Organisations worldwide are generating vast volumes of data on a daily basis – and there’s no sign of a slowdown. In fact, according to research by Statista, global data creation is projected to grow to more than 180 zettabytes by 2025. To put this figure into perspective, remember that the average e-book is one megabyte: 180 zettabytes is thus equivalent to about 180 trillion e-books! Collectively, we’re creating a truly staggering amount of data – and it’s causing significant challenges in management and security.

For business organisations, in particular, this data explosion is a mixed blessing. On the one hand, data is a valuable asset that can be leveraged in myriad ways; on the other, it’s a resource that must be managed, organised and protected in line with strict national and international legislation. With laws like South Africa’s Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) and the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), among others, governments and state entities are working to ensure that data privacy and data security are mandated as widely as possible. Today, it’s estimated that 75% of the global population has personal data covered under modern privacy and security rules.

To remain compliant with data regulations like POPIA and the GDPR, for example, you must be able to control and safeguard all data in your possession, no matter where that data lives or travels. You must also have full visibility across your data landscape and knowledge of the security risks around your data so that you can put robust defences in place. Data discovery, data classification and continuous monitoring are critical stages in this process.