Enabling effective cross-platform data recovery

The ability to collect, analyse and act on data is now a key way that businesses are looking to stay relevant and ahead of the competition. According to Qlik’s ANZ State of Data Analytics (SoDA) report, two-thirds (65%) of business leaders expressed interest in expanding their data and analytics team — proof that investment in this industry is gaining traction.

As data grows, however, businesses are also faced with a challenge to not only collect it but also to access it quickly and efficiently. Accessing data in real time can provide valuable insights and observations which can then be leveraged to make knowledgeable business decisions. Financial institutions, for example, can rely on real-time insights into consumer behaviour and monitor transactions to block or flag suspicious banking activities that could indicate fraud or money laundering.

What is data portability and why does it matter?

Data portability is the ability to move and retrieve data from multiple origins. Retrieving data allows organisations to be more agile, responsive and efficient in their operations, thus giving them an edge against their competitors. Businesses who are unable to access their own data quickly can often find themselves falling behind. This makes data portability a key requirement for businesses to advance in today’s data-driven world.

Data portability allows businesses to efficiently import and export data and easily convert it between different formats and standards as and when required. Data portability also allows businesses to take advantage of new technologies and platforms as they emerge, without having to worry about losing their data.

Key challenges

Most businesses are still using traditional systems that were not designed to allow fluid data movement. Additionally, the rise of cloud computing services has heightened technical concerns around data portability. For example, vendor lock-in — a practice that forces businesses to use a particular cloud service provider — has made it difficult to move data across platforms.

Best-practice tips to leverage data portability for your business

Here are two best-practice tips to ensure you have a sufficient level of data portability for your business, whilst also being realistic about how this best fits into your existing IT infrastructure:

• Put a disaster recovery/response plan in place. Implement a business continuity plan and a business impact analysis to prepare for any potential disasters, such as a cyber attack or natural disaster. No matter the disaster, it is important to prioritise data and put thought behind the best-case scenarios for recovering important data and identifying what is an acceptable loss. It also means ensuring you have a holistic view of what will need to be recovered after an incident, like systems or applications, in addition to your data.
• Store, transfer and secure data using interoperable formats where possible. It is important to use open standards and formats widely supported on different platforms. Security measures, such as encryption, can help prevent data breaches and unauthorised access. Businesses should also look at securing their data whilst stored or when being transferred to maintain the integrity of the data.
   

With 56% of organisations that currently use or plan to use public cloud services expressing their preferences for implementing multi-cloud strategies, this increases the need for effective data portability. If businesses are able to transfer data with minimal friction, such information is less susceptible to loss and easily accessible, regardless of where the data is stored. This can be done by implementing a data recovery plan, using interoperable platforms, prioritising certain data and maintaining a high level of data security. In doing so, businesses can focus on unlocking the full potential of their data.

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