Closing the Reality Gap: Veeam’s Bold Framework Ushers in a New Era of Radical Data Resilience

As data outages and cyber threats escalate, a new framework looks to help enterprises benchmark resilience maturity and drive smarter, cross-functional strategies for protection and recovery.

In an era where cyberattacks and IT outages are escalating at an unprecedented rate, most organizations continue to overestimate their ability to bounce back. A new strategic framework from Veeam Software, the global leader in data resilience, aims to change that.

Launched at VeeamON 2025, the Data Resilience Maturity Model (DRMM) is the industry’s first holistic framework designed to help enterprises confront the stark disconnect between perception and reality in data resilience. Backed by joint research with McKinsey & Company, the DRMM offers a clear roadmap for businesses seeking to minimize risk, reduce downtime, and protect their operations against future disruptions. The comprehensive framework is designed to help organizations not only assess their current state but also take meaningful, actionable steps toward improvement.

“Data resilience is critical to survival—and most companies are operating in the dark,” said Anand Eswaran, CEO of Veeam. “The new Veeam DRMM is more than just a model; it’s a wake-up call that equips leaders with the tools and insights necessary to transform wishful thinking into actionable, radical resilience, enabling them to start protecting their data with the same urgency as they protect their revenue, employees, customers, and brand.”

A Costly Miscalculation

According to the Veeam and McKinsey report, while 30% of CIOs believe their organizations are above average in data resilience, fewer than 10% actually meet that bar. This disconnect is not only dangerous—it’s expensive. Global 2000 companies lose over $400 billion annually due to IT downtime, with each company averaging $200 million in losses tied to outages, reputational damage, and operational disruption.

The DRMM framework reveals that 74% of organizations operate at the two lowest levels of maturity, exposing themselves to unnecessary risk. Conversely, companies at the highest maturity level recover from outages seven times faster, experience three times less downtime, and suffer four times less data loss.

“Data resilience isn’t just about protecting data, it’s about protecting the entire business,” Eswaran continued. “This is the difference between shutting down operations during an outage or keeping the business running. It’s the difference between paying a ransom or not. It provides the foundation for AI innovation, compliance, trust, and long-term performance – including competitive advantage.”

A Resilience Blueprint for the Boardroom

The DRMM empowers organizations to align people, processes, and technologies around a unified data strategy. Unlike traditional approaches that focus narrowly on backup and recovery, this model addresses cyber resilience, disaster recovery (DR), and operational continuity in tandem—delivering insights and action plans across three key domains: data strategy, people and processes, and technology.

The model categorizes organizations into four distinct maturity horizons:

●      Basic – At this stage, organizations rely on reactive, manual processes and often struggle with high exposure to risk due to limited visibility, inconsistent protocols, and a lack of standardized response mechanisms.

●      Intermediate – These organizations have developed some level of reliability but operate in silos, with fragmented tools and processes that hinder agility and lack automation needed for scalable resilience.

●      Advanced – Companies at this level are more strategic and proactive, with formalized data resilience strategies in place, though they still fall short of achieving seamless integration across people, processes, and technologies.

●      Best-in-Class – The most resilient organizations are autonomous, AI-optimized, and deeply aligned across the enterprise, enabling them to anticipate threats, respond instantly, and continuously improve with minimal human intervention.

Companies at the Best-in-Class level don’t just recover—they lead. Real-world use cases demonstrate that Veeam customers applying the DRMM framework have achieved game-changing outcomes: one healthcare system saved $5 million per outage, while a global bank eliminated cyber incidents entirely after implementing the model.

Measurable ROI and a Path Forward

For every $1 invested in data resilience, companies see a return of $3 to $5—sometimes even as high as $10—through improved uptime, reduced incident costs, and increased agility. It’s no surprise, then, that data resilience has surged to become the second-most strategic priority for IT leaders, second only to cost optimization.

The research—based on insights from over 500 IT, security, and operations leaders, and 50+ interviews with C-level executives—reinforces that resilience is no longer the sole responsibility of IT. As George Westerman, Principal Research Scientist at the MIT Sloan School of Management, notes: “Data outages can severely impact customer-facing capabilities and erode shareholder trust… But even more, they can be a signal of immature IT management processes that have led to overly complex, hard-to-manage IT infrastructure.”

From Strategy to Execution

Organizations can kickstart their data resilience journey by participating in Veeam’s executive workshops designed to help them ascend the maturity curve. Through this tailored guidance, businesses can build stronger foundations for innovation, regulatory readiness, and operational continuity—ensuring that their data is always protected, always available, and always working to propel their business forward.

With over 550,000 customers worldwide, including 67% of the Global 2000, Veeam is not only leading the conversation on radical resilience—it’s helping shape its future.