All enterprise data ends up on storage systems, but if an enterprise storage solution does not have the cyber storage resilience to combat a cyberattack, the C-suite and the IT team are leaving the organization severely exposed. This realization is the trigger for what I see as the number one trend in data storage in 2023: making cyber storage resilience a part of every enterprise comprehensive cybersecurity strategy. 

IT leaders are accustomed to protecting the network and endpoints, deploying firewalls, and looking at the application layer. But CIOs and CISOs continue to increasingly realize that, if they don’t combine storage with cybersecurity, they’re leaving a gap in their corporate cybersecurity strategy. 

The increasing importance of cyber resilience and the coupling of storage and cybersecurity are changing the way IT decision-makers are thinking about enterprise storage, going forward. The convergence of cybersecurity and storage has emerged in 2023 as a cornerstone of enterprise IT strategy. 

However, the question is not “if” your organization is going to be hit with a cyberattack; it’s a question of “when” and “how often.” It’s a matter of how an organization responds to the attack. Boosting the ability to make a near-instantaneous recovery from a cyberattack will be another major storage trend in the new year. 

When cyber criminals get through an organization’s endpoint and network security, one of the critical things for an IT team is to get a known good copy of the data and make a speedy recovery. No organization wants to restore data that has malware or ransomware infiltrated within it.

It’s vital to use an immutable snapshot of the data to ensure that the data has not been compromised. Finding a known good copy is done by curating the potential candidates to restore in a fenced forensic environment. This is all part of cyber storage resilience, which is being recognized as necessary for both primary and secondary storage as a safeguard against cyberattacks and internal threats. 

Yet, it is often underestimated or confused. People often think that cyber storage resilience is only about backing up data. That’s not true. 

Cyber storage resilience is more than backup. This is an important distinction that speaks to a trend in 2023 because smart cyber criminals won’t only attack your secondary datasets, like backup, but also attack your primary datasets. In recognition of this reality, enterprises and service providers are heading into the new year injecting new levels of cyber storage resilience into both their primary and secondary storage environments. 

There is a shift in the enterprise market starting to happen from being reactive – waiting for the cyber criminals to attack and then doing something about it – to proactively prepare for recovery, likened to disaster recovery. Companies usually have elaborate disaster recovery plans and business continuity measures. There is a growing awareness that “cyber disaster plans” need to be put in place with the right set of capabilities to initiate and execute rapid recovery.

A related trend is the growing demand for ease of deploying cyber storage resilience. Enterprises and service providers are increasingly seeking easy-to-deploy and easy-to-use solutions that meet their needs for cyber storage resilience and integrated security technologies. 

They want not only automation, but also the next level up with autonomous automation. End-users don’t want complex set-ups anymore. They want to be able to quickly and efficiently access forensic environments, and when it comes to recovery of data, they expect two or three clicks, and then be done with it. 

It’s time for a comprehensive approach to protect data that not only includes firewalls, network security, and edge protection but also expands the cybersecurity plan by adding cyber storage resilience. Increasing it as a safeguard against cyberattacks is critical.