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Recent research by Mckinsey & Company indicates that cybersecurity threats, are expected to grow significantly. As a result, the report shows that spending on cybersecurity products and services is set to increase by 13% annually up to 2025, a substantial rise from the growth rate observed over the past few years.

The escalation in attacks come as major shifts in software consumption and delivery models evolve. Enterprises and SMBs globally are finding value in SaaS-based applications over traditional on-premise applications because of the increase in accessibility and value. A BMC Software report on the state of SaaS highlighted that SaaS had become a preferred choice for many organizations due to its flexibility, affordability, and the ability to support remote work. This growth underscores the increasing reliance on cloud technologies, including SaaS solutions? While the shift to SaaS has impressive adoption rates, it is not without challenges, including ineffective data protection capabilities that require a shared responsibility for data protection on the part of the vendor and customer.

Regarding this evolution in application usage, Asigra is highlighting five forecasts expected to impact the market in 2024, including:

1. More Refined and Aggressive Ransomware to Target SaaS-Based Data as Threat Actors Hone their Craft

The threat of cyberattacks on SaaS applications remains a significant concern, reflecting the trends observed in recent years. The increasing reliance on SaaS solutions for critical business operations will make these platforms attractive targets for cybercriminals. Advanced persistent threats (APTs) and ransomware targeting SaaS platforms will become more pervasive. APTs involve prolonged and targeted cyberattacks to steal data or monitor user activities, while ransomware attacks can lock organizations out of their essential applications and data, demanding payment for restoration. The motives for these attacks will include financial gain, espionage, or disruption of services.

2. DevSecOps to Become Increasingly Important in the next 12 months

DevSecOps integrates security practices within the DevOps process and will rise along with the adoption cloud-based applications. DevSecOp professionals recognize that security is a continuous concern and not an afterthought as faster development and deployment cycles go into effect to meet demand for new software features or products. Additionally, with mandates such as GDPR, HIPAA and others regulating data management, DevSecOps helps in building compliance directly into the software from the start.

3. SaaS Data Compliance and Data Sovereignty to Increase in Priority

As data privacy regulations become more stringent globally, backup and recovery solutions will likely evolve to place greater emphasis on compliance and data sovereignty across all SaaS/Cloud-based resources. Providers will be under pressure to offer more region-specific storage options to comply with local data protection laws.

4. Employee Security Awareness Training Will Rise in Response to Growing Cyberattacks

Human error is one of the most common causes of data loss, including in SaaS environments. Users might accidentally delete important files or data, misconfigure settings that expose sensitive data to unauthorized parties, make incorrect changes that prevent the ability to recover lost data and more. Regular training of employees on the kinds of threats targeting SaaS applications, proper usage of apps in their SaaS environment and general training on the risks of data loss and the importance of following protocols will all become more commonplace in 2024.

5. Third-Party SaaS-Based Data Protection to Rise in 2024

As part of a necessary shared responsibility for SaaS-based data protection, the third-party SaaS backup and recovery market will grow significantly in 2024, driven by the lack of enterprise-grade data protection integrated in SaaS applications. Additionally, third-party SaaS app data protection provides an option to reduce annual operating costs by implementing off-premise backup and recovery solutions as they do not require internal power for storing information, thus cutting back on both IT department CAPEX and OPEX costs such as system hardware, upgrades, software patching, and maintenance. This will be the case in 2024 as the SaaS market is expected to accelerate at a CAGR of 18.43%, with an estimated market growth of USD $20.7 billion from 2023 to 2027, according to Technavio.

"We are warning IT professionals to remain vigilant as we head into rough waters in the next year. The state of IT is under pressure from the multi-dimensional changes occurring at every level. And without question, sensitive data loss remains one of the most devastating situations that can impact an organization," said Eric Simmons, CEO of Asigra. "We take these concerns seriously and our forecasts for 2024 reflect this concern in our space."