Cloud Computing – The Future of Disaster Recovery

cloud computing the future of disaster recovery
Cloud Computing

Disasters happen. Whether they be natural or man-made – hurricanes that flood your company’s headquarters or viruses that contaminate your IT department’s servers – the consequences can be devastating.

Studies have shown that 43% of companies that cannot retrieve their data due to a disaster strike never reopen and that 29% of these companies close within two years.

How can your business protect itself in the face of these inevitable calamities? Look to the clouds! Cloud computing offers cost-effective solutions to help your business recover lost data and resume normal operations effectively and efficiently.

Despite its lofty nomenclature, cloud computing is really a down-to-earth concept. In simple terms, cloud computing means relying on the Internet – rather than on hardware – to store the information and programs that are vital to your business. This system allows you to access integral data remotely – an especially handy benefit if, say, your hard drives are corrupted.

Cloud computing, therefore, is essential to disaster recovery. A cloud-based system allows you to make a virtual copy of your company’s server – including the operating system, data, software, and other information contained therein. Because it stores this virtual copy on the Internet, no hardware is required. And if no hardware is required, none can be compromised.

When it comes to disaster recovery, cloud computing can save your business more than just time and money – it can flat out save your business. Even if your headquarters had been located in Pompeii on the day that Vesuvius erupted, cloud computing would have made it possible for you to restart your business (hopefully in a volcano-free zone) with a minimal outlay of money, time, and effort.

Disasters happen. But when they do, cloud computing allows your business to look to the sky and keep its feet on the ground.

Have You Tested Your Disaster Recovery Plan? Here Is Why You Should

outsourced computer support for your business disaster recovery

A recent article from Forbes that’s well-worth reading lists five major ways businesses perform poorly on IT disaster recovery plans. Second on the list is the failure to test disaster recovery plans.

Why is Testing Necessary?

Without testing the disaster recovery plans measures you’ve come up with for your computer systems, your plan remains mostly theoretical. On paper, it looks as if it could work, but you can’t know with a reasonable degree of certainty. You’re not sure if your disaster recovery solutions will truly provide you with protection from lost data and give you the ability to minimize downtime. Your employees may not know what they’re supposed to do; without testing, the tasks they’re assigned to undertake could remain abstract to them.

Testing also helps you catch unforeseen difficulties or situations you didn’t expect. For instance, maybe your disaster recovery plans haven’t anticipated a lack of reliable communication channels between employees in the aftermath of a disaster. You don’t want to get caught unprepared.

What are Some Good Practices for Running Tests?

Whenever your IT or business environment undergoes notable changes, it’s a good idea to run a test. For example, if you switch to new kinds of software, upgrade your hardware, or add new devices to your network, it’s important to determine how these changes will affect your disaster recovery plans.

Granted, it’s not possible to frequently run full-scale tests on your entire system. You may wind up implementing changes to your IT set-up and not get a chance to conduct a full test until weeks or months later. However, even if you can’t always run a full-scale test, there are other options. You can conduct partial tests that don’t involve your entire system; you can look at specific issues, such as whether certain critical data backups are complete and timely. You’re also encouraged to use monitoring apps that pinpoint areas of vulnerability as your system changes.

For further advice and assistance, please contact us.

We will work with you not only to come up with a powerful disaster recovery plan, but also to check that it will truly support your company when you need it.

4 Reasons Why A Disaster Recovery Plan Is Important For Businesses?

4 reasons why a disaster recovery plan is important for businesses

Unfortunately, many businesses either don’t have a plan written up, or the plan they’ve formulated is inadequate for their needs. For example, Nationwide’s Small Business Indicator survey showed that over two-thirds of small businesses lack a written plan, delaying their recovery from natural disasters. And of course, natural disasters aren’t the only kind that businesses face; there are also cyber attacks, equipment failure, loss of data, and employee errors or negligence.

disaster recovery plan

Why is Disaster Recovery Important for Businesses?

  • Financial costs. Disasters often lead to staggering costs for companies, sometimes causing them to go out of business. For instance, when it comes to data breaches (a too-frequent kind of disaster), the 2016 Ponemon Cost of Data Breach Study estimated an “average consolidated total cost” of $4 million per data breach.
  • Business reputation. Businesses without a strong disaster recovery plan are often left floundering after a disaster, whether it’s a cyber attack or a powerful storm. They may leave their customers’ information unprotected or fail to respond in a timely or effective way to customers’ concerns, questions, and needs.
  • Variety of threats. Because of the variety of potential disasters, and the way new threats may emerge, businesses need to make thorough preparations. They must assess the likelihood of different threats and prepare for each in the best possible way.
  • Unaffordable delays. The key to not only surviving a disaster, but continuing to thrive beyond it, is to put into play various disaster recovery measures. You can get your business up and running as quickly as possible afterwards and not have to suffer through prolonged downtime and delays.

To discuss the most effective disaster recovery strategies for your business, please contact us. We’ll help you come up with a comprehensive plan that counteracts the effects of different disasters.

Disaster Recovery Vs Business Continuity: Are They The Same?

disaster recovery vs business continuity are they the same

Disaster Recovery (DR) and Business Continuity (BC) are often thought of as pretty much the same thing, but in reality there are significant differences between the two. Both are key elements of a company’s ability to continue functioning after an emergency.

Yet it’s possible for a business to have in place an effective disaster recovery plan, but still find itself unable to resume operations after a disruption because business continuity issues were not adequately addressed.

Disaster Recovery Vs Business Continuity

How Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity Differ

The key difference between disaster recovery and business continuity is in the scope each covers. There is, of course, some overlap. But the focus of DR is more on reestablishing an organization’s IT functionality, while BC aims at insuring that the company can resume carrying out its actual business operations as soon as possible after a disruption.

A disaster recovery plan (DRP) will be concerned with issues such as how and where the company’s critical data is backed up, and how soon and completely that data can be recovered after some kind of outtage. What happens if, for example, the company’s data center burns down? A good DRP will specify off-site backup locations for data, how it will be recovered, and how alternate servers, networks, and other equipment will be brought online as soon as possible.

A business continuity plan (BCP), on the other hand, will not only encompass all the areas addressed in the DRP, but it will also focus on issues such as specifying how and by whom essential business functions will be carried out. For example, who will be the company’s authorized point of contact for both internal and external communications? Where will employees gather if the organization’s main site is no longer usable? What are the steps each business unit or staff team must take to ensure its own operations are reestablished quickly and effectively?

Disaster Recover and Business Continuity Go Together!

In effect, disaster recovery is an integral part, but only a part, of business continuity. A business’s IT department may have a great disaster recovery plan in place, but if the organization’s executive management doesn’t put an equal focus on business continuity planning that encompasses all aspects of the company’s operations, the company may well join the 80 percent of businesses that fail within 18 months of experiencing a major disruption.

If you’d like to know more about how to make sure your company has a good plan in place not only for disaster recovery, but for ensuring that your entire business can quickly and effectively resume operations after disaster strikes, please contact us.

Computer Tip of the Day: An Extra Layer of Backup

computer tip of the day an extra layer of backup

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You can never have too many backups. A standard backup plan should follow the “3-2-1” rule; have at least three copies of your important files, keep them on at least two different media, and store one of them offsite.

The offsite copy will usually be with a backup service provider on the Internet.

With critically important files that don’t change very often, an additional copy provides extra insurance. This can take the form of an external disk drive, a USB stick, or a DVD-ROM that you lock away in a safe place away from your installation. A disk drive gives the most storage but costs more; a DVD or USB stick is less expensive and easy to store in a small space.

  • Since the point of this is to store the device offsite, you should always encrypt it.
  • Make sure to save the decryption key, but don’t store it with the device.
  • Label your backup.
  • For a DVD, use a CD-safe marker; some markers can damage the disc, which is most vulnerable on the label side.

All devices have a limited life, even with good storage. Keep the backup in a place that won’t get too hot, cold, or humid. Don’t count on its lasting more than five years. Send a note to your future self to copy it to new media after four years.

Choose your files carefully for this. You can’t usefully store anything that’s subject to change this way, but it can help to guarantee that you won’t lose critical documents even if everything else goes wrong.

Please contact us for IT support, backup, and other services.