There are MANY different kinds of backups, all with different up-time guarantees and recoverability objectives. I could spend pages going over the pros and cons of various backup services, but for the purposes of this article I will focus only on Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery (BCDR) solutions since we feel these are the most robust and effective on the market.
Before I explain HOW a BCDR solution can minimize the effect of common cyber-threats such as Ransomware and data loss, let me first start by first explain WHAT a Business Continuity Solution is. For the sake of the explanation below, let’s assume you and your team access files through your on-premises servers.
Very simply, a Business Continuity & Disaster Recovery solution consists of a physical appliance that is installed in your office and is configured to backup all of your on-premises server data. Once the backup is completed on the appliance, all of your data is then copied to a secure cloud repository for storage. Now your data is backed up both in your office, and in the cloud. The goal: added redundancy.
As an example, let’s say you arrive at your office on Monday morning and discover your server won’t boot up due to a faulty drive. Thankfully your BCDR appliance can double as a server. Your IT provider can boot your server directly from the device and BOOM, you’re back to work in minutes.
But what about a disaster like a fire, flood, theft or even Ransomware? Well, because your data is mirrored to the cloud, you can boot up your server in the cloud in a matter of minutes. Even if you are infected with Ransomware, you can access the most recent backup in the cloud. Regardless of what disaster befalls you, you’ve minimized downtime, lost productivity and lost sales.
From there, recovery is easy. Even in the worst case - if your office was destroyed - your data is still safe, secure and accessible from the cloud. And while you work from the cloud copy, your IT provider will work to rebuild your server infrastructure, and then restore your data.
The benefits are obvious: immediate recovery, significantly reduced downtime, and the peace of mind of knowing that you’re always protected against cyber threats, hardware failures and natural disasters. Plus, because your backups are stored redundantly, even if someone were to access your company network and corrupt your on-site backups, you would still have all your data in the cloud.
The only downside of a BCDR solution is the cost. Depending on the amount of data to be backed up, the costs can rise quickly. That said, there are many archival solutions available that you can use to limit the size of your backups.
BCDR solutions are a great fit for businesses who prize their data, but it might not be a fit for everyone. Regardless of who you are, or what type of business you operate, it’s important that you know the answers to these important questions:
- Do you know what an hour of downtime costs your business? (Ex. Lost sales, lost productivity, employee/client frustration, repair costs, etc.)
- Do you know how fast your business could recover in a disaster with your current backups?
If you don’t know the answers to these questions, we recommend reading our Free Report: Business Continuity, Disaster Recovery & Cloud Backup: What They Are, Why You Need Them, and How They Can Prevent Data Loss, Extended Downtime, and Cyber Security Attacks. It should give you a clearer picture of your options, along with the pros and cons of each. To download, fill in the form above.