Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Are the critical IT functions of your business disaster proof?

By: Chris Charette   Categories:Storage and Data Management, Managed Services

Are the critical IT functions of your business disaster proof?

Data loss and natural disasters have increased the importance of having a well planned and effective IT disaster strategy for your business. New capabilities provide companies of all sizes the potential for a less costly, faster and more flexible recovery solution for backing up data.

What challenges are keeping you from having a DR plan?

  • You are considering a disaster recovery strategy but need help getting started
  • You don't have a second site for replication
  • You are lacking the resources to architect  and implement a DR strategy
  • You can’t find the right DR provider to assist

Finding the right provider

You may have a top-notch IT team, but they might not have the bandwith, expertise, or support to build a truly comprehensive Disaster Recovery plan. This is the time to leverage affordable cloud services for DR. 

If you are strapped for IT resources, you should consider having your DR site(s) in the cloud to reduce the need for data center space, IT infrastructure and IT resources. This will lead to significant cost reductions and facilitate the deployment of disaster recovery scenarios that you can typically find in large enterprises.

Some key facts to investigate when searching for the right service provider:

  • Find out about the type of facility and location
  • What type of hardware and software is being used to replicate client data?
  • Do they have the skills and expertise to help architect, implement a DR?
  • Is it possible for the client to successfully replicate their data from their location to a secondary DR site?
  • Ask them about references for managing a DR event.
  • How does a client restore if their own data center is down? 

Why are these key facts important?

Facility Type
Security, Availability, Redundancy, Monitoring and Up time. These are attributes you look for in a data center. There can be a world of difference between promises and performance, therefore a certified Tier III or IV Data Center meets the highest standards and will be robust and less prone to failures.

Facility Location
Maintain Canadian data sovereignty by storing your information in a facility located in Canada with a private and secure network.

Full Service Provider
There are many DR solutions therefore finding a partner that can not only recommend but, architect, implement and manage your strategy while using industry leading T1 hardware and software is essential in getting the right service aligned to your business needs at a reasonable cost. 

Data Security
The reason that you want to verify that the provider uses a FIPS 140 Certified Replication tool is that it provides Government approved encryption and certifies that your data is stored securely.

DR Strategies
Prior to cloud based solutions most DR strategies were either cost prohibitive or largely adhoc. With the advances in cloud solutions, smaller and medium-sized companies can implement DR strategies which provide enterprise class protection. Disaster recovery in today's data-centric environment has become a key consideration in a business's survival plan. Yet surprisingly few IT organizations have taken the time to develop policies and plan the infrastructure required to protect their data and information to survive in the event of a catastrophic event.

Data Security
The reason that you want to verify that the provider uses a FIPS 140 Certified Replication tool is that it provides Government approved encryption and certifies that your data is stored securely.

Thinking about a cloud disaster recovery plan?

Get Sentia to help you transform your IT risk into IT reliability with redundancy for both data and infrastructure. 

Contact me to discuss your challenges and business needs.

Chris Charette, Co-Founder and Vice President of Business Development and Services
905-508-8489 ext. 302

Chris Charette

Chris Charette

As co-founder of Sentia, Chris Charette leads the Service Business Development and Services teams and brings a unique perspective as a management team member.

Other posts by Chris Charette
Contact author Full biography

Full biography

Chris has over 18 years of experience in the IT industry, having held various roles within sales, management, and distribution. He is a customer advocate, has a tenacious entrepreneurial spirit and is driven by success. Chris is a graduate of the University of Windsor.

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