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

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.

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


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

Which of the following best describes your current role within your organization?
(Percent of respondents, N=510)
Other, 5%

IT Management
(e.g., CIO, VP of IT,
Director of IT, etc.),
46%
IT Staff (e.g., Storage
Administrator,
Systems
Administrator, etc.),
49%

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

Which of the following would you consider to be your primary area of technology
responsibility? (Percent of respondents, N=510)
Storage / SAN, 5% Other, 1%
IT
Architecture/Planning,
7% General IT, 32%

Applications/Database,
9%

Servers, 14%

Data Protection (e.g.,
backup/recovery,
IT Operations, 15% replication, etc.), 17%




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

How many total employees does your organization have worldwide? (Percent of
respondents, N=510)
100 to 249, 10%
20,000 or more, 12%

250 to 499, 14%

5,000 to 19,999, 20%

500 to 999, 16%

2,500 to 4,999, 12%
1,000 to 2,499, 15%


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

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

Other, 18%
Manufacturing, 23%

Retail/Wholesale, 5%

Professional Services,
6%
Government (Federal,
National, State,
Communications & Local), 16%
Media, 8%

Health Care, 12% Financial (banking,
securities, insurance),
13%



Respondents by Annual Revenue
The annual revenue of survey respondents’ organizations is shown in Figure 5.
Figure 5. Survey Respondents, by Annual Revenue

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

14% 13%
12% 12% 12%
12% 11%
10%
8%
8% 7% 7%
6%
6% 5% 5%
4%
2%
0%
Less than $25 million $50 million $100 $250 $500 $1 billion to $5 billion to $10 billion $20 billion Not
$25 million to $49 to $99 million to million to million to $4.999 $9.999 to $19.999 or more applicable
million million $249 $499 $999 billion billion billion (e.g., public
million million million sector, non-
profit)


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

To the best of your knowledge, how many physical locations (offices, plants,
branches, etc.) does your organization operate worldwide? (Percent of
respondents, N=510)

Don’t know, 2%
500 or more, 8% 1, 4%

250 to 499, 6% 2 to 5 , 21%

100 to 249, 9%

6 to 10, 15%
50 to 99 , 9%

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




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

How many data centers does your organization operate worldwide? (Percent of
respondents, N=510)
Rely solely on third-
party outsourced
data center facilities, Don’t know, 1%
1% 1, 15%

More than 20, 12%

11 to 20, 9% 2, 17%

6 to 10, 15%

3 to 5, 30%


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

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

More than 5,000, Don’t know, 2%
5%
Less than 25, 17%
2,501 to 5,000, 2%

1,001 to 2,500, 7%

501 to 1,000, 11% 25 to 49, 16%

251 to 500, 11%
50 to 100, 16%

101 to 250, 13%



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

What is your immediate organization’s approximate total volume of data stored on
corporate servers and storage systems? (Percent of respondents, N=510)
14% 13%
12%
12% 11%
10% 10% 10%
10% 9%
8%
8%
6% 6%
6% 5%

4%

2%

0%

Less than 1 TB – 5 6 TB – 10 11 TB – 25 26 TB – 50 51 TB – 101 TB – 251 TB – 500 TB – 1 More than Don’t
1 TB TB TB TB TB 100 TB 250 TB 500 TB PB 1 PB know
(terabyte) (petabyte)


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

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)
100%

90%
Off-site secondary
data, 21%
80%

70% On-site secondary
60% data, 26%

50%

40%

30% On-site primary
20%
data, 53%

10%

0%




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

Of your immediate organization’s total amount of primary data, please
indicate the approximate breakout of that data as outlined below. (Mean,
N=510)
100%
Percent of total
90%
data that is Tier-3,
80% 24%

70%
Percent of total
60% data that is Tier-2,
28%
50%

40%

30% Percent of total
data that is Tier-1,
20%
48%
10%

0%




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

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)
20% 18% 18%
18% 16%
16% 15%
14% 13%
12%
10%
8% 6%
6% 5% 5%
4% 2% 2%
2%
0%
Less than $100,000 $250,000 $500,000 $1 million $5 million $10 million $25 million $50 million Don’t know
$100,000 to to to to $4.999 to $9.999 to $24.999 to $49.999 or more / not
$249,999 $499,999 $999,999 million million million million familiar
with
spending
levels


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

Approximately what percentage of your organization’s typical annual data protection
spending is allocated to each of the following categories? (Mean, N=480)
100% Other, 3%
Outsourcing services, 8%
90%
Professional
services/consulting, 9%
80% Removable media and
media management
70% services, 11%

60% Software, 19%

50%

40% Hardware, 23%

30%

20%
Staff, 28%
10%

0%



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

All trademark names are property of their respective companies. Information contained in this publication has been obtained by sources The Enterprise
Strategy Group (ESG) considers to be reliable but is not warranted by ESG. This publication may contain opinions of ESG, which are subject to change from
time to time. This publication is copyrighted by The Enterprise Strategy Group, Inc. Any reproduction or redistribution of this publication, in whole or in
part, whether in hard-copy format, electronically, or otherwise to persons not authorized to receive it, without the express consent of the Enterprise
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you have any questions, please contact ESG Client Relations at (508) 482.0188.


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