esg research 2010 data protection trends

Research Report

Abstract: 2010 Data Protection Trends

By Lauren Whitehouse and Bill Lundell

With John McKnight and Jennifer Gahm

April 2010

© 2010 Enterprise Strategy Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Research Report: 2010 Data Protection Trends

© 2010, Enterprise Strategy Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Introduction

Research Objectives

In order to assess the current state of the data protection market, ESG recently surveyed 510 North America-based senior IT professionals representing midmarket (100 to 999 employees) and enterprise-class (1,000 employees or more) organizations. All respondents were personally responsible for evaluating, purchasing, or managing data protection technologies—such as backup and recovery software, data replication software, and disk or tape storage systems used for secondary data storage—for their organization.

The survey was designed to answer the following questions:

What are the primary data protection challenges that organizations are currently facing?

Which areas of data protection will merit the greatest level of investment in 2010?

How confident are organizations that their data protection applications and processes are adequately protecting their data?

Which types of data protection technologies and processes are currently in use? How will this change going forward?

What impact does the business value of data have on data protection applications and processes?

How satisfied are organizations with their current data protection technologies and strategies?

What types of storage solutions are currently used to support data protection requirements and how will this change over time?

How pervasive has data deduplication usage become over the last several years?

Survey participants represent a wide range of industries including manufacturing, financial services, communications and media, health care, retail, government, and business services. For more details, please see the Research Methodology and Respondent Demographics sections of this report.



Research Methodology

To gather data for this report, ESG conducted a comprehensive online survey of IT managers from private- and public-sector organizations in North America (United States and Canada) between January 8, 2010 and January 29, 2010. To qualify for this survey, respondents were required to have day-to-day responsibility for evaluating, purchasing, or managing data protection technologies such as backup and recovery software, data replication software, and/or disk or tape systems used for secondary data storage. All respondents were provided an incentive to complete the survey in the form of cash awards and/or cash equivalents.

After filtering out unqualified respondents, removing duplicate responses, and screening the remaining completed responses (on a number of criteria) for data integrity, ESG was left with a final total sample of 510 IT managers.

Please see the Respondent Demographics section of this report for more information on these respondents.

Note: Totals in figures and tables throughout this report may not add up to 100% due to rounding.



Respondent Demographics

The data presented in this report is based on a survey of 510 qualified respondents. The figures below detail the demographics of the respondent base.

Respondents by Role

The breakdown of current roles within an organization among survey respondents is shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1. Survey Respondents, by Role

Source: Enterprise Strategy Group, 2010.

Respondents by Technology Responsibility

Survey respondents’ primary area of technology responsibility is shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2. Survey Respondents, by Primary Area of Technology Responsibility


IT Management (e.g., CIO, VP of IT, Director of IT, etc.),

46%

IT Staff (e.g., Storage Administrator,

Systems Administrator, etc.),

49%

Other, 5%

Which of the following best describes your current role within your organization? (Percent of respondents, N=510)

General IT, 32%

Data Protection (e.g., backup/recovery,

replication, etc.), 17%IT Operations, 15%

Servers, 14%

Applications/Database, 9%

IT Architecture/Planning,

7%

Storage / SAN, 5% Other, 1%

Which of the following would you consider to be your primary area of technology responsibility? (Percent of respondents, N=510)



Respondents by Number of Employees

The number of employees in respondents’ organizations is shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3. Survey Respondents, by Number of Employees


Respondents by Industry

Respondents were asked to identify their organization’s primary industry. In total, ESG received completed, qualified respondents from individuals in 18 distinct vertical industries, plus an “Other” category. Respondents were then grouped into the broader categories shown in Figure 4.

Figure 4. Survey Respondents, by Industry


100 to 249, 10%

250 to 499, 14%

500 to 999, 16%

1,000 to 2,499, 15%

2,500 to 4,999, 12%

5,000 to 19,999, 20%

20,000 or more, 12%

How many total employees does your organization have worldwide? (Percent of respondents, N=510)

Manufacturing, 23%

Government (Federal, National, State,

Local), 16%

Financial (banking, securities, insurance),

13%

Health Care, 12%

Communications & Media, 8%

Professional Services, 6%

Retail/Wholesale, 5%

Other, 18%

What is your organization’s primary industry? (Percent of respondents, N=510)



Respondents by Annual Revenue

The annual revenue of survey respondents’ organizations is shown in Figure 5.

Figure 5. Survey Respondents, by Annual Revenue


Respondents by Physical Locations Worldwide

The number of worldwide physical locations of survey respondents’ organizations is shown in Figure 6.

Figure 6. Survey Respondents, by Physical Locations Worldwide


8%

11%

7%

12%

7%

12% 12%

6%5% 5%

13%

0%

2%

4%

6%

8%

10%

12%

14%

Less than $25 million

$25 million to $49 million

$50 million to $99 million

$100 million to

$249 million

$250 million to

$499 million

$500 million to

$999 million

$1 billion to $4.999 billion

$5 billion to $9.999 billion

$10 billion to $19.999

billion

$20 billion or more

Not applicable

(e.g., public sector, non-

profit)

What is your organization’s total annual revenue ($US)? (Percent of respondents, N=510)

1, 4%

2 to 5 , 21%

6 to 10, 15%

11 to 25, 17%26 to 49, 10%

50 to 99 , 9%

100 to 249, 9%

250 to 499, 6%

500 or more, 8%Don’t know, 2%

To the best of your knowledge, how many physical locations (offices, plants, branches, etc.) does your organization operate worldwide? (Percent of

respondents, N=510)



Respondents by Data Centers Operated Worldwide

The number of data centers operated worldwide by survey respondents’ organizations is shown in Figure 7.

Figure 7. Survey Respondents, by Data Centers Worldwide


Respondents by Number of Production Servers

The number of production servers in respondents’ immediate organizations is shown in Figure 8.

Figure 8. Survey Respondents, by Number of Production Servers


1, 15%

2, 17%

3 to 5, 30%

6 to 10, 15%

11 to 20, 9%

More than 20, 12%

Rely solely on third-party outsourced

data center facilities, 1%

Don’t know, 1%

How many data centers does your organization operate worldwide? (Percent of respondents, N=510)

Less than 25, 17%

25 to 49, 16%

50 to 100, 16%

101 to 250, 13%

251 to 500, 11%

501 to 1,000, 11%

1,001 to 2,500, 7%

2,501 to 5,000, 2%

More than 5,000, 5%

Don’t know, 2%

Approximately how many production servers (whether physical or virtual) are supported worldwide by your IT organization? (Percent of respondents, N=510)



Respondents by Total Amount of Data

The number of production servers in respondents’ immediate organizations is shown in Figure 9.

Figure 9. Survey Respondents, by Total Amount of Data


On-Site vs. Off-Site Data

Respondents were asked to break down their organization’s total amount of data by the categories presented in Figure 10.

Figure 10. Classification of Total Amount of Data


6%

11%12%

13%

10% 10%9%

8%

6%5%

10%

0%

2%

4%

6%

8%

10%

12%

14%

Less than 1 TB

(terabyte)

1 TB – 5 TB

6 TB – 10 TB

11 TB – 25 TB

26 TB – 50 TB

51 TB –100 TB

101 TB –250 TB

251 TB –500 TB

500 TB – 1 PB

(petabyte)

More than 1 PB

Don’t know

What is your immediate organization’s approximate total volume of data stored on corporate servers and storage systems? (Percent of respondents, N=510)

On-site primary data, 53%

On-site secondary data, 26%

Off-site secondary data, 21%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

To the best of your knowledge, what percentage of your immediate organization’s total volume of data is associated with each of the following

categories? (Mean, N=510)



Percent of Data by Tier

ESG asked respondents to categorize their organization’s total volume primary data into three tiers based on the following definitions:

Tier-1: Mission-critical data and applications with the highest requirements for both availability and performance.

Tier-2: Data and applications requiring good performance and reliability, but not at the level of mission-critical data. This can include a mix of less-critical application data and older mission-critical data.

Tier-3: Typically archived data; performance is less essential, but the data must be retrievable.

The results are presented in Figure 11.

Figure 11. Classification of Primary Data, by Business Value


Percent of total data that is Tier-1,

48%


28%


24%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Of your immediate organization’s total amount of primary data, please indicate the approximate breakout of that data as outlined below. (Mean,

N=510)



Respondents by Annual Data Protection Budget

Respondents were asked to provide their organization’s annual data protection budget in Figure 12.

Figure 12. Annual Data Protection Budget


Respondents by Data Protection Spending Allocation

Respondents were asked to approximate their organization’s data protection spending allocation in Figure 13.

Figure 13. Data Protection Spending Allocation


18% 18%16%

13%15%

5% 5%

2% 2%

6%

0%

2%

4%

6%

8%

10%

12%

14%

16%

18%

20%

Less than $100,000

$100,000 to

$249,999

$250,000 to

$499,999

$500,000 to

$999,999

$1 million to $4.999

million


million


million


million

$50 million or more

Don’t know / not

familiar with

spending levels

In a typical year, approximately how much does your organization spend on data protection technologies and processes, in terms of both capital and operational

expenditures? (Percent of respondents, N=510)

Staff, 28%

Hardware, 23%

Software, 19%

Removable media and media management

services, 11%

Professional services/consulting, 9%

Outsourcing services, 8%

Other, 3%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Approximately what percentage of your organization’s typical annual data protection spending is allocated to each of the following categories? (Mean, N=480)



Contents

List of Figures ................................................................................................................................................ 3

List of Tables ................................................................................................................................................. 4

Executive Summary ...................................................................................................................................... 5 Report Conclusions ................................................................................................................................................... 5

Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 7 Research Objectives ................................................................................................................................................. 7

Research Findings ......................................................................................................................................... 8 Large and Growing Data Storage Environments Impact Data Protection Strategies ............................................... 8 Organizations Still Face Many Diverse Data Protection Challenges ....................................................................... 10 On-Site Disk and Tape Still Dominate Backup Processes at Most Organizations ................................................... 13 Advanced Data Protection Technologies Have Gained a Foothold ........................................................................ 24 Current Primary Backup Application Trends .......................................................................................................... 27 Business Value Used to Guide Data Protection Strategies ..................................................................................... 32 Capacity Reduction Technology Adoption is Extensive .......................................................................................... 38

Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................... 44

Research Methodology ............................................................................................................................... 45

Respondent Demographics......................................................................................................................... 46 Respondents by Role .............................................................................................................................................. 46 Respondents by Technology Responsibility ........................................................................................................... 46 Respondents by Number of Employees ................................................................................................................. 47 Respondents by Industry ........................................................................................................................................ 47 Respondents by Annual Revenue ........................................................................................................................... 48 Respondents by Physical Locations Worldwide ..................................................................................................... 48 Respondents by Data Centers Operated Worldwide ............................................................................................. 49 Respondents by Number of Production Servers .................................................................................................... 49 Respondents by Total Amount of Data .................................................................................................................. 50 On-Site vs. Off-Site Data ......................................................................................................................................... 50 Percent of Data by Tier ........................................................................................................................................... 51 Respondents by Annual Data Protection Budget ................................................................................................... 52 Respondents by Data Protection Spending Allocation ........................................................................................... 52



List of Figures Figure 1. Total Volume of Data Stored on Corporate Servers and Storage Systems .................................................. 8 Figure 2. Annual Data Growth Rates ........................................................................................................................... 9 Figure 3. Annual Data Growth Rates, by Number of Production Servers ................................................................... 9 Figure 4. Current Data Protection Process and Technology Challenges ................................................................... 10 Figure 5. Top Areas of Data Protection Investment for 2010 ................................................................................... 11 Figure 6. High Priority Applications from a Data Protection Perspective ................................................................. 12 Figure 7. Current Primary Data Backup Processes Used ........................................................................................... 13 Figure 8. On-Site Data Backup Processes .................................................................................................................. 14 Figure 9. On-Site Data Backup Processes, by Number of Production Servers .......................................................... 15 Figure 10. On-Site Data Backup Processes, 2008 vs. 2010........................................................................................ 15 Figure 11. Length of Time Backup Data is Kept on Disk Before Being Migrated to Tape for Long-Term Retention 16 Figure 12. Length of Time Backup Data is Kept on Disk Before Being Migrated to Tape, by Company Size ............ 16 Figure 13. Breakdown of On-Site Secondary Data Stored on Disk-Based Storage Systems Compared to Tape ...... 17 Figure 14. Type(s) of On-Site Disk-Based Storage Systems Being Used as Backup Targets ...................................... 18 Figure 15. Type(s) of On-Site Disk-Based Storage Systems Being Used as Backup Targets, by Company Size......... 18 Figure 16. Plans to Deploy Backup-to-Disk Technologies among Organizations Currently Using Tape ................... 19 Figure 17. Type(s) of On-Site Disk-Based Storage Systems Being Considered as Backup Targets ............................ 19 Figure 18. Why Organizations Have No Plans to Deploy Any Backup-to-Disk Technologies .................................... 20 Figure 19. Reasons Organizations Do Not Use On-Site Storage Resources for Backup Data ................................... 21 Figure 20. Primary Method for Whole-Server and/or Entire Site Recoveries .......................................................... 22 Figure 21. Data Sources Protected by Remote Backup Solution .............................................................................. 23 Figure 22. Usage of Data Protection Technologies ................................................................................................... 24 Figure 23. Plans to Replace File-Level Backup .......................................................................................................... 26 Figure 24. Length of Time Primary Backup Application Has Been Deployed ............................................................ 27 Figure 25. Length of Time Primary Backup Application Has Been Deployed, by Company Size .............................. 27 Figure 26. Commitment to Current Backup Process ................................................................................................. 28 Figure 27. Reasons Organizations Wouldn’t Replace Current Backup Solution/Vendor .......................................... 29 Figure 28. Reasons Organizations Would Replace Current Backup Solution/Vendor .............................................. 30 Figure 29. Reasons Organizations Would Replace Current Backup Solution/Vendor with a Third Party Online

Backup Service ............................................................................................................................................. 31 Figure 30. Downtime Tolerance According to Business Value of Data ..................................................................... 32 Figure 31. Types of Data Protection Solutions Used for Each Tier of Data Based on Business Value of Data ......... 33 Figure 32. Frequency of Backup Copies for Each Tier of Data Based on Business Value of Data ............................. 34 Figure 33. Confidence Level in Data Protection for Each Tier of Data Based on Business Value ............................. 35 Figure 34. Organizations Confident that Data is Protected Are More Likely to Use Same Backup Solution/Vendor

...................................................................................................................................................................... 36 Figure 35. Confidence Level in Data Protection for Tier-1 Data Based on Data Protection Technology Type ......... 36 Figure 36. Typical Age of Recovered Data ................................................................................................................. 37 Figure 37. Usage of Data Deduplication Solutions, 2008 vs. 2010............................................................................ 38 Figure 38. Usage of Data Deduplication Solutions, by Company Size....................................................................... 39 Figure 39. Usage of Data Deduplication Solutions, by Total Amount of Data .......................................................... 39 Figure 40. Factors Influencing Data Deduplication Technology Evaluation and Selection ....................................... 40 Figure 41. Data Deduplication Implementation Methods, Current Users vs. Planned Adopters ............................. 41 Figure 42. Data Deduplication Implementation Methods, by Total Amount of Data .............................................. 41 Figure 43. Where Data Deduplication is Implemented ............................................................................................. 42 Figure 44. Degree of Capacity Reduction Attributable to Data Deduplication Technology ..................................... 43 Figure 45. Survey Respondents, by Role ................................................................................................................... 46 Figure 46. Survey Respondents, by Primary Area of Technology Responsibility ...................................................... 46 Figure 47. Survey Respondents, by Number of Employees ...................................................................................... 47 Figure 48. Survey Respondents, by Industry ............................................................................................................. 47



Figure 49. Survey Respondents, by Annual Revenue ................................................................................................ 48 Figure 50. Survey Respondents, by Physical Locations Worldwide .......................................................................... 48 Figure 51. Survey Respondents, by Data Centers Worldwide .................................................................................. 49 Figure 52. Survey Respondents, by Number of Production Servers ......................................................................... 49 Figure 53. Survey Respondents, by Total Amount of Data ....................................................................................... 50 Figure 54. Classification of Total Amount of Data .................................................................................................... 50 Figure 55. Classification of Primary Data, by Business Value .................................................................................... 51 Figure 56. Annual Data Protection Budget ............................................................................................................... 52 Figure 57. Data Protection Spending Allocation ....................................................................................................... 52

List of Tables Table 1. Current and Planned Usage of CDP Technology.......................................................................................... 25 Table 2. Current and Planned Usage of Replication Technology .............................................................................. 26 Table 3. Good Relationship with Backup Vendor is More Likely the Longer that Vendor’s Solution Has Been

Deployed ...................................................................................................................................................... 29

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esg research 2010 data protection trends

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