Backup and Disaster Recovery – An Ideal Use Case for the Cloud

Effective data backup and disaster recovery are imperative in our current technological environment. When disasters strike, whether through malicious cyber-attacks, natural events, or unforeseen accidents, systems and backed-up data need to be recovered quickly if the company is to avoid losses of productivity, performance, and reputation. Downtime is expensive, so all companies are advised to calculate potential costs in advance of a potential shutdown.

Since its accelerated growth in the 2000’s, the cloud has played an increasing role in data backup and disaster recovery. The requirements for both these vital services are different for every organization, a primary consideration when choosing and implementing cloud solutions. In addition, cloud vendors differ broadly in quality, approach, and competence, so it is important to choose suppliers wisely.

The basic concept of high-level system and data redundancy is simple enough, but achieving it is not.

To begin with, it is necessary to create two sets of every critical piece of the system, along with sophisticated backup and recovery tools and processes. Then there are a number of related activities that companies should pursue to protect their redundancy investment. These include:

• Devoting technical and staffing resources to install, maintain, and continually monitor DR processes.
• Identifying the least expensive methods of providing protection while maintaining consistent, accurate duplication.
• Constantly monitoring synchronization between the primary data center and the duplicate site.
• Testing the duplication process regularly and rigorously.

Today’s cloud offerings vary considerably.

• Public clouds are located off-site, and while they offer great capacity and flexibility, they are by definition outside the user’s control.
• Private clouds, on the other hand, are completely within the user company’s possession, but they carry an obligation of maintenance.
• Hybrid solutions combine public and private storage to utilize the advantages of both.

All cloud solutions bring a set of responsibilities for companies.

With public cloud solutions housed outside the organization’s possession, companies do not know where their data is stored, and public cloud providers may not be especially committed to its safekeeping.

On the other hand, the advantages of a company keeping redundant systems and data under its control, whether with private or hybrid solutions, are significant. Benefits include:

• Uninterrupted possession and custody of primary systems and data
• Low-latency application experiences for users, so that important tools are rapidly available following a shutdown
• Complete control over apps and the overall environment
• Simple, straightforward procedures for restoring systems and data

With cloud solutions that are well-matched to their needs, small to mid-size companies can reach all their disaster recovery goals economically without scrimping on protection or performance. This is the market segment that RenovoData has served since our founding. As a reliable, innovative vendor of cloud and disaster recovery technologies, we offer solutions that provide:

• Redundant, offsite copies of data and of critical operating systems, copies that remain in the owner’s control
• Dedicated local recovery servers for hardware or OS corruption protection
• Available cloud recovery servers
• Expertise in navigating through the tumult if disaster strikes
• Significantly less complexity
• Reduced recovery time

Our solutions and services cover every area of data backup and disaster recovery, supporting the role the cloud plays in both.

• Our goal is to provide the most effective recovery solutions possible.
• We are expert in the characteristics, benefits, and potential perils of public, private, and hybrid clouds.
• Three-Tier Storage solutions fit any company’s budget.
  1. The Public Cloud is the simplest, requiring less equipment and a usage-based cost structure.
  2. The Private Cloud provides complete data control, multi-layer security, and strong regulatory compliance.
  3. The Hybrid Cloud offers the greatest flexibility, protecting legacy installations, allowing outsourced systems to continue, and optimizing enterprise data protection services.
• Cloud-to-cloud backup provides an extra level of security.
• Cloud Data Archiving reduces primary data protection costs and eliminates the risk of deleting important data and possible non-compliance.
• Custom Cloud Solutions offer specialized compliance performance, threat protection, or any specific capabilities the customer requires.
  • Secure Cloud Email is a strongly protected, regulation-compliant solution with encryption and continuity options.
  • Hosted Cloud Servers deliver unshared, totally controlled resources on a customized basis.

RenovoData specializes in precisely matching data protection and disaster recovery solutions to each company’s specific needs. Our consultancy and support services are our special strengths, so we can provide our customers with the guidance, expertise, and assistance they need to make the best use of the cloud in their data protection and disaster recovery efforts.