A disaster recovery strategy is necessary for ensuring the integrity and availability of a company’s data in the event of a disaster. A delay in data recovery after a disaster can lead to severe financial losses for the affected company; studies indicate that companies can lose anywhere from $100,000 to $1 million per hour following a data outage. With potential losses this high, it’s essential that a company has a solid disaster recovery plan in place to restore data and minimize downtime after a disaster.
A key component of a good disaster recovery strategy is the establishment of secondary data backup sites. While organizations previously operated multiple data sites at disparate locations as part of their disaster response strategy, the current recommended trend is to use a hybrid cloud. In a study done by IDG, 56% of IT professionals maintained that the hybrid cloud enhanced their disaster recovery strategy.
What is a hybrid cloud?
A hybrid cloud is a mix between a public cloud and a private on premises data infrastructure or cloud (see Private vs Public vs Hybrid: Understanding the Difference). This offers companies greater flexibility and agility in how they use their data. Data can be exchanged between the public and private platforms depending on its needs and circumstances. There are several applications available that facilitate the transfer of data between both platforms.
How hybrid cloud improves disaster recovery
The use of a hybrid cloud as part of a disaster recovery strategy confers several benefits, some of which include:
- Application prioritization: Mission critical data and applications should be immediately recovered after a disaster so that the company can promptly resume normal operations; non-critical data can be restored gradually over time. It is therefore important that mission-critical data is stored in a manner that can be easily identified and retrieved after a disaster. Using a hybrid cloud, mission-critical data can be stored and identified in a private cloud or data infrastructure while non-critical data can be stored in the public cloud.
- Scalability: A company’s disaster recovery strategy expands with the growth of the company. Having data stored in the Cloud allows the company to easily scale up and adjust its data recovery strategy in response to its growth. With the Cloud having an infinite capacity, there is no limit to how much a company can scale its disaster recovery solution as it grows.
- Reduced cost: Using a hybrid cloud as part of its disaster response strategy saves a company money, because it negates the need to establish multiple data centers. Operating multiple data sites can be expensive and cost prohibitive for smaller businesses. With a hybrid cloud disaster recovery strategy, the backup data can be stored in the public cloud so that businesses don’t have to spend money maintaining more than one site.
- Simplified maintenance: A hybrid cloud disaster solution is easier to maintain. The cloud service provider has the responsibility of configuring, preserving and overseeing the data stored in the public cloud. This frees the organization to focus on the preservation and maintenance of mission-critical data.
- Easier compliance: With privacy standards such as HIPAA and GDPR currently in effect, some data cannot be freely hosted in the public cloud. Additional measures have to be taken to encrypt such data in compliance with privacy laws. A hybrid cloud strategy helps ensure compliance, because sensitive data can be stored on an organization’s private data infrastructure rather than in the public cloud. This data can be encrypted and securely transferred to a recovery site following a disaster.
At Otava, we believe that every company should have a disaster recovery strategy in place in the event of an unanticipated disaster. Having been in business for over 30 years, we pride ourselves in our expertise of disaster recovery solutions for all kinds of businesses. We have experts on hand ready to set up a hybrid cloud disaster recovery solution for your business so that you can be up and running in no time after a disaster. For more information about setting up a hybrid cloud disaster recovery solution, contact us today.
