In an exclusive interview, Russell Chen, Country Manager of Synology SAARC region, shared his insights on the evolving landscape of data management and security solutions in India. Synology, a global leader in data management and security, recently unveiled their latest solutions aimed at combating the increasing threat of ransomware attacks at a press briefing in New Delhi. The event highlighted Synology’s advanced data management and security solutions designed to address the growing challenges faced by businesses, particularly in the Indian market.
As the Digital Personal Data Protection Act (DPDPA) continues to shape data management practices in India, Synology’s new offerings aim to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in meeting stricter data governance requirements, including data breach notification protocols and the appointment of Data Protection Officers (DPOs). Additionally, the event addressed pressing cybersecurity concerns, such as the recent data breaches at Polycab and AIIMS, ransomware attacks, and cloud security risks related to data residency and provider trustworthiness.
Russell Chen provided an in-depth look at how Synology’s solutions not only help businesses navigate compliance challenges but also enhance their overall data protection strategies.
How does Synology’s cybersecurity approach distinguish itself from conventional solutions, especially considering recent incidents like the Polycab and AIIMS data breaches?
To safeguard the digital assets of our customers, our comprehensive data protection strategy covers prevention, centralized backup, and data recovery.
In terms of prevention, Password leak remains one of the primary reasons for data breach incidents. Synology offers approved sign-ins, verification codes (OTP), and hardware security keys. By implementing these measures, businesses can significantly mitigate the risk of unauthorized access and potential ransomware attacks.
Administrators can also configure scheduled backups and snapshots with retention settings, ensuring efficient data protection and recovery, even in scenarios involving ransomware attacks.
In addition, we recommend and support our customers in implementing a robust 3-2-1 backup method to safeguard their data. This entails maintaining three copies of data, stored on two different types of media, with one copy stored offsite, utilizing our Active Backup for Business software.
Could you outline the specific challenges faced by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in India concerning compliance with the Digital Personal Data Protection Act (DPDPA) and how Synology’s solutions address these challenges?
Business data scattered on multiple platforms remains one of the major challenges for SMBs and SMEs in India. Reasons behind this include diversity of business functions, legacy systems and the lack of third-party integration. To address these challenges, centralizing data and data ownership is important. Synology’s storage solutions offer a secure and scalable centralized data management center for businesses’ scattered data. With Synology’s comprehensive data protection solution, we provide an easy-to-use and robust backup solution that centralizes the backup from endpoints, PCs, physical servers, as well as virtual machines to major cloud service providers. Additionally, Synology also offers immutable backups to prevent various types of data tampering and loss, ensuring the integrity and availability of critical data.
In what ways do Synology’s solutions assist SMEs in managing compliance, particularly regarding data breach notification protocols and the appointment of Data Protection Officers (DPOs)?
Data breach protocols and the appointment of DPOs are typically handled by SMEs themselves. However, what Synology could help is participate on its drills and infrastructure on data protection. For example, Synology provides an advanced monitoring platform called Active Insight, which allows IT administrators to protect their Synology deployments on various sites against hardware failures, data loss, suspicious activities, software vulnerabilities, and more.
Can you elaborate on Synology’s vision for providing innovative and user-friendly solutions to address cybersecurity challenges, emphasizing the role of NAS solutions in this context?
To safeguard the cybersecurity of our customers, our comprehensive data protection strategy covers prevention, centralized backup, and data recovery.
In terms of prevention, Synology offers Secure SignIn, a secure login framework enhancing account security for our operating system. This feature employs multiple verification methods, including approved sign-ins, verification codes (OTP), and hardware security keys. By implementing these measures, businesses can significantly mitigate the risk of unauthorized access and potential ransomware attacks.
For centralize backup, Synology’s comprehensive data protection solution serves as an all-in-one data protection solution, offering centralized backup protection across diverse IT environments. Covering virtual environments, physical servers, file servers, and personal computers, ensuring comprehensive backup coverage and seamless continuity of operations. Synology also offers snapshot protection for files and crucial data, against threats like accidental deletion and viruses.
Administrators can configure scheduled snapshots and retention settings, ensuring efficient data management and recovery, even in scenarios involving ransomware attacks.
In addition, we recommend and support our customers in implementing a robust 3-2-1 backup method to safeguard their data. This entails maintaining three copies of data, stored on two different types of media, with one copy stored offsite, utilizing our Active Backup for Business software.
What comprehensive measures does Synology offer to tackle cybersecurity concerns and mitigate the risks associated with ransomware attacks, distinct from other solutions in the market?
Synology stands out in four key areas: software-hardware integration, scalability, easy deployment and security. Beyond offering robust hardware, our solutions are distinguished by their powerful and user-friendly software.
In enterprise environments, where data volumes escalate rapidly, robust scalability is paramount. Our systems are designed to accommodate business growth effortlessly, with a focus on simplicity in expansion and management.
Synology’s core value is to protect our users data, and security is our top priority. Internally, we have a dedicated cybersecurity team, the Product Security Incident Response Team – PSIRT, which committed to promptly addressing any reported vulnerabilities. Unlike the industry average of 60 days, our PSIRT team resolves vulnerabilities within an impressive 24-hour timeframe, ensuring our systems remain fortified against emerging threats.
In terms of service, we collaborate closely with our local partners and reputable system integrators in India to deliver comprehensive support. From deployment and solution demonstrations to after-sales assistance, we offer a seamless experience in setting up data management solutions tailored to our customers’ specific requirements.
Could you share some of the key best practices recommended by Synology for data protection, including strategies like the “principle of least privilege” and the 3-2-1 backup strategy?
A 3-2-1 backup strategy typically involves maintaining three copies of data, stored on two different types of media, with one copy stored offsite. Synology’s Active Backup for Business software facilitates this strategy effectively. For example, Toyota Motor Vietnam utilizes this approach at their headquarters, where multiple services run on virtual machines (VMs) for daily operations. To ensure data security and maintain on-premises storage, they back up their entire 80TB VM cluster to Synology’s petabyte-scale storage solution, the SA3410, which is designed to meet growing storage demands. To add an extra layer of data protection, Toyota Motor Vietnam performs daily offsite snapshots using Synology Snapshot Replication. They have set up five identical 4-bay Synology RackStation units at remote branches to serve as replication targets for data from the VM backup server. Additionally, they employ immutable snapshot technology to mitigate security risks and prevent manual failures. As a result, this deployment helped Toyota Motor Vietnam decrease it data backup costs by an incredible 75%.
Considering Synology’s significant market growth driven by demand from SMBs and enterprises, how do you anticipate this growth evolving, particularly with India’s growing prominence as a data center hub?
Synology experienced an impressive 20% market growth last year, driven mainly by the increasing demand from SMBs and enterprises. The surge in demand for Synology’s backup solutions, exceeding 20%, can be attributed to India’s emergence as a prominent data center hub in the region. This growth has been further fueled by government initiatives encouraging businesses to allocate a greater portion of their IT budget towards security. We continue to see great potentials in the Indian market and expect to remain 20% annual growth within the market.
What strategic plans does Synology have for enhancing and expanding its solutions in India to effectively meet the evolving needs and demands of businesses in the region, considering the changing landscape of data management and security?
Synology maintains a strong position in the SMB storage market, and as we expand our business, we aim to not only uphold this position but also extend our reach into the enterprise sectors.
We recently introduced the HD6500, capable of holding up to 4.8 Petabytes of data. This high-density storage server is perfectly suited for enterprise use, offering extensive data management capabilities and robust backup solutions. Additionally, we have plans to release more enterprise-level products in India, as we continue to address the evolving needs of businesses in this market.
Synology is dedicated to developing solutions for the challenges encountered by today’s enterprises, such as the exponential growth of AI data and the implementation of backup policies. We are committed to creating a range of product lines that enhance the data resilience of enterprises.
