World Backup Day: AI pivotal in reshaping backup for SMBs

World Backup Day serves as a crucial reminder for Australia's 2.5 million Small and Medium Businesses (SMBs) about the potential devastation of data loss, which can lead to significant financial challenges and broader economic repercussions.

Recent insights from Kaseya's State of Backup and Recovery 2025 report underline the ongoing issues faced by organisations in managing backup and recovery, especially as cloud adoption and virtual desktop usage continue to grow. The report indicates that more than half of an organisation's workloads are now hosted in public cloud environments, yet notably, 8% of these lack any form of cloud data backup.

The report also highlights persistent inefficiencies, with over half of businesses dedicating more than 10 hours each week to backup management and 60% of respondents expressing doubts about the speed and reliability of their data recovery processes.

Cost remains a prominent barrier, particularly within hybrid IT environments, and 25% of organisations have identified gaps in their security policies. As digital transformation accelerates, these challenges underscore the importance of adapting backup strategies to cope with modern technological environments.

In response to these challenges, Nadir Merchant from Kaseya emphasises the transformative role of AI in enhancing backup and disaster recovery outcomes. "At Kaseya, we see AI not as a buzzword, but as a practical tool to help MSPs and IT Pros deliver smarter, faster, and more resilient backup and disaster recovery outcomes," Merchant stated.

He explained that AI is actively altering threat detection within backup environments by analysing behaviour in real time to identify potential ransomware threats before they spread. Furthermore, AI supports recovery efforts by guiding incident response planning and identifying the most reliable restore points, thus minimising downtime.

Looking ahead, Merchant envisions AI providing predictive insights to help optimise backup schedules and foresee storage needs, although such applications require thorough validation and training before full integration into production systems. "It's not about replacing people—it's about empowering them to protect their data more effectively than ever before," Merchant added.

Frank DeBenedetto, providing further perspective, noted, "Virtual desktops and cloud systems power today's remote workforce, and the cloud has facilitated seamless data backup for organisations; but this has become a key target for hackers. Cybercriminals now directly attack backup systems to disarm a company's safety nets." DeBenedetto highlighted the rising risks associated with increased virtual desktop usage and cloud adoption through 2031.

He warned that assuming data safety can cost businesses dearly, suggesting the necessity for multiple, independent backup layers across varied cloud systems. "Whether you use public, private or hybrid clouds, assuming your data is safe could cost you your business," he cautioned.

DeBenedetto added to the call for heightened security measures, "Cloud and virtual tech bring flexibility and efficiency gains for companies, but they also introduce security gaps that hackers exploit." He pointed out that attackers specifically target backup systems first, exacerbating vulnerability in the digital age.

He stressed the importance of specialised strategies to safeguard business assets, noting that organisations failing to adopt such measures face the risk of permanent data loss. "World Backup Day highlights an urgent truth: traditional backup methods fail in these modern environments," DeBenedetto stated.