The Why, What and How of Cloud-Based Backup and Disaster Recovery

In the midst of a cloud revolution, it is easy to get lost in the terms that are thrown around on a daily basis. Arguably the most important solutions to commit to memory and add to your cloud portfolio are Backup and Disaster Recovery. In order to shed some light on these services and emphasize their importance to day to day operation, we have outlined the why,  what and how of choosing a backup and DR solution.

Why should you invest in cloud-based backup and DR?

With the current landscape of cybercrime and the increased risk of attack, backup and DR have never been more important to business continuity. In addition to the numerous benefits of deploying a cloud-based solution, cloud backup and DR offers users specific advantages over legacy solutions. Cloud solutions work to simplify the backup and DR process with “set it and forget” it backup methods. You no longer need to manage multiple vendors and multiple backup cycles.

For companies that do not currently have a strong solution in place, cloud backup and DR is fast, secure and reliable; and it is also affordable. There is little to no upfront capital cost and no expensive hardware purchase involved. It is also easy to deploy.

What should you look for in a solution?

When it comes to choosing a cloud-based backup and DR solution there are several important factors to consider. Not only do you have to make sure that the solution is a good fit for your business, you need to ensure that you have selected the right service provider to help you accomplish your DR goals.

Here are just a few factors that go into building an effective DR solution: Network, Latency, RTO, RPO, Scalability, Reliability. Based on these factors, are you confident that you currently have the right solution in place?

The best place to start when searching for a BDR solution is to evaluate the gaps in your current DR solution VS your ideal DR solution. Make specific objectives based on these goals and then find a service provider that can help deliver these objectives.

How do you implement a solution?

Implementing a disaster recovery solution, cloud-based or otherwise, requires immense planning and consideration for your IT environment. It is important to understand what your DR goals are and what sort of solution will help you to achieve them.

It is important to note that DR planning and implementation are never done. There should be a constant rinse and repeat cycle of upgrading and updating your environment and reporting on it.