Every business has a major challenge when it comes to protecting and storing data. The more data that a business has, the more important it is to find a secure way to store and manage it. Cloud storage began as a simpler way to create a more cost efficient method for storing and securing data. Today however, cloud infrastructures can deliver their access on a need basis. cloud storage can provide more support for disaster recovery and help companies to backup data protection offsite, which is a much more efficient way of doing things.
As a result, cloud storage has morphed into a solution with the ability to offer organizational agility and flexibility in addition to cost optimization
When a company is looking to reduce costs, implementing cloud storage for disaster recovery and for backup offers many benefits. Companies are able to save money while they recover applications essential to their operations. Cloud storage allows for this recovery quickly which is an integral part of keeping businesses operating. Studies show however, that only a very small majority of businesses are actually taking advantage of the cloud for disaster recovery and backup. Many businesses use cloud storage for its other beneficial purposes. They simply neglect to consider the benefits of its backup and recovery aspects.
Some feel that this is because these companies fear not knowing where their data lies. There is a bit of comfort in knowing that this data cannot be accessed by anyone else and when companies leave that data onsite, they know without doubt that it is safely within their organization. However, many companies have begun to overcome their concerns about safety and are beginning to see just why keeping backup data offsite or in the cloud is a better way to go.
The benefits of cloud storage are far too compelling to ignore, particularly from a disaster recovery perspective
Companies can recover from any disaster if they have the right plan in place and the right technology. Even if their cloud storage provider is lost, they can recover when they store data in the cloud. When onsite storage is lost, it is lost and there is often no way to recover that data. Widespread acceptance of storing data in the cloud shows just how much of an impact cloud storage can possibly have on strategies for disaster recovery.
In a study done by TwinStrata, 60 percent of the companies surveyed claimed that they use cloud storage for disaster recovery purposes. Another 23 percent claims that they plan to implement this strategy in the near future. With about 83 percent of companies surveyed stating that they either use or plan to use cloud storage for backup and recovery, the results show that more and more companies are beginning to feel more comfortable with the aspect of storing recovery data in the cloud.
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Even though most of the companies surveyed claim that they trust the cloud for data storage, the actual amount of data stored is relatively light. 55 percent of cloud storage users show that they have less than 10TB stored in the cloud. There is only about 25 percent that is currently storing more than 50TB.
When Nirvanix shut down, it made many wonder about whether the risk of cloud storage is feasible. The survey by TwinStrata showed that the benefits are there, companies simply have to trust in them. From a disaster recovery perspective, cloud storage offers more benefit than any other storage solution. Companies may simply be a bit squeamish about taking that first step.
When companies were asked specifically about the disaster recovery strategy that they have in place, only about 40 percent stated that offsite tape backup is used. About 37 percent said that they use either a cold or hot standby site. Studies have shown that 1 out of every 3 companies still relies on onsite backup or on offsite tapes as their only strategy for data recovery. Only 1 in 10 admits to using cloud storage for this task.
From a disaster recovery perspective, we find clear evidence that a cloud-storage-focused disaster recovery strategy makes a significant difference to an organization’s ability to recover from both data and site disasters
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