Every year there are many new examples of how an effective disaster recovery strategy saves businesses time, money, and provide the ideal data protection. On the other hand, there are as many, if not more, stories about businesses who failed to implement an effective disaster recovery strategy and suffer the consequences.
Recently, the emerging trend for small and medium-size businesses is to turn to cloud computing for disaster recovery relief. Utilizing cloud computing for backup purposes provides a variety of technical, security, and economic benefits.
Enhanced Data Protection
One of the primary reasons more businesses are turning to cloud computing for disaster recovery relief is data protection. Cloud computing technologies now leverage industry-leading encryption and security practices to ensure cloud-based data is as secure as possible.
Easy to Use
Another benefit of utilizing cloud computing for disaster recovery is how easy the technology is to integrate and utilize. Web-based management and user interfaces make it simple for everyone involved with the disaster recovery process to fulfill their role. Additionally, a growing number of cloud computing solutions provide additional capabilities to minimize maintenance.
Low TCO
Compared to traditional data storage solutions, cloud computing offers a low total cost of ownership. In most cases, there is little to no required capital expense to purchase hardware or software. Additionally, most cloud computing disaster recovery applications utilize a subscription pricing model which allows businesses to easily predict their ongoing TCO.
Fast Implementation Process
Utilizing web applications to set up cloud-based disaster recovery strategies has created an environment in which fast implementation is the norm. Utilizing setup and configuration wizards most small businesses can set up their cloud computing data recovery applications within a few hours. This is a significant time savings over traditional data backup and disaster recovery technology.
Lower Energy Consumption
Since cloud computing requires no large server rooms, businesses leveraging this strategy can reduce their power consumption and monthly energy bills. It is also an easy way to reduce the businesses carbon footprint.
Provides Improved Agility and Scalability
Cloud computing technologies are still evolving. While most of the underlying technology has begun to mature, new applications are being tested in introduced on a regular basis. By leveraging cloud computing, businesses gain improved agility and scalability. They can change applications and user interfaces without changing the underlying cloud computing technology they are relying on. Additionally, a driving factor behind the growing popularity of cloud-based solutions is the massive scalability opportunity businesses gain.
Allows Businesses to Leverage Current IT Infrastructure
Unlike most other data backup and disaster recovery technologies, cloud-based solutions allow businesses to leverage their current IT infrastructure with minimal additional investment. Cloud computing solutions are designed to interoperate with existing storage devices, applications, and operating systems. This contributes to both the fast setup time and minimal initial investment requirements.
As small and medium businesses continue to emphasize the importance of developing and implementing a disaster recovery strategy, cloud computing solutions continue to gain a significant amount of attention. While traditional solutions are still an option, there are no doubts cloud-based data recovery solutions provide a variety of benefits to businesses of all sizes.
About the Author: Aaron Eastwood writes articles about colocation and data centers. He believes that investing in colocation service is a wise choice for many businesses. Lee believes companies should always think about customizable solutions that are tailored to meet their needs.
