As cyberattacks by state-backed actors increasingly target critical infrastructure, both government agencies and private enterprises are stepping up investments in data protection and recovery capabilities.
Amid this backdrop, Veeam Software, a U.S.-headquartered data backup and recovery firm, has seen steady growth in its India and SAARC operations. “Post-Covid, with the rise of cloud adoption and a decentralised workforce, organisations have placed data protection and resilience at the centre of their IT strategies,” said Sandeep Bhambure, Vice President and Managing Director of Veeam India & SAARC, in an exclusive interview with TechObserver.in.
“We have grown at high double-digit, close to triple-digit, rates over the past four to five years.” Veeam counts thousands of Indian enterprises as customers. Bhambure said the company is seeing traction in public sector banks, manufacturing and insurance. Globally, partnerships with Microsoft, AWS and support for platforms like Salesforce and SAP HANA have further expanded its reach. “That segment alone is growing at triple-digit rates,” he said.
Edited Excerpts:
There is increasing focus from both government bodies and enterprises on data protection and cyber resilience. What key trends are you witnessing in this space?
Data resilience has become a top priority for both organisations and government entities. The war has amplified the urgency around this—highlighting how cyber threats are not just overt but often covert, targeting national infrastructure and corporate networks alike.
At Veeam, we have always been at the forefront of helping our clients ensure data resilience. We recently conducted our annual global study, From Risk to Resilience, involving over 1,000 technology leaders worldwide. This research tracks evolving trends in ransomware, cybersecurity, and data protection.
Interestingly, 70% of organisations faced a ransomware attack in the past 12 months. That is slightly lower than the 75% reported previously, but the impact of these attacks has grown. Why? Because governments, vendors, and organisations have united to combat bad actors—efforts like shutting down LockBit are prime examples.
What has changed significantly is the tactic. Cybercriminals are increasingly focusing on data exfiltration rather than just encryption. They aim to steal sensitive information and publish it on the dark web, making data protection more critical than ever.
Given the increase in cyberattacks on critical infrastructure by state-backed actors, what foundational measures do you believe are essential to defend and recover from such attacks?
I would again say data resilience must be a top priority. As a nation, we share vast borders, and just like securing physical boundaries requires immense manpower, securing IT infrastructure is not just about deploying more security software.
Organisations are spending millions on network-centric and data-centric security solutions. However, attackers still find their way in. What is changing is the mindset—organisations are preparing for when, not if, an attack occurs. That is where data resilience becomes critical. The ability to maintain business continuity amidst a cyberattack will determine future success.
AI is increasingly being integrated into security, analytics and automation. How is Veeam approaching AI?
One of the most exciting developments for us has been around our data platform architecture. With support for model context protocols and compatibility with platforms like Anthropic, any data backed up using Veeam can now be leveraged by our customers through their AI models and engines.
Traditionally, backup data has been passive—just sitting there. But with AI integration, we are turning it into an active asset. For example, using our partnership with Kasten, we are now able to proactively scan data and issue early alerts before ransomware even strikes.
So it is a two-pronged approach: first, embedding AI into the Veeam platform to enhance customer defence mechanisms; second, enabling customers to derive value from their backed-up data using AI. These innovations, we believe, position Veeam far ahead of competitors globally.
Veeam recently introduced the Cyber Resilience Maturity Model in partnership with McKinsey. Can you explain how this framework helps customers?
The Data Resilience Maturity Model is the industry’s first such framework, developed jointly with McKinsey. It consolidates best practices and provides a structured method for organisations to evaluate their current resilience posture.
The idea is to conduct a reality check—identify gaps between perceived readiness and actual preparedness. What triggered this was our research showing a significant mismatch: organisations believed they were at level five, but most were actually below level two. This is not just overconfidence—it is risky.
The framework offers specific steps to bridge these gaps and build a robust, data-resilient enterprise. We believe this will be a valuable tool for organisations navigating today’s threat landscape.
Quantum computing is gaining attention from both the Indian government and global tech leaders. How do you view its potential impact on data protection and how is Veeam preparing for it?
As a leader in data resilience, we are deeply invested in understanding how quantum computing will shape the future. While there are concerns—such as easier decryption of data—we also see quantum as an opportunity to enhance our platform’s security capabilities.
We are focusing on three key pillars as part of our quantum-readiness roadmap: fast recovery, broad interoperability and data portability. Fast recovery is not just about powerful software or hardware—it requires seamless support for diverse IT environments. That is something we have architected into our platform.
Data portability is another big priority. Customers want flexibility—whether it is recovering workloads in hyperscalers, virtual infrastructures, microservices, or physical environments. The more flexible the recovery, the stronger the business continuity. That is the future we are building towards.
How has Veeam’s business in India evolved and what are your current priorities?
The India business has been on a strong growth trajectory. Post-COVID, with increased cloud adoption and a decentralised workforce, data protection and resilience have become core priorities for organisations.
We have been growing at high double-digit, sometimes near triple-digit, rates over the past four to five years. Our customer base now spans several thousand organisations across key sectors. For example, one of India’s largest insurers has deployed Veeam for its private cloud. We are also seeing strong adoption in public sector banks, manufacturing and insurance.
Our channel ecosystem has matured significantly. Globally, partnerships with Microsoft, AWS and the introduction of Veeam Data Cloud have bolstered our position. We are now also backing up workloads on platforms like Salesforce and SAP HANA—this segment is growing at triple-digit rates. All of this positions us for accelerated growth in the next two to three years as data resilience becomes even more crucial.
