Exclusive: Veeam’s Ben Young Raises Concerns About Backup Risks in the Age of AI
As generative AI transforms data architectures and accelerates digital transformation, organisations across Asia Pacific and Japan (APJ) are encountering significant weaknesses in their backup and disaster recovery strategies. Ben Young, Field CTO for APJ at Veeam, asserts that many enterprises are unprepared for the data security risks arising from distributed infrastructure, cloud sprawl, and regulatory complexities. He emphasises a fundamental shift in data management, stating, “We’re seeing a fundamental shift in where data lives and who manages it.” This shift introduces risks, particularly when organisations fail to implement enterprise-grade protection strategies in these evolving environments.
The adoption of Kubernetes for AI model training and inferencing is pushing data beyond traditional IT boundaries, often into unstructured formats stored in S3 buckets or ephemeral containers. Young highlights that the value, sensitivity, and volume of data have surged, yet many organisations have not updated their recovery playbooks, creating a dangerous gap. Veeam’s latest ransomware trends report reveals that 38% of victims had compromised backup repositories, indicating that immutability—a crucial safeguard—was not enforced. Young expresses concern, stating, “It scares me to read that,” and notes that customers are still configuring backups in ways that leave them vulnerable. In response, Veeam is launching initiatives like Data Cloud Vault, which enforces encryption and immutability by default, ensuring that safety cannot be opted out of.
Cost predictability poses a challenge for cloud recovery testing, as hidden retrieval costs deter enterprises from regularly testing their recovery processes. Young points out that while hyperscaler storage may appear inexpensive initially, it can lead to unexpected expenses. Data Cloud Vault aims to address this issue with a fixed pricing model, offering “predictable, expandable resilience.” Additionally, Young identifies Broadcom’s licensing overhaul of VMware as a significant disruptor for regional service providers, warning that many may not meet the new thresholds. This situation is likely to accelerate cloud migrations, necessitating the ability to swiftly move workloads across hypervisors. Veeam’s platform is positioned as a safeguard against vendor lock-in and sudden market changes.
Despite the increasing threats, Young argues that process breakdowns, rather than technology, remain the primary barrier to resilience. He observes that security teams and IT departments often operate in silos, which hampers effective recovery readiness. The need for collaboration between these teams is critical to address the evolving landscape of data security risks and ensure robust disaster recovery strategies.
Categories: Data Security Risks, Backup and Recovery Strategies, Cloud Migration Challenges
Tags: Generative AI, Data Architectures, Backup Strategies, Disaster Recovery, Kubernetes, Ransomware, Cloud Sprawl, Data Security, Recovery Playbooks, Vendor Lock-in