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Cloud computing and disaster readiness

Cloud computing and disaster readiness

The advance of cloud computing has been swift and steady. Businesses all over the globe are switching to clouds to energise their revenue, cut costs and enable more cohesive information technology within their organisations. From public clouds accessible to anyone with a laptop, to private and bespoke administrations serving businesses of all shapes and sizes, the future looks distinctly cloudy - in a good way.

Preparing for the Worst

There are so many ways that cloud computing can streamline a business, yet one real advantage often goes overlooked until its’ way too late. We all know how crucial our organisations are to our survival and how much could potentially be lost in the event of a fire, flood or other natural disaster. We also wouldn’t dare think about how to manage a total systems failure or unanticipated issue which can bring a whole business to a halt in a matter of minutes. It would be difficult to think of many organisations which could stay afloat for long periods of time where crucial information and technology was unattainable, especially small to medium enterprises (SMEs). Following the increasing impact of natural and man-made disasters on the growing data cache required for managing a modern business effectively, it makes sense to think about combating this.

Keeping Your Data Safe

The beauty of cloud computing is it enhances ‘disaster readiness’ for you. It does this in a number of ways. Firstly, the access to your files in the event of a disaster of any kind is usually a lot more speedy than if you needed to get hold of these another way. In some cases you simply would not have stored these anywhere but the potential disaster zone in physically accessible formats. Cloud computing solves this problem by allowing you to get at backed up information quickly and easily.

Business Continuity

In addition, much of the work that goes into managing a server is alleviated in a virtual cloud, such as regular updates and ensuring compatibility between programs and files. This leaves you to focus on all of the other aspects of disaster recovery if you end up needing to. Recovering your data in the event of a disaster will be cheaper than ever before, as you simply tap into your stored cloud using the power of the Internet and accessing your hosted domain. Everything is available twenty four hours a day for you to manage. You could even set up new documents and communication methods through the shared access to your cloud in the event of a disaster, enabling your employees to tap in too and stay productive wherever possible.

The Global Results of the Disaster Preparedness Survey in 2012 demonstrated that cloud computing is being embraced. Public and private services up and down the country are preparing contingency planning involving cloud computing and virtual servers. These are holding information, contacts, documents, applications and files which employees can access using alternative devices from home or clients’ offices. Stay ahead of the game when it comes to your business by thinking about cloud computing.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Terry Philpott .