Valued at USD 4.57 billion in 2023*, the data backup management market is a competitive place that is predicted to grow significantly in the next few years. Whether you’re using Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, when you start to look for a data backup management solution you will find a host of potential options. In fact, the number of tools available is only going to grow as new providers emerge to carve out their place in the market while established players aim to secure their position.
With many different solutions available, it can be tricky to choose the right tool for your organization. In recent conversations with prospects and customers, we have seen three recurring themes that can quickly sour your experience.
1. Check who owns the data or risk being held to ransom
Once your data, always your data? Think again. Whichever party owns the storage environment ultimately owns the data. While this may not matter while your contract is running, it can be a huge shock should you decide to move to a different provider.
We have recently had more than a few conversations with prospects who told us they were given the option to renew their contract or lose their data unless they paid an exorbitant fee – in one case 10 times the value of the contract!
Organizations know the value of data and providers of data backup management solutions can be quick to exploit this. When considering different tools, make sure that you keep full control and ownership of your data. If not, you are better off giving the solution a wide berth.
2. Don’t wait to find out about poor support until you need it
Your data is one of your most critical assets. When something goes wrong, you have to be able to rely on getting a speedy response from your solution providers. Subpar support is particularly rife in companies that are growing quickly and where staff turnover is high, so make sure you do your research before committing.
This can be especially relevant if you are purchasing through a reseller/partner instead of buying directly from the provider. Those among our partners who sell more than one data backup management solution report this as a frequent pain point affecting both themselves and their customers: while the responsibility to resolve the problem sits with the reseller, if they do not get the required support from the provider it is ultimately the customer who suffers the consequences.
3. Leaping ahead or lagging behind?
The recent breakthroughs in generative AI have caused a surge of innovations. Not surprisingly, cyber criminals have been quick to use the power of technological advances for their own motives. With more and more sophisticated attack methods emerging, technology companies have to keep up. This includes all data management companies and particularly those who offer advanced solutions for backup and recovery – two mechanisms that are vital for business resilience and continuity.
Not only should these organizations follow the latest data security practices. Their roadmap can also be a useful indicator of what your experience as their customer may look like: an organization’s roadmap should show the planned and often incremental improvements to their product as well as their larger ambition and appetite for innovation. It may make sense to involve the domain experts in your organization fairly early on in the purchasing process so they have the opportunity to ask critical questions as and when needed. A provider’s product experts and development leads should be aware of market trends, new technologies and emerging threats, so having access to these people can help you make a decision. After all, if data is one of your most valuable assets, you don’t want to trust just anybody with it.
*Source: Mordor Intelligence
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