Synology has released findings from its 2026 Enterprise Survey, conducted by Foundry, showing notable trends in data protection investments among organizations in India. The survey, involving 308 IT decision-makers from Australia, India, and the Middle East and Africa (MEA), reveals that 64% of Indian organizations have made new data protection purchases following security incidents, the highest percentage among the regions studied.
The research highlights the preparedness of organizations to safeguard their data amid an accelerating pace of AI adoption and increasingly complex IT environments. Notably, while 99% of the respondents expressed confidence in their organization’s resilience to disruptions, the report identified several operational readiness gaps, including fragmented tool adoption and inadequate backup frequency.
Andrew Huang, Synology’s Regional Sales Head, highlights the gap between confidence and actual preparedness. He stated, “As businesses increasingly rely on data to support critical operations and AI adoption, cyber resilience must go beyond deploying backup solutions. Organizations need to ensure their data is consistently protected and that recovery capabilities can be validated when disruption occurs.”
For new data protection purchases, security incidents emerged as the primary trigger for Indian organizations, with 64% citing such incidents as the impetus for their investments. This contrasts with 49% in Australia and 48% in MEA. Other triggers in India included infrastructure upgrades (46%) and cost reduction initiatives (32%), with the latter significantly higher than the 18% noted in Australia.
Interestingly, only 29% of Indian organizations cited regulatory requirements as a motivating factor for new data protection purchases, despite the impending obligations of the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, effective May 2027. This may indicate a trend of organizations responding to incidents rather than viewing data protection through a compliance lens.
Despite high confidence in their security posture, the survey revealed ongoing challenges in data protection practices. Integrating multiple tools across backup, disaster recovery, ransomware protection, and security was identified as a significant hurdle, as many organizations manage these solutions independently. The survey found that only 43% of organizations use real-time or continuous data protection, while the remaining 57% rely on less frequent backups, which increases the risk of data loss.
Recovery readiness also emerged as a critical concern. The survey found that 20% of organizations validate recoverability only occasionally, while 6% lack a coordinated recovery approach. This underscores the importance of routinely testing backup recoverability, rather than relying solely on having a recovery plan.
The survey also noted that data protection investments often follow security incidents, with 54% of organizations making new purchases post-incident, rising to 64% in India. This reactive approach can increase operational burdens, as organizations reportedly spend an average of 15 hours per week managing separate data protection tools.
Looking ahead, the survey forecasts a 14% to 15% growth in data protection investments over the next two years, with 69% of organizations anticipating increases of 10% or more. However, while 31% are focusing on AI-driven automation, only 12% prioritize backup modernization, pointing to a critical gap in foundational data protection capabilities.
Overall, these findings highlight the need for a more proactive, integrated approach to data protection, highlighting the importance of balancing confidence with operational readiness.