All businesses understand the concept of disaster recovery (DR), which enables the recovery and continuation of systems after something goes drastically wrong. However, small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are only just beginning to move towards using the cloud as a DR option. It is now becoming more affordable, cutting down on the need for physical space and IT infrastructure and resources.
Creating a Plan
Businesses are unique in their needs, the data they generate and use, and the applications they work with. This means there is no one-size-fits-all plan that every business can use when it comes to cloud DR. Instead, a business should have its own specialized plan, geared towards the following:
Priority: The apps and services that are the most important and need to be recovered first
Downtime: How long each app will be down
Recovery time objective (RTO): Achieving the objective in the most cost-efficient way
Resources and recovery: Identifying the best methods
Once the plan has been created, a business can look into the different ways of using disaster recovery in the cloud:
Backup from the cloud
Backup to the cloud
Managed recovery
Virtual machines
Backup From the Cloud
Backup from the cloud is used to download data from the cloud back onto physical machines. This method is best used by businesses with a high bandwidth cap, or ideally no cap at all, as it can mean huge amounts of data being downloaded. Some vendors also offer the option of the vendor downloading the data and sending it to the business on disk.
Backup to the Cloud
Backup to the cloud uses virtual machines, cloud storage, and cloud compute resources to restore data. This can mean pre-staging in expectation of a disaster being declared, or ongoing. Keeping these backups up to date is crucial for bringing applications and services back as soon as possible.
Managed Recovery
Businesses without a dedicated IT department may find it best to go with a managed service provider for their DR needs. If something goes wrong, it becomes the vendor’s responsibility to fix it. Choosing this option may mean more research in the beginning so that the business chooses a reputable vendor with a suitable service level agreement (SLA).
Virtual Machines
Copying data to virtual machines has the benefit of being suitable for both the cloud and on-premise systems. Replication to virtual machines is the best choice for businesses with a strict RTO.
Every business hopes that it won’t need DR, but if a disaster does happen, the cloud provides a number of options for data recovery. The cloud is cost-efficient, enabling smaller businesses to compete on a more level playing field with large businesses. A well-tested, solid plan is the cornerstone of a business’s disaster recovery, and using the cloud offers many options to execute that plan smoothly.