Edition Four
Commvault: Vendor Spotlight Q&A including AI insights and Ultima Partnership
Jason Gerrard, Senior Director of International Systems Engineering at Commvault
Who are Commvault?
Commvault is a global leader in cloud data protection, with Intelligent Data Services to protect customers’ data in a difficult world. We offer a simple and unified Data Protection Platform that spans all your data – regardless of whether your workloads live on-premises, in the cloud, or spread across a hybrid environment.
Jason Gerrard is Commvault’s Senior Director of International Systems Engineering, where he leads several teams of SEs focused on driving innovative programmes of relevant and effective enablement & messaging, into Commvault’s GSI, Distribution, VAR and Alliance partners to accelerate their success and help grow their businesses.
Why Commvault and Ultima?
The collaboration between Commvault and Ultima brings together the expertise of two leading technology providers to deliver world-class data management solutions and services to businesses of all sizes.
We understand that businesses are looking for reliable, scalable, and cost-effective solutions to manage their data effectively. Commvault provides industry-leading technology solutions that help businesses to protect, backup, archive, and recover their data efficiently, while Ultima has a proven track record in delivering tailored solutions that address the unique needs of individual businesses. Together, we offer a comprehensive suite of services and solutions that are designed to meet the demands of modern organisations.
How has the rapid acceleration of AI-driven technology impacted data management?
It is entirely possible for AI to now be used for tasks like storage configuration, setting up backups, and checking compliance. In fact, it is happening already as it is so desirable. Commvault uses AI and machine learning for these functions within our data protection solutions currently and I only see that extending to cover further solutions in the future.
How can chatbot tools be used to enhance data management, and how is Commvault doing so?
It is possible for chat tools to streamline reporting back to users and some companies are doing this today with “Virtual Helpdesk” functionalities. Many companies use this kind of technology today for customer service, although personally I’m not entirely convinced it’s doing a good enough job to replace humans. Customers almost always prefer talking to another person, rather than a chatbot, so the end user experience is sacrificed when using this approach.
However, they can also be used to categorise data and we do it in some of our Commvault solutions. It is particularly useful in Data Governance solutions where it can identify Personally Identifiable Information (PII) and help companies become – and remain – compliant with regulations, such as GDPR. Being able to have AI automatically identify what data you have, classify it, understand where it is on your various platforms, and then automate specific functions or actions based on classification rules is something that saves an immense amount of time, and is much more accurate than a human.
Why are the lines between data protection and security blurring?
Only a few years ago, the primary attack mechanism and goal of ransomware was to infiltrate the environment, propagate, elevate permissions, and execute. The execution phase was all about encrypting data then demanding a ransom, usually in untraceable digital currency, such as Bitcoin.
But no longer do bad actors just encrypt the live data, which could easily be overcome by restoring from a last-known good-state backup copy. They are now also encrypting the backups to ensure that organisations cannot just restore their data and continue operations. This is possible if the backups are not sufficiently protected with technologies such as air gapping or immutable storage. Bad actors then exfiltrate the data out onto the dark web, where they threaten to expose it if the ransom is not paid. This risks significant reputational damage to a customer, as well as opening them up to data privacy breaches and competitors being able to see their customer data, for example.
By attacking the backups, as well as the data, cybercriminals are blurring the lines between data protection and security and are, therefore, forcing organisations to consider both aspects of cybersecurity in equal measure.
How can AI tools be used to protect data against ransomware or other threats?
Identifying “likely” threats based on AI & ML helps to quickly identify when something feels wrong, and someone might not be authorised to access certain data. Such technologies can then automate notifications into third-party SIEM solutions so humans are notified quickly, whilst also taking proactive actions to prevent damage to an environment. This is immensely useful as those first few minutes and hours are critical and can make the difference between disaster, or disaster averted.
What would be your 3 “dos and don’ts” that a CIO should consider over the near future?
1. Get to know your data – what it is, where it is, and why you’re keeping it. Don’t get caught unawares when an attack strikes (because it will) because you don’t know what data is impacted; only once you have full visibility of your data can you be confident that you can keep downtime to a minimum should the worst happen.
2. Backup more often than you think you need to. Data that is over a week old may not bear much resemblance to the state of your organisation at the time of an attack, so don’t rely on infrequent backups. At a minimum, they should occur once a week but for the best protection, data should be backed up much more frequently using the 3-2-1 approach to ensure secure, offsite, copies.
3. Embrace the possibilities of innovations like AI. Don’t worry that it will replace human jobs – it won’t. Humans will always be needed for jobs that require unique and creative thinking and problem-solving. Instead, consider how AI can support your organisation with tasks such as backing up data and identifying potential threats, so your employees can focus on the job at hand.