It’s widely recognised that by the time professionals reach the C-suite, technical and functional expertise often takes a backseat to the demands of strong leadership. In fact, this shift begins much earlier, through MBA enrolment, industry networking, mentorships and advanced training programs. For many in executive roles today, especially in fast-growing markets like India, effective leadership is defined by how well one leverages technology to drive business transformation.

Bridging the Divide

Technology has evolved from being a cost centreto becoming a strategic advantage, shaping business agendas in different ways. In India, IT spending is predicted to reach $161.5 billion by 2025, growing at 11.1% year-on-year. Gartner estimates suggest that this surge is primarily attributable to strong investments in software and IT services, with software spending expected to increase by 16.9% and IT services by 11.2%.

Despite this growth, choosing where to invest remains a challenge, with business and IT leaders focused on driving different priorities. While the C-suite tends to focus on aligning technology with business objectives and budgets, IT leaders are tasked with maintaining daily operations while also integrating innovations like AI and cloud. In India, this misalignment is exacerbated by a historical lack of digital fluency with many boardrooms.

Fortunately, there’s one area both groups agree on: the need for technology to support performance and transformation simultaneously. This is where data resilience enters the picture.

Aligning Business Goals with Data Resilience

Data resilience refers to an organisation’s capacity to ensure continuity by withstanding and recovering from data-related disruptions or failures. While it may not be as widely recognised as AI or cloud computing, data resilience offers several critical benefits that businesses may often overlook:

• Supporting AI-powered systems which rely on the efficient movement of data across platforms
• Supporting multi-cloud strategies, enhancing cost-effectiveness. Hybrid cloud solutions blend hosted infrastructures, private clouds and on-premises IT, which strikes a balance between cost, performance and availability. This harmonious integration paves the way for additional technologies like automation, machine learning and AI
• Improving visibility into the data landscape, helping identify and address vulnerabilities

In today’s threat-heavy landscape, data resilience is not just a proactive measure but a foundation to long-term business strategy. It’s real power lies in maintaining operational continuity and driving enterprise strategy, creating a common language that resonates across the boardroom.Speaking the Language of Business Growth and Security

The simplest way to frame the importance of data resilience in the boardroom is that it is no longer just a safety measure, but a core enabler of business growth, trust and innovation.

(i) Growth

Data resilience is a comprehensive discipline encompassing backup and recovery, a necessity in today’s AI-driven era where data security is paramount. It serves as a foundational element for leveraging AI to generate actionable insights for executives, such as uncovering compliance risks or operational inefficiencies. This is a significant growth opportunity, helping businesses move beyond technical compliance to delivering a competitive advantage.

(ii) Trust

Trust and resilience goes hand-in-hand. In fact, PwC India revealed that 82% of Indian consumers consider protection of their personal data is one of the most crucial factors to earn trust. It also found that 86% of consumers are concerned about the potential cyber risks. Data resilience ensures data is protected, critically important as breaches are inevitable, and organisations need to be prepared to mitigate the impact and recover quickly when they occur.

(iii) Innovation

As the value of data grows, so do the opportunities to leverage its potential to maintain a competitive edge. A resilient data infrastructure supports this by improving compliance, uptime, and customer experience, which are key indicators of an innovative and future-ready organisation.

By placing data resilience at the centre of boardroom tech discussions, IT empowers the C-suite to drive growth and innovation, while fulfilling their role in the organisation’s digital transformation journey. The sooner business and tech leaders speak the same language, the faster they can align and deliver results.

The authors are Rick Vanover, Vice President, Product Strategy, Veeam & Sandeep Bhambure, Vice President and Managing Director, India & SAARC, Veeam.

Disclaimer: The views expressed are solely of the author and ETCISO does not necessarily subscribe to it. ETCISO shall not be responsible for any damage caused to any person/organization directly or indirectly.