As Storage Switzerland frequently blogs, the future is compliance-heavy. The European Union (EU) General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is just the start, influencing the formulation of other regulations such as the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) as well as a greater focus among consumers on taking back control over how their data is stored, protected and used. Against a backdrop of copy data sprawl resulting from enterprises creating multiple copies of data to meet retention and discovery requirements and to serve secondary business processes such as application development and business analytics, this quickly creates a data management nightmare.
Copy data management (CDM) can help to ensure compliance with data privacy regulations and expectations. CDM solutions create a virtual copy of production data that is kept current, via snapshot technology, as changes are made to the production environment. This eliminates the need to create unnecessary copies, and as a result saves on valuable server, storage and networking infrastructure resources while reducing the volume of copy data that must be managed. Effective CDM solutions oversee and orchestrate all copy data, not just backups created for recovery purposes. They also automate the creation, presentation, refresh and expiration of copy data to reduce risk while further streamlining copy data administration.
From the standpoint of data privacy, CDM stands to add value in the form of increasing control over who can access copies of data, how many copies of data are created, and where that data is stored. CDM can furthermore add governance services, including orchestration of file indexing, searching and analysis that can help storage administrators to more quickly and easily locate individual files. This can help to enable compliance with “right to be forgotten” as well as eDiscovery and audit requests. For instance, data governance services could migrate data from a tape to an object archive storage solution to make files more readily available, searchable and able to be deleted or anonymized. Additionally, CDM may introduce more advanced scripting capabilities that can bolster control over data privacy, for example creating the ability to mask personal data from developers.
Storage buyers should also evaluate CDM platforms’ data recovery services, as data privacy regulations naturally also prescribe for copy data to be available for inquiries and in the event of a disaster or malicious attack. For example, establishing policies for automatic setup and management can dramatically simplify and accelerate replication for most mission-critical data. Meanwhile, the ability to schedule regular snapshots and also to take ad hoc snapshots balances ensuring that stringent recovery point objectives (RPOs) can be met while providing the flexibility to meet individual requirements. Storage administrators should look for a CDM solution that can intelligently tap into a range of backup, recoverability and governance data services based on the application or business objective.
Hear more on what to look for when embracing copy data management to modernize your data protection and compliance strategies from Storage Switzerland and Hitachi Vantara subject matter experts by accessing our on demand webinar.
Senior Analyst, Krista Macomber produces analyst commentary and contributes to a range of client deliverables including white papers, webinars and videos for Storage Switzerland. She has a decade of experience covering all things storage, data center and cloud infrastructure, including: technology and vendor portfolio developments; customer buying behavior trends; and vendor ecosystems, go-to-market positioning, and business models. Her previous experience includes leading the IT infrastructure practice of analyst firm Technology Business Research, and leading market intelligence initiatives for media company TechTarget.
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