Nearly every week during the past few years has featured a headline about the latest data breach, malware attack, ransomware demand, or unrecoverable corporate data loss. Those stories are frequently followed by news that the CEOs at those high-profile companies were forced to resign. Security concerns have become a critical business problem, yet they are still handled as a technical problem – mainly by IT departments. Thankfully, many organizations have started bringing together IT executives and non-IT leadership together to reshape their approach towards security concerns. CEOs need to know what they should worry about when it comes to protecting the company’s data against cybercriminals and malware – and there are plenty of high-profile examples they can learn from.

When you were shopping for cars, you knew you wanted something good for the environment but also something affordable. A Tesla was too expensive, but a traditional car has too large a carbon footprint. So, you chose a hybrid vehicle. The same approach works for storing digital assets. You want a data solution that protects your data environment but is also cost effective. For many organizations, a secure hybrid cloud provides a solution. Now that you've decided to use a hybrid solution, you need to do a cloud service providers comparison to determine which best meets your needs and budget.

These are exciting times of change in almost every industry, vertical, use case, and inside almost every team. From accounting and HR, to sales and marketing, to the manufacturing line and warehouse inventory systems, everything is being instrumented and data is being captured and analyzed. The popular saying “If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it” is on the verge of being abused. Several Acronis team members and I just spent the day at IDC Directions 2019. It’s a yearly event where the IDC community of analysts meets with clients, presenting high-level summaries of their research and sharing their thoughts about where technology is heading and what we and our organizations can do prepare for the future rushing towards us. And that is a good thing.

World Backup Day is March 31. Make sure you’re protecting what matters this year to keep your most important information safe and secure no matter what accidents and threats arise in the year ahead.