In everyday business processes, there is a critical system that is oftentimes overlooked, or in the case of a smaller business, discarded as too expensive. We are talking about Disaster Recovery (DR), and a Business Continuity Plan (BCP). As a small business owner, most of your day-to-day systems are focused on things like healthcare for your employees, taxes, the economy, and cash flow. But what would happen if your business suffered closure due to a flood or a tornado? After the waters recede and damages are repaired, how will you reopen if you lost all of your critical data? Now that you are asking yourself questions like:
What would I do in the case of all data loss?
Can I afford Disaster Recovery?
Can I afford NOT to have disaster recovery?
With the advent of the cloud and Disaster Recovery as a Service (DRaaS), it has never been easier to backup business-critical data in case of a disaster—both manmade and natural.
To help get you started, we have put together this DRaaS Checklist:
Review Your Data:
1. How much data does your company have?
It is a good idea to go through your company’s data to get an idea of how much you really have. When looking for a DRaaS the amount of data you have matters.
2. What data is truly critical?
Once you find out how much data you actually have, decide what is truly “critical” to your business.
3. What data can wait until after critical systems are restored?
Decide what data can be placed on a non-critical list for business operations. This will allow your DRaaS provided to prioritize data recovery.
4. What data is where?
Do you have critical data saved to cloud-based applications like Office 365, Salesforce or Google Apps? Also, consider if you have critical data stored on mobile devices.
Reviewing the Backup Process:
1. What is Backed Up?
Does the DRaaS backup all of your businesses applications and platforms?
2. How is it Backed Up?
Will the DRaaS include local backups as well as a cloud-based backup?
3. File Size Management?
Is there file size management to reduce your storage needs?
4. Backup Frequency?
How often is your data backed up? Is it a daily, weekly, or monthly backup? Can you afford to lose a month or weeks’ worth of data?
Reviewing the Recovery Process:
1. How long does the process take?
How long does it take to recover your data, server, or applications?
2. Does the DRaaS offer a local appliance?
A local appliance is a backup hosted on a local level for an easy and quick backup of data that is accessible by you and your staff. This cuts out the need for a full backup of your data from the offsite server. It is the updated version of backing up to a tap.
3. Moving from Backup to Live State?
How complex is the process of moving from a backup to a live state? How long will the process take?
Temporary Recovery:
1. Performance during Temporary Recovery?
What degree of performance can I expect from failed applications hosted on the cloud?
2. Host Architecture?
What architecture is used by the host to guarantee availability to your data?
3. Supporting Your VMs?
That is the max number of VMs the DRaaS supports? Is this enough to carry your business through a disaster?
Full On-site Recovery:
1. Hosted Time Limits?
Is there a set time limit for how long the provider will host the recovery environment before penalties are incurred?
2. Other Penalties?
Are there other penalties, costs or charges associated with long-term hosting? Make sure these are in your Service Level Agreement (SLA).
3. Restoration Process?
What is the restoration process and how will it be managed?
4. Dangers of Data Loss?
Is there a danger of data loss during the restoration process? If so how can this be mitigated?
5. Full Recovery Downtime?
Does the full recovery process involve any downtime for your business? If so, how long and could the process be done during non-business hours?
Though we hope you never have to experience a scenario that would require implementing a Disaster Recovery Plan (DRP), there is a good chance that every business will be faced with a disaster at one point in time. These steps will help you prepare a DRP as well as select a DRaaS provider.
For more information on Business Continuity and Resilience, or to speak with Crossroads Technologies, Advisory Services Division, contact us at 1 (866) 216-4366 or engageThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
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