MENA businesses without robust data disaster recovery and business continuity plans are more prone to reputation hits from downtime than ever before, according to one of the region's leading data storage and protection experts. A recent survey by B2B International and Kaspersky Lab found that only 40 percent of computer users in the UAE were able to retrieve the data they lost in malware attacks, with 60 percent saying they lost some of their valuable information forever. Across the world, threats are reaching fever pitch. The Cisco 2014 Annual Security Report notes that the total global threat alerts increased 14 percent year-on-year from 2012 to 2013. The scale and complexity of data security threats is partly fuelled by the irrepressible rise of the bring-your-own-device (BYOD) trend. This is particularly pronounced in the Middle East and Africa, which will post the world's fastest mobile data traffic growth rate from 2013-2018, increasing 14-fold by 2018, according to The Cisco Visual Networking Index Global Mobile Data Traffic Forecast. “The more you let your data build up the more expensive it will become,” said Savitha Bhaskar, General Manager, Condo Protego. “Now is the time to act to ensure every aspect of operations are safeguarded against attacks and, in the worst case scenarios, that data can be recovered and business can continue as usual. Businesses have to establish a reference architecture early on so that they can plan and scale in the most efficient manner possible. The first step is always to understand what you are dealing with, what are you trying to protect against, and how your business will cope in the event of a disaster. This is not a process a business can tackle alone. A top notch system integration team is essential,” added Bhaskar. “Those serious about safeguarding their data in an optimal manner need to highlight risk-levels and assign appropriate values and actions. Ideally, this will entail conducting a cost and risk analysis. You need to understand the financial impact of losing data at every juncture.. “Optimal disaster recovery and business continuity plans can only come as the result of a deep understanding of business objectives and rigorous consultation that spans the entire solution cycle — from design and implementation to comprehensive post-sales support.” — SG
