The second edition of The State of Data Readiness in Asia report, a comprehensive report from Tech Research Asia commissioned by Commvault, offers a stark look into the challenges and realities faced by organisations across the continent.
Based on a survey of 1,218 companies across Indonesia, Hong Kong, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam, the report uncovers critical trends in data growth, regulatory pressures, AI adoption, and cyber resilience.
Here are some of the key highlights that demand the attention of business and IT leaders:
Unprecedented Data Growth and Infrastructure Complexity
Data estates are expanding at an accelerated rate.
- The average organisation in Asia saw its data grow by 40% in the last 12 months, a significant jump from the 31% reported the previous year.
- This explosion of data, 66% of which is unstructured, resides in increasingly complex environments.
- A majority of companies (63%) now operate in multi-cloud or hybrid cloud environments, creating a sprawling and interdependent ecosystem that is difficult to manage and secure.
- This complexity is taking a toll, with 38% of organisations admitting they lack confidence in their ability to restore business oeprations after a breach.
The AI Paradox: High Adoption Despite High Risk
AI is being enthusiastically adopted, with 74% of Asian organizations currently using business-focused AI solutions. However, there is a clear-eyed view of the risks involved.
- This complexity is taking a toll, with 38% of organisations admitting they lack confidence in their ability to restore business oeprations after a breach.
- A staggering 73% of these organisations believe that deploying AI increases the likelihood of a cybersecurity breach.
- Despite this awareness, due diligence is lagging. A concerning 58% of organisations have not performed thorough security audits on their AI tools before deployment, and less than half (46%) have comprehensive policies to protect AI-generated data.
The Tangled Web of Regulations
The regulatory landscape across Asia is becoming increasingly intricate and, at times, contradictory.
- Conflicting demands: Fifty-three percent of organisations report facing conflicting regulatory requirements for their data across different geographies.
- Regulatory burden: Fifty-two percent of companies must comply with at least four major regulatory acts.
- AI compliance: The challenge is compounded by AI-specific regulations, with almost 60% of companies now subject to them and another 27% expecting to be within the next year.
The Sobering Reality of Cyberattacks and Recovery
There remains a significant disconnect between the expectations of business leaders and the reality of IT recovery after a cyber incident. While 72% of business leaders expect to be back in business within five days of an incident, the reality is that 70% of businesses take more than a week to recover.
The report also sheds light on the direct impacts of attacks:
- Of the companies that were breached, 83% experienced data exfiltration.
- Less than half (41%) managed to recover 100% of their data.
- While 57% of companies have a policy against paying ransoms, 34% of those with such a policy paid the ransom when attacked.
Learning the Hard Way
Interestingly, organisations that have experienced a breach demonstrate a more mature and realistic understanding of their capabilities. They are more likely to have comprehensive incident response plans and a clearer grasp of the complexities involved in recovery. For instance, breached companies are almost twice as likely to view their internal AI tools as a high cybersecurity risk compared to those that have not been breached.
To gain a deeper understanding of these findings and benchmark your organisation against your peers, download the full State of Data Readiness in Asia report. The complete report provides detailed analysis, country-specific data, and actionable insights to help you enhance your data management, recovery, and cyber resilience strategies for continuous business operations.