Next week, Veeam will be holding its annual user event, VeemON, from June 3 to 5 in Fort Lauderdale. The 2024 edition will be VeeamON #10, and the event has certainly changed over the past decade. Veeam has historically been known as a disruptor in the backup and recovery industry but has expanded its mission and scope and is now relevant in cyber security. I expect VeeamON 10 to be a significant one, as last year, Veeam became the market share leader in backup and recovery, and the tone should reflect that versus being a disruptor.Attendees of VeeamON 2024 should be on the lookout for the following:Artificial IntelligenceWhat’s an event in 2024 without AI being front and center? Veeam is more than a backup and recovery vendor today. It’s more of a data platform. Customers can analyze the data in the platform to help uncover critical insights to run the business better. However, people can’t work fast enough to make sense of the massive amount of data in real time – but machines can. While I don’t expect every session at VeeamON to be infused with AI, which will be a welcome relief from some other events I have been to, I do expect the company to tease out some thought leadership and some insight as to “what’s possible” when generative AI is brought to the Veeam platform.Ransomware updateOne of the marquee events at VeeamON has been the releasing of its Ransomware Trends report. At VeeamON 2023, the latest version of the report had some scary statistics. The survey was of 1,200 companies that were hit by ransomware. The report found that 85% of organizations suffered at least one ransomware attack in the past 12 months. It also showed how wide the gap is today in protecting an organization. 87% of respondents have a risk management program to drive their security roadmap, but only 35% believe their program is working well.The report also highlighted the changing nature of ransomware insurance. 77% of respondents stated the ransom was paid by an insurance carrier, but 21% found out that ransomware is now excluded from their policies. 74% saw their premiums increase, with 43% found their premiums had doubled. Companies that take a laissez-faire attitude toward ransomware and expect the insurance company to bail them out should think twice and use the proper procedures to protect themselves.I’m looking forward to seeing what the 2024 report reveals.Coveware integrationEarlier this year, Veeam acquired Coveware to boost its ransomware incident response capabilities. While Veeam does an excellent job of helping customers recover from ransomware, its solution assumes the customer has been hit by it. One of Coveware’s core capabilities is an offering called Recon, which finds vulnerabilities to help customers prevent a breach that could lead to a ransom demand. When the acquisition happened, I talked to Dave Russell, Veeam’s VP of Strategy, and he compared Veeam to a company that can help put out a fire, but Coveware can help prevent the fire before it happens. The combination of the two addresses the broader ransomware lifecycle. Coveware will be available for attendees to check out in the expo hall.Expo Hall partnersOne of the highlights of any event for me is the Expo Hall, which showcases the vendors’ capabilities and ecosystem partners. This year, Diamond Sponsors include AWS, Exagrid, HPE, Lenovo, and Microsoft. Platinum Sponsors are Backblaze, Hitachi Vantara, Pure Storage, Scality, Threat Locker, and Wasabi.This is a good mix of cloud companies, security providers, storage vendors, and complimentary backup companies. Attendees who visit the Expo Hall should get some hands-on demos to see how Veeam intersects with a growing set of ecosystem partners.Customer storiesNot all user events include strong customer stories, and Veeam has done a great job of this at previous VeeamON conferences. Last year, several sessions included customers, including the keynote, which had a fireside chat with Kim LaGrue, CIO of the City of New Orleans, who was brutally honest about the city’s recent ransomware incident, the realities of not being prepared, and the disastrous recovery process.LaGrue’s frankness told the audience that one must take ransomware preparation seriously, as when it hits, it could have significant consequences for organizations that do not have an adequate recovery plan. Customer stories shouldn’t just be “rah-rah, this vendor is great” but rather educate, and I felt the customers Veeam put forward did just that.For those of you who can’t attend in person, a virtual component is worth attending to, given the state of ransomware today. Zeus Kerravala is the founder and principal analyst with ZK Research.Read his other Network Computing articles here.Related articles: