If you are looking for more reasons to go cloud, hurricane Sandy is one good reason for you. The superstorm, finally dissipated on October 31st, 2012, disrupts business operations – obviously – and it does take resources to recover from it. As the superstorm Sandy – nicknamed Frankenstorm – sweeps through the East Coast, more businesses will be attracted (or forced) to consider cloud adoption in their business plan. The cloud can definitely help businesses in their business continuity planning, including disaster recovery planning.
While running your entire business in the cloud is not strongly recommended – unless you really know what you are doing – using the cloud as an integral part of your disaster recovery plan is highly recommended. As mentioned by CRN, the cloud can naturally protect your data from disasters – and that includes Frankenstorm; as data is stored off-premise on a cloud of inter-connected data centers, you can be sure that your data will remain untouched.
The cloud is NOT the ultimate solution, however…
But be aware that the cloud is not the ultimate solution for protecting your data – and your business; the key is actually under the cloud’s hood – in the design of the data centers.
The cloud involves data centers, and they are just like any other installations, like power utilities. They have physical presence, and because of that, they are NOT disaster-proof. While technically when a data center is down there are others that will take care of everything – thank to the redundant data stored on every data center in the cloud – things can go awry in one way or another – just ask Amazon!
And with the 70 mph storm coming their way, data centers are batten down, real hard. Preparation is the key factor in keeping the data centers up and running regardless the disasters.
Should I go cloud, then?
YES. Beyond cost cutting, increased productivity and other typical pitches any cloud vendors can give you, when you are considering your options in cloud computing adoption, you must focus on the underrated but crucial benefit of the cloud: Disaster recovery.
Although the cloud is still having hiccups, it is one of the surest ways to protect your data. As your data is redundantly stored on data centers on many geographical locations, you can be sure that when things go wrong, your data is safe and sound.
Just be sure you don’t partner with cloud vendors that suck! Ask around and read small prints – don’t base your decision in choosing a cloud vendor on cloud vendors’ pitches only or on the big names they have. Beware, some of them are not true cloud solution and when you backing up your data with such cloud vendor, you always put yourself at risk – something that will be turned into reality as disaster like hurricane Sandy really hits your business.
So, with more Sandy-like disaster will happen somehow in the future, are you finally considering bringing your business – or at least your data – to the cloud? Please share your opinion in the comment section below…
Image source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Sandy_Oct_25_2012_0400Z.JPG
