Digital initiatives can add $124mn in additional revenue of firms

A new survey shows enterprises in the Middle East can add $124 million in additional revenue annually through the use of digital initiatives.

There are big benefits to be had from the deployment of digital initiatives as organisations on average attribute $124 million additional revenue [per company] to these annually. However, these findings shine a light on the global disparity in digital adoption.

Some of the world’s largest economies are at risk of having to play catch-up when it comes to their investment in digital innovation. Forty-one per cent of Japanese businesses and 48 per cent of Brazilian businesses described their data management as mature, compared to just over a quarter in France and Germany, and just 11 per cent in the UK.

Crucially, change does not appear to be on the horizon, with Japanese and Brazilian organisations intending to invest on average $105 million and $73 million respectively in Intelligent Data Management in the next 12 months, markedly larger than the average organisational investment expected in the UK ($14 million), China ($17 million) and US ($38 million).

Organisations need to manage and protect this data no matter where it resides, but according to the latest industry survey results released on Sunday from Veeam Software, the leader in Backup solutions that enable Cloud Data Management, 73 per cent of organisations globally admit to not being able to meet users’ demands for uninterrupted access to data and services, costing the typical company $20 million a year.

This highlights the devastating impact downtime can have on lost revenue, productivity, and customer confidence. However, this year’s study shows that organisations are acting to combat this, with nearly three-quarters (72 per cent) looking to embrace Cloud Data Management, often by exploiting hybrid cloud capabilities, to ensure success and drive more value from their data.


The 2019 Veeam Cloud Data Management Report surveyed more than 1,500 senior business and IT leaders from 13 countries and found that respondents are aware of the importance of data management to their business’ success, pointing to greater productivity today, and the potential to drive business transformation in the future.

“We are living in a data-driven age, and organisations need to wake up and take action to protect their data. Businesses must manage their data in a way that always delivers availability and leverage its value to drive performance. This is no longer a luxury, but a business necessity," said RatmirTimashev, co-founder and Executive Vice President (EVP) of Sales & Marketing at Veeam.

"There is a significant opportunity and competitive advantage for those who effectively manage their data. Ask yourself, are you confident that your business data will always be available? If you are unsure, it’s time to act, and our study shows that many are not acting fast enough,” he added.

Organisations are looking to embrace the power of technologies such as the cloud, or hybrid cloud, Big Data, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and the Internet of Things (IoT) to drive business success and will each invest on average $41 million in 2019 on such transformational technologies. Almost half of respondents admit that data protection is imperative to leverage these investments.

Alarmingly, only 37 per cent of businesses are very confident in their current backup solutions, with the majority (73 per cent) admitting that they cannot meet user demands. This inhibits the adoption of tools and processes that can drive business advantage, but leaders recognise work needs to be done; more than half of those surveyed are looking to deploy Intelligent Data Managementand multi-cloud solutions across the business to address this failing.