IDG report: data centers of Polish enterprises poorly secured. Demand for external IT services is growing

Security is one of the most critical reasons prompting companies to use third-party data center services and invest in a hybrid IT infrastructure maintenance model, according to a recent IDG survey conducted in October 2022, which analyzed attitudes toward IT infrastructure management, data storage, and processing among Polish enterprises.

Companies that would select to rely solely on their internal IT resources would have trouble ensuring business continuity. This is because many companies’ on-premise data centers do not have sufficient and often essential technical safeguards to allow them to ensure uninterrupted access to their systems in the event of a failure or lack of access to electricity. 67% percent of those surveyed identify the need for increased security as the biggest challenge. This is one of the reasons why Polish companies are increasingly selecting outsourcing and hybrid models for the support of the maintenance of their IT infrastructure requirements.

This data is a cause for concern

The survey results are clear: downtime is a risk to many companies that have on-premise data centers. Only 35% of IT decision-makers of Polish enterprises surveyed in 2022 by IDG admitted that their companies have an emergency power supply system in the form of power generators. However, this is predominantly true for larger and more mature organizations. 61% of large enterprises and 71% of medium-sized organizations admit to having no generators. The vast majority, 85% of entities, use very simple UPSs, which can provide a stable emergency power supply from only to several minutes to several hours.

“These safeguards are inadequate, especially when companies must be prepared not only for power grid failures but even more so for situations resulting from the energy crisis, including blackouts. The benchmark for securing business continuity is defined by the standards set by specialized data centers, which can operate on backup power for weeks,” points out Wojciech Stramski, CEO of Beyond.pl, a Rated 4 data center services provider, which offers the highest level of security in  Poland and the CEE region, as confirmed by the independent ANSI/TIA-942 certificate.

Best practice includes deploying two or more primary independent power supply routes to the data center. However, only 1 in 4 large companies or corporations operating in the Polish market can afford such a solution. The survey found that companies also have much room for improvement regarding deployed fire detection and suppression systems. Only 36% of those surveyed have sufficient safeguards in this regard.

Hybrid IT models, what does this mean?

The IDG report shows that while on-premise data centers are still the most popular means to store and process data in Poland (75% of respondents), there is a noticeable change in the market approach. As many as 54% of respondents choose to migrate to cloud computing, and one in three companies is electing to deploy off-premise colocation or dedicated IT infrastructure services.

The main reason why companies are migrating from the classic on-premise model to a hybrid  IT infrastructure maintenance model is the higher level of security and availability of services guaranteed by external data centers. These factors were cited by 69% of surveyed companies operating on-premise data centers, and 60% and 52% of companies using colocation and cloud computing, respectively. Other important factors mentioned by companies included the security of scalability and growth (32%), access to the latest technologies (29%), and compliance with industry regulations and legal requirements (26%).

“In the survey, 90% of enterprises specifically pointed to hybrid infrastructure models as a direction for their IT infrastructure maintenance policies. Our observations and experience confirm this thesis. As an operator of data centers with the highest security standards in this part of Europe and a provider of various cloud models, we comprehensively support and maintain many hybrid environments. The percentage of companies that diversify IT infrastructure maintenance models has been steadily increasing in recent years, and this trend will continue,” explains Wojciech Stramski,  Beyond.pl CEO.

The survey shows that mainly large companies and corporations are interested in external services. The percentage of medium-sized companies using these services is smaller, at 35% and 21%, respectively.

61% of all IT decision-makers surveyed consider off-premise colocation or dedicated infrastructure (leasing IT equipment in a data center) models as part of their definition of a hybrid IT asset maintenance model. The percentage is even higher among large companies and corporations, reaching 74%. Among representatives of IT teams of Poland’s largest companies and corporations participating in the survey, the prevailing opinion is that hybrid IT infrastructure maintenance models are best built in a combination of on-premise (internal data centers ), off-premise (colocation of IT resources in a professional external data center) and public cloud models. The combination of these three services in a single infrastructure was indicated by as many as 35% of respondents, with the percentage reaching 40% among the largest entities.

Companies utilizing off-premise colocation or dedicated infrastructure services today are developing or will further expand their infrastructure models towards a hybrid IT infrastructure maintenance model, as indicated by 90% of responses. This group of companies seems to be satisfied with the solutions currently in use. On the other hand, the respondents do not want to be limited to only one infrastructure maintenance model. 67% of the largest companies in Poland thought it best to implement such an architecture in combination with a local data center and a public cloud.

The green future

The IDG survey revealed another important trend. It is now not only security and scalability issues that determine the selected hybrid IT infrastructure management model. Cost and environmental issues are just as essential. S61%  of respondents cited the rising cost of maintaining and upgrading their data centers as an important motivation for holding their IT resources in a professional data center (colocation) or the cloud. Expenses incurred by data centers for the modernization and maintenance of internal facilities are optimally and proportionally spread across their client base. According to 49% of respondents, migrating data and applications off-premise has reduced operating costs by reducing energy consumption. Interestingly, 36% of entities admitted that their partnership with a data center has allowed them to make greater use of energy from green sources.

Companies that already source off-premise colocation services today were also most likely to point to a reduction in the carbon footprint generated by their  IT infrastructure (50%) and greater use of green energy sources (43%). In contrast, companies that do not source off-premise colocation services point to the ability to reduce energy consumption (53%) and more efficient decommissioning of IT hardware equipment (41%).

“Negligent digital transformation taking place ignoring sustainability principles can irresponsibly contribute to the increasing consumption of resources, including energy. The deployment of modern technologies such as 5G, IoT, AI, blockchain, and Machine Learning and working with proven and socially responsible partners using state-of-the-art product and software solutions allows for sustainable IT solutions. Pressure for responsible environmental management is also growing – not only from non-governmental organizations but also from regulations introduced by the European Union in this area. By entrusting the maintenance of IT resources in data centers powered exclusively by green energy, companies are lowering the carbon footprint generated by corporate IT infrastructure and positively contributing to the green transformation,” comments Wojciech Stramski, Beyond.pl CEO.

The survey, conducted by IDG, Beyond.pl, and HPE, aimed to diagnose Polish companies’ preferences and challenges in their IT infrastructure maintenance model. It was based on the analysis of responses of more than 100 IT professionals (managers, directors, and CIOs) representing companies from various industries. Industrial, manufacturing, and mining companies represented the most (25%). Entities from finance, banking and insurance, FMCG, trade and distribution, and the broader utility sectors also participated in the survey. Representatives of the healthcare and pharmaceutical industries and other economic sectors were invited to participate in the survey. 62% of those surveyed represented large companies and corporations.

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• IDG report: data centers of Polish enterprises poorly secured. Demand for external IT services is growing