July 2024

Mitigating Data Protection Staff Recruitment Challenges vs. Maximizing Benefits from leveraging B4Restore Data Protection as a Service

In my conversations with both customers and partners, the central topic is often [people] – the precious staff we all rely on in terms of being able to do "our thing", whatever that might be. In the business climate of today, and with personal preferences for work/life balance luckily taking a more central position, the hunt for talent is an increasingly challenging one.

It is painfully obvious that recruiting prime candidates for data protection roles presents significant challenges, exacerbated by the ever-growing demand for cybersecurity professionals. However, our position is that leveraging Data Protection as a Service (DPaaS) can alleviate these challenges while providing substantial benefits, and in this article, I will factually explore some of the key recruitment challenges and how DPaaS can offer a strategic advantage for organizations.

Challenges in Recruiting Data Protection Specialists…

First off; there is a notable skills gap because both regular businesses and the cybersecurity industry have staff demands, which are currently outstripping supply. According to ISACA's "State of Cybersecurity 2023" report, over 60% of organizations have unfilled cybersecurity positions, underscoring the shortage of skilled professionals. Also, the proficiency profiles are often such that the skills base is not easily found in one candidate.

Then, of course, there is intense competition for talent with larger organizations often outbidding smaller companies exacerbating an already problematic situation.

And even when one then manages to attract smart people there are the constantly evolving skills requirements. Data protection is a dynamic field requiring continuous skills updates. We are faced with innovative technologies, expanding integration and deployment options, updated regulations, and a dynamic threat landscape all of which necessitate ongoing education for professionals to stay relevant.

At B4Restore, we are a family, where each family member has a considerable tenure – consequently cultural fit and the softer people skills are important to manage, too. On top of the technical skills our team members must align with our culture and possess effective communication and problem-solving abilities.

And lastly, as we saw particularly exposed during COVID, the staff preferences as far goes geographic location and overall work environment matter greatly – as it should.

None of this is trivial…

In B4Restore, we have incredibly talented people on our team servicing and supporting both our customers and partners. Exceedingly early on our journey as a player in our category, we focused on developing both our cloud-native orchestration platform, B4R Storage Portal, and our separation-of-duties governance framework precisely because we understood that talent would be scarce. And we also acknowledged that the data protection services, we provide today (backup, storage, and business continuity) are prime candidates for leveraging automation through diligent application of both AI and ML, which continuously is enhanced by our B4R Storage Portal orchestration platform.

This does not mean that we are completely insulated as far goes continuously attracting talented people, but our approach, the technology stack, we rely on and the criticality of the services, we provide to customers and partners attract smart people and we are enjoying that privilege. And in turn, we help both customers and partners mitigate the challenges, at least some of these, with attracting and retaining key data protection staff such that benefits from leveraging data protection as a service can be reaped.

Maximizing the Benefits from B4Restore DPaaS

Our data protection services (backup, storage, and business continuity) are 100% as a service, and we have done our homework such that we know that we can offer:

Cost Efficiencies; B4Restore DPaaS eliminates the need for substantial upfront investments in hardware, software, and infrastructure, shifting costs from CAPEX to OPEX. Organizations benefit from reduced maintenance costs, as B4Restore handles updates and energy consumption.

Scalability and Flexibility; B4Restore DPaaS offers on-demand scalability, allowing organizations to adjust their data protection needs without additional hardware purchases. This flexibility ensures businesses can adapt quickly to changing requirements.

Enhanced Security and Compliance; B4Restore DPaaS offers advanced security measures including our intelligent separation-of-duties governance framework, often exceeding in-house separation-of-duties capabilities. Additionally, we assist with compliance by offering tools designed to meet industry-specific reporting & documentation requirements.

Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity; B4Restore DPaaS includes robust disaster recovery options, ensuring rapid data restoration and minimal downtime. Geographic redundancy further enhances protection against regional disasters.

And, as we started – Access to Expertise and Latest Technology: B4Restore employs experts who optimize data protection strategies, offering organizations access to specialized knowledge and continuous innovation.

Conclusion…

Addressing recruitment challenges in data protection roles requires innovative solutions. B4Restore DPaaS offers a strategic advantage by mitigating these challenges and providing benefits such as cost efficiency, scalability, enhanced security, improved disaster recovery, and access to expertise. By leveraging B4Restore DPaaS, organizations can ensure robust data protection while navigating the complexities of hiring and retaining top talent in a competitive field.