Marissa Tejada| Midsizeinsider
Cloud computing storage is gaining value for firms that are seeking a cost-effective, scalable disaster recovery (DR) plan. As a result, more data will be stored in the cloud.
Midsize companies in particular are considering storage in the cloud as business continuity becomes more of a priority. IT professionals want to be sure that they can recover precious data no matter what happens.
Storage in the Cloud
According to a recent survey by TwinStrata, 80 percent of IT professionals surveyed are using cloud storage or plan to do so. Other aspects of the study, which was featured in eWeek, found that the cloud is gaining ground at firms. When it comes to disaster recovery, 60 percent of IT professionals said they could recover within a day, bringing up both apps and data kept in another location.
Although there is an increase in cloud storage adoption, the survey found that about 55 percent of respondents sent only 10 TB to the cloud. Twenty-five percent of IT professionals say they have more than 50 TB of data. It seems firms are turning to other types of backup. One in three firms relies on off-site tape storage for its backup strategy, compared to one in 10 IT professionals who relies on cloud storage for backup and disaster recovery strategy.
Figuring It Out
Every organization has different needs with respect to its backup and disaster recovery strategy. According to TwinStrata’s findings, cloud computing storage is certainly gaining credibility among IT departments. While the amount of data may rank low from some perspectives, it will almost certainly increase in time. The fact is that more and more IT professionals at midsize firms want the assurance that they can access the company’s data in a timely manner, no matter what the disaster. As a result, disaster-recovery-as-a-service (DRaaS) is becoming more popular as firms consider that it offers a wide network service area that allows them to create timely backups to off-site servers. As IT departments witness the benefits of DRaaS, more data will be entrusted to the cloud.
IT professionals at midsize firms must think about how they will spend their limited resources on IT projects such as DR. The cloud helps them to meet their goals by saving cost and by reducing or eliminating recovery testing. IT professionals at growing firms can turn to the expertise of vendors that understand their need to use DRaaS to support more critical applications that require shorter recovery times.
More Availability
Companies, particularly midsize firms, are becoming more comfortable with the cloud for storage and disaster recovery. As time goes on, an increasing number of companies will be storing much more of their data in the cloud. Vendors will also offer more affordable and effective solutions in the DRaaS space. With cloud storage as part of a strong DR plan, IT professionals at midsize firms can feel confident that they will recover from any disaster.
