As more small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) turn to digital solutions for productivity and efficiency, disaster recovery is also becoming more important, as natural and man-made calamities can happen anytime. Cyberattacks, forest fires, earthquakes, and hardware failures are just some of the threats that endanger your company.
Cloud computing, or storing and accessing data and software programs over the internet, is now a reasonable alternative for disaster recovery aside from the usual tape backups on physical servers. Research company Gartner predicts that by 2025, 80% of enterprises will have shut down their traditional data centers in favor of cloud-based services.
Here’s a look at how the technology has transformed disaster recovery planning:
More resource-conserving, cost-effective
It’s costly to have a second data center for your backup because it sits idle, wasting physical space, while you await a disaster. Using the cloud to host your backups saves you not only resources but also additional fees in the long run.
Third-party data centers make disaster recovery cheaper, as they don’t require a large initial investment and maintenance expenses. Managed IT service providers (MSPs) such as F1 Solutions can help, as these providers offer fixed monthly rates, and create a more reliable budget plan for businesses.
Furthermore, having a disaster recovery plan in the cloud allows you to back up your entire server almost simultaneously. All your data and applications will be saved onto virtual servers where information can be sent easily and quickly.
Faster, more flexible recovery facilities
Because cloud computing uses the internet, companies no longer have to worry about natural calamities that can damage physical servers holding gigabytes of precious data. It pays to be careful when utilizing cloud-based services for your backup as some do not offer redundancy. F1 Solutions provides the best of both worlds by storing critical data at two separate locations, which are checked regularly by qualified technicians to ensure a smooth recovery.
For instance, if a storm hits your recovery facility area, you might risk losing data. However, virtual server facilities can be located in different parts of the world, making their simultaneous shutdown virtually impossible. The reliability of the cloud has also been repeatedly proven with 99.9% guaranteed uptime, so safety is an assurance.
Without the cloud, recovering from a disaster would require manual administration and intervention from your IT team. Recovery may take longer than expected, and worse, some of your data may not be recoverable.
Better malware protection
SMBs are a high-value target for online threats such as ransomware. According to breach response expert Brett Anderson, cybercriminals are breaking into servers and doing “advance work,” which means infiltrating a company’s network and disabling any backups before encryption. Having your files stored safely in a virtual server makes infiltrating more difficult, and it further ensures that you are safe from malware.
Remember that your disaster recovery plan can be the only thing that saves you should any major issues happen in the future. Test it out twice a year, and make sure to update it regularly according to the latest trends and developments. With the cloud on your side, you can’t go wrong with keeping your data safe.
Need a partner for your disaster planning and business continuity? F1 can help. For over 17 years, we have diligently served our clients in North Alabama, and this has made us the region’s most respected and trusted IT solutions provider. Call us today, and let our team handle the safety of your data.
