Assessing the Opportunities Presented by the Modern Enterprise Archive

Transcription

1 Assessing the Opportunities Presented by the Modern Enterprise Archive Published: November 2015 Analysts: James Haight, Research Analyst; David Houlihan, Principal Analyst Report Number: A0193 Share This Report What You Need to Know When enterprise archive solutions first came to market, their functionality was limited to addressing a core business need: providing a location to maintain data in case it was needed for future use. As a result, the archive has primarily represented a site of preservation, with minimal attention given to intelligent exploitation of the data it holds. However, evolutions in enterprise archive solutions present new opportunities by embedding data governance and management functionality within the archive. These capabilities stand to expand the layers of value offered by the archive across enterprise use cases in ways that were previously unavailable. Understanding the opportunities presented requires knowledge of not only the functionality itself, but in the enterprise relationships that result in enhanced value propositions. To help organizations make their evaluations, this Analyst Insight draws from Blue Hill analysis and research interviews with three organizations deploying Druva insync Converged Data Protection capabilities to provide deeper context regarding opportunities and key evaluation factors presented by the modern archive. AT A GLANCE Business Opportunity The evolution of enterprise archive solutions presents new opportunities. What was once a dumb black box increasingly possesses enhancements in data management, embedded compliance, data governance, and mobile responsiveness. These new capabilities provide the potential to drive greater value in enterprise archive investments. Expanded Archive Functionality Mobile user accessibility Full-text and metadata indexing and search Data compliance awareness Data policy management Key Business Benefits Observed Continuity of data access Reduction of data storage needs Automated compliance Litigation readiness Solution Consolidation Copyright 2015 Blue Hill Research 1

2 Opportunities Presented: The Modern Archive In the traditional view, the enterprise archive was an undifferentiated store of data. Its primary value proposition derived from the ability to ensure data recovery and business continuity in the event of data loss. Recent years have seen archive vendors incorporate a broader scope of functionality in ways that serve to expand the usefulness of the archive through the use of cloud computing as well as in response to modern data governance and compliance demands. Blue Hill identifies four key elements of functionality that have emerged recently: Converged Data Protection Provides: Cloud and Remote User Continuity: Cloud computing permits collection the archive to extend beyond the eroding four walls of the enterprise data environment. The modern archive must incorporate data from cloud applications and the variety of multi-device and multi-location end-points collected across users. This permits remote users to ensure not only that end-point devices are backed up, but that they manage continuity of work as they move between devices, such as tablets, laptops, or workstations in the course of daily operations. Cloud and workforce endpoint backup and recovery Secure file access and share Proactive data compliance management Data search, audit, and compliance Legal hold and ediscovery Full-Text and Metadata Indexing and Search: Providing a contextual layer on top of archived data allows for corporate data files to be searched, classified, and curated rather than solely serving the purpose of an indiscriminate endpoint archive. Full-text indexing enables investigative searching across endpoints and storage locations, ultimately allowing organizations to make more active use of data within the archive, permitting particularized retrieval in support of enterprise needs. Automated Data Compliance Awareness: Embedded data analysis capabilities within the archive provide for the detection of sensitive or high-risk data, such as personally identifiable information (PII) or protected health information (PHI) that are subject to privacy standards or regulations. This awareness provides the organization with an understanding of the composition of archived enterprise data and apply policies and controls as required. Data Policy Management: Embedded policy management and governance capabilities permit the automation of the application of policy to data within the archive. These capabilities can be used to maintain ethical walls, prevent unauthorized viewing of sensitive data, maintain audit and forensic visibility, ensure compliance with data location requirements, and provide for legal holds imposed in litigation or investigations. As a group, these capabilities add a level of intelligence to the data archive that serves to facilitate enterprise operations and data governance requirements in ways that make new business contributions. Blue Hill identifies five core areas of value presented (Table 1). Copyright 2015 Blue Hill Research 2

3 Table 1: Value Propositions of Next-Generation Data Archive Benefit Enabling Functionality Business Impact Continuity of Data Access Data centralization and collection from mobile endpoints and cloud applications Improves backup, recovery, and centralization of mobile and remote data sources Improves continuity of data and work across multiple devices and workstations Reduction of Data Storage Needs Awareness of data within file types and duplication identification to reduce data redundancy Reduces costs of archive storage requirements and decreases network capacity constraints Automated Compliance Centralization of data in encrypted archive and particularized awareness of data governance requirements Reduces data risk exposure and manual compliance management effort Litigation Readiness Centralization of legal hold and data preservation and collection activities as background functions in the archive Reduces spoliation and data preservation risks Reduces cost and manual effort required in data collection and management of legal hold Solution Consolidation Incorporation of specialized data governance, management, and collection applications into the data archive Reduces cost of ownership related to enterprise software stack and streamlines management of processes to one workflow and application Source: Blue Hill Research, November 2015 End-User Analysis: Factors in the Selection of the Modern Data Archive Moving to a fully-modernized and -enabled data archive requires thoughtful execution and an understanding of your own organization s maturity and roadmap. In order to understand this journey in the context of the adoption of a particular enterprise archive solution, Blue Hill Research engaged in a research initiative exploring the solution investment decision-making process that lead organizations to the adoption of Druva insync and Converged Data Protection capabilities. Copyright 2015 Blue Hill Research 3

4 To complete this research, Blue Hill held three in-depth qualitative interviews with end users who have moved from traditional archive solutions to the deployment of Druva insync for its provision of cloud-based enterprise archive and embedded data governance and compliance capabilities. Druva refers to this suite of functionality as a means to focus on a converged data protection strategy. Research interviews highlighted reasons for the change in archive solutions and the identified business cases underlying the investment. In doing so, Blue Hill sought to deconstruct the decision-making process and to identify key points that organizations should consider in their own evaluation process. For the studied organizations, the transition to Druva came about because of immediate concerns about inefficiencies, and an inability to meet near-term compliance needs with current solutions. Blue Hill s consolidated analysis of the studied organizations reveal four key pain points: Cumbersome and inefficient existing archiving processes requiring a network connection The lack of a secure, centralized, and efficient archive environment for the mobile workforce as well as partners and contractors About the Research Participants Industries Represented Electronics Manufacturer Pharmaceuticals Food and Beverage Logistics and Distribution Company Revenue Annual corporate revenues reported fell between $500 million and $26 billion (USD). Employee Headcount Current employee headcount of the organizations reported ranged from 5,000 to 200,000 employees. Global Presence All three organizations constituted multinational corporations with operations extending between over 20 and 70 countries. Lack of visibility into data characteristics to support compliance and governance activities Inefficiencies and lack of control resulting from reliance on ad hoc, multi-custodian management in the execution of legal hold and data collection in litigation and other investigations The studied organizations included a multinational electronics and logistics company, an animal healthcare provider, and a food logistics and distribution firm. However, every organization s pain points exhibited important commonalities stemming from a lack of visibility and management into archived enterprise data. Most notably, the organizations found that the existing (2) limitations of their archive solutions abilities to respond to ongoing organizational needs resulted in high levels of manual effort on the part of IT staff as well as its workforce using inefficient solutions, such as endpoint connection through VPN connections, to complete archive and data governance functions. Copyright 2015 Blue Hill Research 4

5 Further, participants identified increased risk resulting from manual and ad hoc legal hold and ediscovery processes. When legal hold needs were identified in litigation, the organizations would notify individual custodians of their obligation to not delete data, and send data forensics specialists to retrieve or copy physical hard drives of the employees. Along with the management of distributed workforce archive needs, the identification of the opportunity to reduce this wasted effort and data loss risk constituted top drivers for the selection of Druva insync. Case in Point: Mulitnational Electronics and Logistics Company As a multinational firm, the electronics and logistics company faced a challenge with both the scale and the sensitive nature of the data they possess. The IT team is charged with a dual mandate in regards to their data archive. First, they must ensure complete recovery of any lost information; second, they must maintain an environment where they can satisfy compliance and legal requirements. Satisfying both of these requirements without imposing rigid restrictions on employee access, device, and application usage creates a complex challenge. The team initially liked Druva because of the encryption capabilities it provides. It allowed the firm to guarantee the safe exchange of information regardless of employee location, and without solely relying on dedicated encryption software that they found to be volatile and difficult to manage. The first roll out of Druva was targeted for employees at the VP level and above. Given the distributed nature of these employees, the number of different devices they use, and their ability to access enterprise data from a number of portals, Druva was seen as an instrumental service for business continuity and creating a unified view of data access and usage. Consequently, the firm is now deploying Druva to a broader employee base beyond the initial scope of VP-level employees. The firm has a centrally-managed Druva server, but allows individual IT managers at specific geographic locations to provision their employees as necessary. This is part of the firm s broader overall goal of creating a unified view of their enterprise data to further streamline data backup and recovery, as well as to more intelligently leverage data via a strategic enterprise archive. Copyright 2015 Blue Hill Research 5

6 End-User Analysis: Business Factors and Impact Realized Among research participants, Blue Hill found common themes in business case development that expanded on traditional data backup, data retention, and business continuity. Table 2 summarizes the five common themes identified in Blue Hill research interviews. The business value identified derived from these factors appeared in various areas of workforce efficiency, IT operations efficiency, and reduced legal data risk. Table 2: Primary Business Cases Identified for Investment Benefit Contributing Factors Sources of Business Value Mobile Connection Efficiency Data centralization and collection from mobile endpoints and cloud applications Reduction of time required for end user to complete data archiving tasks Continuous Archive Access Data centralization and collection from mobile endpoints, cloud applications, and client site data Reduction of device replacement cycle times Reduction of lost time in recreating / searching for data Improved access / control over corporate data held by customers and third parties Security Risk Encryption of data in archive Reduction of risk of data exposure through archive Reduction in time required to execute hold and collect data Legal Hold Administration Efficiency Centralization of legal hold and data preservation and collection activities as background functions in the archive Reduction in costs associated with travel and specialists to execute physical data recovery Reduction in risk associated with reliance on individual custodian execution of data preservation requirements Copyright 2015 Blue Hill Research 6

7 Benefit Contributing Factors Sources of Business Value Reduction in IT Oversight / Costs Reduction in manual operations and consolidation of data storage Reduction in time IT devoted to management of archive and endpoint recovery Reduction in time devoted to legal data recovery and custodian management Reduction in archive data redundancy and storage costs Source: Blue Hill Research, November 2015 In addition to these driving business cases, participants identified future opportunities in the incorporation of governance and compliance management. With respect to these benefits, participants identified the need for a multi-step process, requiring progressive steps towards data centralization and increased sophistication in their data policy management processes. In this respect, Blue Hill observed that the initial investment in the Druva insync platform represented an initial stage in the development of underlying technology maturation needed to enact these strategies. Analysis of the factors identified reveals a key theme in internal staff efficiency among IT operations staff and mobile enterprise workforce, as well as savings in the administration of legal hold. To this end, participants identified significant time savings that reached across enterprise functions. The ultimate business impact of these time savings vary based on the relevant department impacted. To this end, participants identified primary benefits among highly-mobile staff, such as service or outside sales, who reported increased efficiency from the ability to move seamlessly between devices or from reduced downtime resulting from a lost or damaged device. At the same time, the impact on legal hold and collection efficiency can result in material benefits in litigation preparation cost and court sanctions related to data spoliation. In cases involving the management of corporate data at customer sites, participants reported enhanced benefits due to improved service delivery with customers as well as improved control over data. Initial Benefits Identified Stakeholder Adoption 94% to 98% end-point adoption Average Account Restoration Cycle for Replacement Devices 4 hours plus shipping time ediscovery Collections 100% reduction in travel and employee time associated with physical hard drive / device retrieval and forensics Copyright 2015 Blue Hill Research 7

8 All of these factors also involve reduction in the time demands placed on IT related to: archive management, device provisioning, response to legal hold and collection needs, and compliance management. Participants noted that these time savings provided available cycles to permit IT to engage in higher-value and more strategic enterprise support operations. Key Observations and Takeaways Through continual solution improvement and the opportunities provided by cloud computing, the enterprise archive investments now have an opportunity to supply significantly broader contributions to value than the retention and business continuity benefits typically associated with the archive. According to Blue Hill s analysis, some elements of these contributions result from little more than the increased ease and flexibility of archive processes and retrieval available through cloud solutions. Other factors result from added layers of context available through metadata indexing and embedded governance capabilities. In any case, the impact provided is notable for the expansion in stakeholders that realize benefits from the adoption of these capabilities. Among cases reviewed, Blue Hill found direct impacts on internal sales, service, and legal support, and IT operations personnel as well as among third-party contractor and client stakeholders reliant on corporate data resources. This sort of cross-enterprise distribution of business value is not typically observed in enterprise archive and backup investments. As such, investment evaluations and business case development require an expanded set of considerations and stakeholders than organizations may be familiar with in archive investments. Based on its analysis, Blue Hill recommends the use of the broader set of value propositions and stakeholders drawn in Table 2 in archive evaluations in response to changing solution capabilities. Recognition of these value propositions and involvement of these stakeholders will contribute to expanded ROI related to the archive, both through reduced ownership and management burdens as well as expanded layers of value. Copyright 2015 Blue Hill Research 8

9 ABOUT THE AUTHOR James Haight Analyst James Haight is a research analyst at Blue Hill Research focusing on analytics and emerging enterprise technologies. His primary research includes exploring the business case development and solution assessment for data warehousing, data integration, advanced analytics and business intelligence applications. He also hosts Blue Hill's Emerging Tech Roundup Podcast, which features interviews with industry leaders and CEOs on the forefront of a variety of emerging technologies. Prior to Blue Hill Research, James worked in Radford Consulting's Executive and Board of Director Compensation practice, specializing in the high tech and life sciences industries. Currently he serves on the strategic advisory board of the Bentley Microfinance Group, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to community development through funding and consulting entrepreneurs in the Greater Boston area. CONNECT ON SOCIAL bluehillresearch.com/author/james-haight/ For further information or questions, please contact us: Phone: +1 (617) Fax : +1 (617) LinkedIn: Contact Research: research@bluehillresearch.com Blue Hill Research is the only industry analyst firm with a success-based methodology. Based on the Path to Success, Blue Hill Research provides unique and differentiated guidance to translate corporate technology investments into success for the three key stakeholders: the technologist, the financial buyer, and the line of business executive. Unless otherwise noted, the contents of this publication are copyrighted by Blue Hill Research and may not be hosted, archived, transmitted or reproduced, in any form or by any means without prior permission from Blue Hill Research. Copyright 2015 Blue Hill Research

10 ABOUT THE AUTHOR David Houlihan Principal Analyst David Houlihan researches enterprise risk management, compliance and policy management, and legal technology. He is an experienced advisor in legal and technology fields with a unique understanding of complex information environments and business legal needs. CONNECT ON SOCIAL bluehillresearch.com/author/david-houlihan/ For further information or questions, please contact us: Phone: +1 (617) Fax : +1 (617) LinkedIn: Contact Research: research@bluehillresearch.com Blue Hill Research is the only industry analyst firm with a success-based methodology. Based on the Path to Success, Blue Hill Research provides unique and differentiated guidance to translate corporate technology investments into success for the three key stakeholders: the technologist, the financial buyer, and the line of business executive. Unless otherwise noted, the contents of this publication are copyrighted by Blue Hill Research and may not be hosted, archived, transmitted or reproduced, in any form or by any means without prior permission from Blue Hill Research. Copyright 2015 Blue Hill Research