Debunking the 5 Myths of Cloud Based Disaster Recovery

Myths of cloud-based disaster recovery:

So what are the myths that stop organizations from pursuing cloud-based solutions? Mostly, organizations cite one or more of the following:

Myth #1: CLOUD-BASED STORAGE AND CLOUD-BASED DISASTER RECOVERY ARE THE SAME:

While both of these approaches take advantage of cloud technology, there is a key difference: cloud-based data storage provides safe, accessible, even backed-up file storage, while cloud-based disaster recovery actually lets you run full systems in the cloud using virtualization.

Cloud-based storage includes back-up, storage and recovery functions that are purchased. Cloud-based disaster recovery as a service offers multiple facets, including the ability to access files, run applications, and even run their system itself in the cloud. The cloud provides a platform with the resources of an on-demand data center that has optimized its ability to ensure business continuity by preventing or minimizing system downtime by taking advantage of cloud technology.

All that acknowledged disaster recovery by its nature includes a backup function, an important benefit of cloud-based disaster recovery solutions.

Myth #2: DOWNTIME DOESN’T COST SO MUCH THAT WE NEED TO INVEST MONEY IN PREVENTING IT:

It’s believed that downtime can cost businesses an average of $1,400 to $8,000 per minute after a disaster. Companies lose an average of $84,000 for every hour of downtime. Businesses take an average of 18.5 hours to recover after a disaster, which is a very long time for systems to be inaccessible to customers and internally, for business-critical operations. To say the least, downtime costs a lot.

Myth #3: WE HAVE TO SIGN A LENGTHY CONTRACT IN ORDER TO SET UP A DISASTER RECOVERY OPTION WITH A PROVIDER:

You’ll find cloud-based disaster recovery solutions in a variety of term lengths, from 1-month trials to 3-year subscriptions. There are enough cloud disaster recovery service providers out there that you can shop around until you find one that has the term that is right for you. Shopping around should provide you with plenty of options, and if you run into a lengthy contract, you can shop elsewhere.

Myth #4: DATA BACKUP AND RESTORATION TAKES A LONG TIME, ESPECIALLY IF BANDWIDTH IS IMPAIRED:

If your organization is using a disaster recovery as a service solution, your CSP is responsible for ensuring that your servers are automatically backed up to the virtual servers. All corporate applications, systems, and business-critical or sensitive data will be stored in a secure and virtual location, separate from your premises.

In most cases, the full system with all data and applications are bundled together and can be recovered quickly in case of disasters and other system failures. It can take a full 24 hours to restore the main server. Compare this to the restore time of as little as 15 minutes offered by the cloud. The faster the restoration, the less money is lost in downtime.

Myth #5: You Can Do It Yourself:

Many companies find that for their particular needs, they prefer the idea of “do-it-yourself”. But using low-cost options and open source software that caters to dozens of needs including backup and restore systems, can create systems of a bit of complexity. These systems eventually become layered with homemade code and attempts to consolidate them.

Failures do happen and a home-made, partly-funded disaster recovery plan will end up costing more than expected – not only if and when it fails, but in IT department time and efforts, when their time is best spent on services that directly support their business or organization. Furthermore, in the end, the organization can rarely respond effectively if a disaster or loss is experienced, whereas investment in a cloud-based disaster recovery service provider is a known cost but also with known success.

Source: http://www.smartdatacollective.com/gunjantripathi/438609/debunking-top-ten-myths-cloud-based-disaster-recovery