II
Disaster Recovery I
Disaster Recovery II
IT Department
Cyber Security
Cloud Computing I
Cloud Computing II
Data Storage
Find Out More

IT Department

How do the priorities of different IT staff vary?

What are your two biggest worries in a disaster?

Board-level

1. Loss of revenue

2. Loss of productivity

IT Director

1. Loss of revenue

2. Customer dissatisfaction

IT Manager

1. Loss of revenue

2. Reputational damage

IT Technical Specialist

1. Customer dissatisfaction

2. Reputational damage

IT Consultant

1. Reputational damage

2. Customer dissatisfaction

Most respondents thought senior business managers would underestimate tolerable downtime.

"How long can you last without your crucial IT functions?"

Less than

48 hrs

IT staff

“What do you think your senior Business managers would say?”

Less than

4 hrs

Introduction
Backup I
Backup II
Disaster Recovery I
Disaster Recovery II
IT Department
Cyber Security
Cloud Computing I
Cloud Computing II
Data Storage
Find Out More

Cyber Security

Cyber-attacks are still very common among respondents...

25%

have experienced a cyber-attack in the last 12 months

54%

reviewed their security procedures after an attack

47%

reviewed their backup schedules and RPOs after an attack

But victims aren’t always aware they’re being targeted.

25%

of respondents have been attacked by Keyloggers

Keyloggers (the most common attack) can reside unnoticed for extended periods of time - the actual number of affected respondents may be higher.

Introduction
Backup I
Backup II
Disaster Recovery I
Disaster Recovery II
IT Department
Cyber Security
Cloud Computing I
Cloud Computing II
Data Storage
Find Out More

Cloud Computing

Security is still a big deal for customers of cloud computing

What's the most important factor when choosing a cloud service provider?

Security

63%

FUNCTIONALITY OF SERVICE

39%

REPUTATION

32%

Introduction
Backup I
Backup II
Disaster Recovery I
Disaster Recovery II
IT Department
Cyber Security
Cloud Computing I
Cloud Computing II
Data Storage
Find Out More

And the majority of respondents still feel a loss of control when moving data to public cloud services and applications

51%

were concerned about a loss of control over their data when using public cloud services and applications.

However, respondents that actually use cloud services either trust them completely or only have minor concerns

How much confidence do you have in the cloud services you use to keep your data secure and available?

57%

Completely happy

38%

Have concerns but no plans to change services

4%

Have concerns and investigating alternatives

Introduction
Backup I
Backup II
Disaster Recovery I
Disaster Recovery II
IT Department
Cyber Security
Cloud Computing I
Cloud Computing II
Data Storage
Find Out More

Data Storage & Analytics

Respondents were still largely unsure of data analytics tools and practices.

Just 4% of respondents said “Yes” when asked if they use any tools for file analysis

54% of respondents didn’t distinguish between active and inactive files

File Data

Despite this, "file data" was listed as the most important category of data to recovery in a disaster.

Introduction
Backup I
Backup II
Disaster Recovery I
Disaster Recovery II
IT Department
Cyber Security
Cloud Computing
Data Storage
Find Out More

Find out more

Full 2015 Report

Download the the full report by Technical Operations Manager, Oscar Arean.

Previous Reports

Take a look at last years' Data Health Check reports.