SMEs struggling to keep on top of storage

Storage resellers might have taken it for granted that most customers had shifted the bulk of their data to the cloud but there are plenty of SMEs still using USB devices and looking for guidance.

Seagate went out to talk to SME employees across the UK to get a handle on what is happening in regards to data storage and the readiness for GDPR and found that only 29% were using the cloud and 23% still had portable devices, including USB drives as a primary way of storing data.

The other finding that should provide some grease to the storage reseller wheels was that only 35% of SMEs were centralising data with on-site servers.

Seagate found a picture of disparate storage, making life difficult for those trying to look after the information as well as those staff trying to access it remotely. Some firms, with 50-99 staff, were also running out of storage space at least once a month.

There were also some concerns that in a GDPR world there was still a lot of confusion about best practices.

Alessandra de Paula, director of channel marketing EMEA at Seagate, said that as SMEs looked for growth there were often other areas that demanded attention and it was perhaps understandable why many had got into this position.

“Britain has nurtured an impressive ecosystem of entrepreneurs and SMBs over the past few years. These businesses are ambitious, driven, and looking for rapid growth in markets often packed with incumbent big players. In this landscape it’s easy to appreciate why data management, data protection and regulatory compliance aren’t always top of the priority list," she said.

“However, data is the new currency of the digital age; and SMBs that take control of their company data should find that it pays dividends in the increased productivity and efficiency their employees demonstrate when they are able to access the data they need, wherever they need it,” she added.