AI and Machine Learning advance backup and recovery and DR solutions
Backup is in the middle of a renaissance. We know … you’re thinking that is unlikely, backup solutions are “boring”. What you may not realize is that backup and recovery and DR solutions are at the forefront of machine learning and AI technology invention and adoption. Seriously.
Backup tools sit in a very strategic location. They touch and manage all corporate data and the majority of applications. With complete access to the lifeblood of a company, backup providers are building ways for corporations to not just manage and understand the data at hand, but to use their reach for capabilities far beyond data protection. By adopting advances in AI, machine learning and predictive analytics, backup solutions are becoming overarching IT solutions that make administrators faster and more efficient at their jobs. Backup AI is beginning to automatically perform tasks that now require human intelligence.
Let’s clear up a few terms that get mixed up:
- Artificial Intelligence (AI) refers to computer systems being able to perform tasks that normally require human intelligence, such as perception and decision-making.
- Machine learning is building computer systems that have the ability to learn without being explicitly programmed. Examples of machine learning include automated analysis of log and other data, finding anomalies and identifying trends.
- Predictive analytics is a specific use case of machine learning. Predictive analytics attempts to answer the question of what will happen in the future based on what is happening now. Using machine learning enables users to anticipate and remediate potential future failures prior to their occurring.
Unitrends is investing heavily in these technologies. Unitrends Backup software and Recovery Series backup appliances include AI and machine learning technologies to identify ransomware and to predict if and when an infection occurred. Unitrends Backup also suggests versions of files and application recovery points to roll back from an attack. Upcoming releases go beyond post-mortem identification and recovery and enable deflection.
For DR, predictive learning algorithms are being developed to recognize the differences between real and false disaster recovery situations – what is a connectivity blip vs an application outage. Building on the existing Unitrends DR Recovery Assurance capabilities, AI is being developed which will use the predictive learnings and automatically perform proactive recoveries, eliminating outages before they are detected by your end users.
Once the stuff of scifi dreamers, AI is now becoming an integrated part of backup software and hardware implementations for those who know where to look. We only mentioned a few ways to take advantage of AI in IT today, read on to see 10 ways to use AI for Simpler, Smarter IT.
