Protecting Data in Education Survey Report 2015 Contents The Survey 2 Executive Summary 3 Survey Methodology and Respondents Profile 4 Key Findings 5 Appendix 1 - Participating Organisations 10 Appendix 2 - Full Survey Questions 13 Acknowledgements The survey team at iGov Survey would like to take this opportunity to thank all of those who were kind enough to take part - and especially to those who found the time to offer additional insight through their extra comments. We would also like to thank our partner, Acronis, for their assistance in compiling the survey questions, scrutinising the responses and analysing the results. Protecting Data in Education Survey Report 2015 © copyright Unless explicitly stated otherwise, all rights including those in copyright in the content of this publication are owned by or controlled for these purposes by iGov Survey. Except as otherwise expressly permitted under copyright law or iGov Survey’s Terms of Use, the content of this publication are owned by or controlled may not be copied, reproduced, republished, downloaded, posted, broadcast or transmitted in any way without first obtaining iGov Survey’s written permission or that of the copyright owner. To contact the iGov Survey team: Email: [email protected] Tel: 0845 094 8567 Protecting Data in Education 2015 The Survey The protection of data is arguably more important now than ever before, with the amounts of data collected by organisations across the public sector still increasing, sometimes at a fairly rapid rate. Educational institutions are no different, with vast amounts of data collected on students, their background, progress and achievements, all of which must be kept and managed securely, efficiently, and cost-effectively. In addition, migration to new, more efficient and cost-effective solutions such as virtualisation and cloud technologies can cause difficulties in the data management and back-up processes organisations currently have in place. In light of this iGov, alongside our survey partner and data experts Acronis, have recently conducted a survey to examine the approaches educational institutions already take to protect their data, and how the growth in data and plans to migrate to new technologies are impacting these strategies. About Acronis: Founded in 2003, Acronis protects the data of over 5million consumers and 300,000 businesses in over 130 countries. More than 3000 education and scientific institutions. Acronis offers world-class data protection designed to fit any business environment—from a single workstation to an entire enterprise infrastructure. Protecting Data in Education 2015 Executive Summary 70% Have insufficient DR protection of their of respondents critical data* 48% Run both Virtual and Physical Systems in of respondents their Data Centre* 46% Would like to implement Cloud Data of respondents Protection Services** Would like to 49% implement (Managed) Cloud Backup services of respondents as part of Cloud plans*** * “Complexity and Data Growth Driving Small and Medium-Sized Environments Toward a New Generation of Data Protection”, IDC, June 2014. Sample: 401 SMB Businesses, <1000 employees ** “Data Protection-as-a-service (DPaaS) Trends”, ESG, 2013 *** “2014 IT Budget Report”, SpiceWorks, 2014 Protecting Data in Education 2015 Survey Methodology and Respondents Profile The survey was conducted online by iGov Survey between the 19th May 2015 and the 8th June 2015. The survey respondents represent a broad cross-section seniority levels, including managers, chief executives, headteachers and directors across the education sector. 361 individuals from 327 unique organisations participated in the survey. Organisations included those from primary schools, secondary schools, universities and colleges. The following diagrams show a breakdown of results by trust types and seniority. 3% BREAKDOWN OF RESPONDENTS BY TRUST TYPE 9% 19% 12% Primary Secondary Independent Colleges of FE University 19% Other 38% BREAKDOWN OF RESPONDENTS BY SENIORITY Assistant Head 27 Deputy Head 34 Director 20 Head 29 Headteacher/Principle 102 Manager 94 Other 38 Protecting Data in Education 2015 Key Findings The biggest threat to organisations was cited as data loss (49%). This was followed by data corruption and human error, both of which were highlighted by 17% of participants. Just 13% believed online hackers posed a significant threat. 4% WHAT IS THE BIGGEST PERCEIVED THREAT TO YOUR 13% ORGANISATION’S DATA? Data Loss Data Corruption 17% 49% Human Error Online Hackers Other 17% However, 70% of survey participants also told us they had tested their resilience to data loss, 65% had tested against data corruption, and 67% against the threat of human error. In contrast, less than half (46%) had tested their resilience to online hackers. Overall, 85% stated they had a disaster recovery plan in place to ensure the protection of their data. UNDER YOUR CURRENT DATA SECURITY SOLUTION, HAS YOUR ORGANISATION RECENTLY TESTED ITS RESILIENCE TO MULTIPLE THREATS? Yes No Don't know 100 75 50 25 0 Data Loss Data Corruption Human Error Online Hackers Protecting Data in Education 2015 The vast majority of participants (87%) have seen the amount of data they produce increase in the past year. Interestingly, over a third of this group (37%) stated that they had seen a rise of 11-20%. Furthermore, 63% believe this will continue at a steady pace in the coming years, while over a quarter (28%) believe it will begin to grow faster. BY HOW MUCH HAVE YOU SEEN THE AMOUNT OF DATA YOU PRODUCE INCREASE? 103 73 73 Number of participants 11 11 10 Less than 5% 6-10% 11-20% 21-50% 51-74% More than 75% When participants were asked how they stored their data, the most commonly used type of storage was hard drive (85%). Almost half (49%) also used Cloud storage, whilst 32% also stated they stored data externally through a supplier. Just 8% used CD, and a further 28% told us they used tape. Protecting Data in Education 2015 Under half of survey participants (44%) told us they are currently planning a server migration or consolidation. The same percentage of participants told us they were also considering migrating to the Cloud to store their data. Of this group, 40% said they hadn’t yet started the process of migration, whilst 13% stated they were less then 5% of the way through. In contrast, 15% believed they were almost complete, with more than 75% of the migration process done. 15% IS YOUR ORGANISATION CONSIDERING MOVING TO THE CLOUD TO STORE ITS DATA? 44% Yes No Don't know 41% 15% HOW FAR ARE YOU THROUGH THE MIGRATION? 4% We haven't started 40% Less than 5% 11% 6-20% 21-50% 51-74% More than 75% 17% 13% Of those who were not migrating to the Cloud to store their data, the most commonly cited barrier was security concerns (56%). This was closely followed by the cost of storage (48%) and cultural resilience within organisations (34%). Protecting Data in Education 2015 Over a third of participants (37%) stated they believed migration to virtualised or cloud environments would be very or fairly easy. However, over a quarter (27%) believed migration would be fairly complex. Just 10% stated they had no plans to migrate to either virtualisation or cloud technologies. Furthermore, a third of participants believe their migration plans will impact their current back-up solution, with a further quarter (25%) unsure. HOW EASY DO YOU EXPECT MIGRATION TO VIRTUALISATION AND/OR CLOUD TECHNOLOGY TO BE? Very easy 11 Fairly easy 109 Fairly complex 86 Very complex 14 Don't know 62 We are not migrating 32 0 22 44 66 88 110 The vast majority of participants (99%) were also aware of their organisation’s obligation regarding data under the Data Protection Act and other information security legislation. A large proportion of this group (87%) also told us that this impacted the way in which they protect their data. Protecting Data in Education 2015 82% of participants placed a ‘very high priority’ upon Data Security. Just 15% placed a ‘high priority’ on data security, and only 3% placed a ‘medium priority’ on it. In regards to the back-up of data, almost three quarters (72%) gave it a ‘very high priority’, followed by 24% who stated it was a ‘high priority’. In contrast, 57% placed a ‘very high priority’ on disaster recovery of data, a further 28% gave it a ‘high priority’, whilst 11% placed it as a ‘medium priority’ and 3% said it was a ‘low priority’. PLEASE TELL US WHAT PRIORITY IS PLACED ON EACH OF THE FOLLOWING? Very high priority High priority Medium priority Low priority Not a priority Don't know 100 75 50 25 0 Data security Back-up of data Disaster recovery Protecting Data in Education 2015 Appendix 1 - Participating Organisations Abbots Bromley School for Girls Central College Nottingham Abertay University Central Newcastle High School Aberystwyth University Chafyn Grove School Abingdon House School Chase Terrace Technology College Ackton Pastures Primary School Chaucer School Acresfield Community Primary School Chesswood Middle School Alcester Academy Childwall Sports and Science Academy Alderman Davies Church in Wales Primary School Christ Church Cathedral School Alderman White School Christopher Whitehead Language College Aldworth Science College City College Norwich All Saints Church of England Primary School Coleg Gwent All Saints East Clevedon Church of England Primary Coleg Sir Gar School Colman Infant School Altrincham College of Arts Colne Community School and College Altrincham Grammar School for Girls Colonel Frank Seely School Anglia Ruskin University Coombe