Disaster recovery options in the cloud

When the unthinkable happens, you want to be sure that your business will continue operating smoothly. Even if your primary data centre is inaccessible or damaged beyond repair, you need a plan for keeping important services online and accessible to customers.

The right cloud-based disaster recovery services can protect against most emergencies without breaking your budget.

What Is Cloud Disaster Recovery?

Disaster recovery (DR) refers to a business continuity plan that ensures uptime and data availability in the event of an emergency. In the past, DR was mostly done offline or in a secondary data centre, but now companies of all sizes can take advantage of cloud-based DR solutions to protect against unexpected outages. 

You can also use these services to make periodic data backups or migrate to the cloud with ease. Any business with an online presence or customer base needs to prioritize disaster recovery. A sudden outage could result in a loss of earnings, customer trust, and even damage to your brand. 

In other words, it’s not something you want to gamble on.

Benefits of cloud disaster recovery

Faster recovery time: Faster recovery time is one of the biggest benefits of cloud-based DR solutions. There’s no need to send employees to a secondary data centre and wait for them to set up equipment, install software, etc. Each cloud solution has been designed to be easy to set up and use. 

Worry-free scalability: A traditional secondary data centre may not have the capacity to scale alongside your primary data centre. Cloud-based DR solutions, on the other hand, can scale automatically to meet the needs of your business at all times. 

Lower costs: Setting up and maintaining a secondary data centre is costly, both in the short- and long-term. Cloud-based DR solutions, on the other hand, are significantly less expensive. This is largely due to the fact that you don’t have to buy any additional hardware or software.

Better security and compliance: Many businesses prioritise security and compliance above all else. Cloud-based DR solutions can help you stay compliant with regulations and keep sensitive data safe.

Continuous availability: Cloud-based DR solutions are always up and running. This means that you can use them to host your SQL database, website, or other mission-critical applications that must remain available at all times. If your on-premise DR solution goes down, you might have to go offline as well.

Disaster Recovery as a Service

DRaaS is an IT service that includes the backup and storage of your data. Companies sell this as a subscription-based service. DRaaS providers will also work with you to create an emergency plan for your business, which includes steps for restoring your data and databases in the event of a disaster. 

These days, 93% of companies store their data backups in the cloud, but only 59% utilise cloud-based DRaaS, leaving them more vulnerable after an incident of cyber-attack.

DRaaS providers typically charge you a monthly fee based on the amount of data you’re storing. This is a great option for businesses that don’t want to invest in creating their own DR plan.

Cloud DRaaS providers can also offer comprehensive cloud DR as a service. This is a cloud-based solution designed specifically to protect your data against all types of disasters.

Creating a cloud DR plan

There are two major considerations when you’re creating a cloud DR plan for your business: where and how. You’ll need to decide where your data is being hosted, and how it will be backed up. You’ll also need to determine which disasters you’ll be protecting against. 

Where you host your data: This is where your data will be stored. You may choose to host all of your data in the cloud or host some data in the cloud and keep some data on-premise. You may also choose to use a hybrid cloud solution that stores some data in the cloud and others on-premise. 

How your data is backed up: You’ll need to decide what type of backups you’ll be using. You may want to use an online backup service, such as Microsoft Azure, to store your data online. You may also want to store your data in an offsite location — like a nearby data centre — that can be quickly accessed in case of an emergency.

Find the right DR solutions for your business

Disaster recovery is necessary for every business, no matter how large or small. While DR strategies have been around for a long time, the introduction of the cloud has created a new and affordable way to protect against disasters. If you’re not currently using a cloud-based disaster recovery plan, it’s time to change your thinking. The right cloud DR solution can protect against most disasters and keep your data safe from harm.

The cloud specialists at Essential Tech can help you migrate over to the cloud and create the DR plan your business needs to survive and get back on its feet quickly in the face of any unexpected disaster. Talk to them today and be prepared.