| Business continuity is a vital aspect of consistent, | | | | servers, software, and files. However, this can lead |
| reliable business operations. Many industries live and | | | | to extremely wasteful spending, instantly doubling |
| die by the uptime on their information technology | | | | overhead. While duplication and replication are |
| resources. Banks and financial institutions rely on | | | | important aspects for disaster recovery, they are |
| complex computer systems to execute and track | | | | just one part of the whole picture. |
| orders, and those in the medical industry are required | | | | The second major consideration is timing. How long |
| to keep meticulous records for compliance with | | | | does it take for mission critical systems and |
| record retention standards, just to name two | | | | information to become available after it is lost or a |
| examples. Natural disasters can pose a threat to any | | | | system crashes? Will a patient miss their medication if |
| industry that uses technology. As such, every | | | | medical servers are unavailable for hours? Will banks |
| industry should utilize data protection solutions and | | | | suffer hardships if no one can access their money |
| have an effective disaster recovery plan in place. | | | | for a day? Are some systems so complex and |
| Data protection solutions and disaster recovery plans | | | | integral to business operations that they have to be |
| should be aimed towards addressing hazards | | | | restored as close to instantly as possible? |
| presented by natural and manmade disasters that are | | | | Envisioning Effective Disaster Recovery |
| both large and small in scale. While the mysterious | | | | Taking the above concerns and hazards into account, |
| hacker figure captures the attention of the media, | | | | defending business functions against loss is best |
| malicious users are often the rarest type of hazard | | | | accomplished with cloud computing and virtualization. |
| to impact business continuity and information | | | | These technologies focus on removing the need for |
| technology resources. | | | | physical computing resources in order to accomplish |
| How To Identify And Understand Hazards | | | | business technology functions and manage |
| The first step when seeking data protection solutions | | | | information. |
| is to develop an understanding of what hazards can | | | | For instance, data center colocation can offers |
| impact IT resources. Natural disasters are the most | | | | dedicated housing facilities for a company's |
| recognizable hazard to any structure. IT resources | | | | information resources. These housing facilities have |
| rely on IT infrastructure to communicate with | | | | multiple layers of safeguards for power management |
| remote users, and they rely on power to not only | | | | and climate control along with dedicated personnel |
| run computers and servers, but also to control | | | | using the latest in technology and industry best |
| climate. Many natural disasters, from hurricanes to | | | | practices to manage data protection solutions. |
| earthquakes and floods can easily knock out power. | | | | Extremely resistant to data loss, these facilities form |
| The damage from these occurrences is long lasting, | | | | the backbone of reliable disaster recovery. |
| so even a generator is not enough to ensure | | | | Cloud computing and managed IT services can also |
| business continuity and a prompt disaster recovery | | | | be used for effective disaster recovery. In order to |
| plan. Standing water and the loss of transportation | | | | duplicate business resources without unneeded costs, |
| infrastructure will leave IT resources stranded | | | | data protection solutions utilize priority tiers to |
| without the option to have them repaired. All of | | | | separate information according to availability |
| these possibilities are addressed in effective data | | | | requirements, record retention, and costs. |
| protection solutions. | | | | Mission-critical files are routinely backed up and stored |
| There are also smaller scale accidents that can | | | | on quick-access media, while archival files are stored |
| disrupt business continuity. Local power outages can | | | | on less expensive, long-term media. Managed services |
| put an office building or bank branch out of | | | | handle the backup time frames, management, and |
| operation, usually occurring during peak usage times. | | | | consolidation. |
| Human errors can result in file loss, damage to | | | | Cloud computing and virtualization technologies offer |
| storage systems, or a failure to properly back up | | | | the benefits of a fully fledged and funded information |
| information. Hardware can fail due to poor climate | | | | technology department without the capital costs and |
| control, incorrect installation, or just by accident. | | | | overhead associated with having an in-house staff. |
| These issues need to be examined as part of | | | | From collocation to virtualization, these types of IT |
| disaster recovery. | | | | services can and should be utilized for comprehensive |
| Considering Data Protection Solutions | | | | data protection solutions and efficient disaster |
| The basic way to keep IT resources up and running | | | | recovery schemes. |
| is through duplication, right down to computers, | | | | |