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What is Cloud Disaster Recovery (CDR)?

What is Cloud Disaster Recovery (CDR)?

by | Aug 11, 2016 | Disaster Recovery

Your server goes down. Your network won’t work. Or worse…your office suffers a fire, flood, or other natural or man-made catastrophe. Whatever the case, you need to have a disaster recovery plan ready to protect your data as well as your overall business. Cloud Disaster Recovery can be part of that plan.

Often shortened to DR, disaster recovery is a plan put into place if a disaster hits. Cloud DR refers to that component in your disaster recovery plan which involves the use of a cloud environment.

 

The Cloud Component

The cloud component of a disaster recovery plan can involve various strategies that use a cloud environment.

  • Online or Cloud Backup: Using an online backup system lets you store copies of your data in an offsite data storage environment at regular intervals. Choose which workstations and servers you want protected, perform an initial data load, and then use only incremental backups to keep your data current and secure.
  • Disaster Recovery Failover: Disaster recovery failover provides a cloud-based environment that is a complete rebuild of your infrastructure. It  sits ready if you should lose access to your primary IT infrastructure.

Benefits of Cloud DR

Using a cloud environment in your disaster recovery plan comes with a number of critical benefits:

  • Speed, with instant restore capabilities
  • Security, with an off-site, protected environment
  • Scalability, with the ability to grow your cloud solution right along with your business
  • Compatibility, with the ability to work with a number of different servers and systems

Another benefit of cloud DR is the overall low cost, especially when compared to other DR strategies. Cloud DR can be used in combination with other techniques to fully fortify your company and keep your data safe.

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Webinar: The Importance of a Business Impact Analysis

Webinar: The Importance of a Business Impact Analysis

The following is a lightly edited transcript of our September 2022 webinar on the importance of Business Impact Analysis. The speakers are: Kelly Culwell, Senior Manager, Service Transition, Dataprise Steven New, Director of Operations, Dataprise Tom Shay, vCIO,...

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Disaster Recovery as a Service
30 Day Free Trial
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Fully Managed Backup and Disaster Recovery Solutions

Fully Managed Backup and Disaster Recovery Solutions

by | Sep 9, 2015 | Archived, Disaster Recovery

Good technology just works – right? That’s right…until it doesn’t. We all know that even the best managed IT environments require careful attention to be sure that your tools work when you need them. Backup and disaster recovery are particularly critical – these solutions MUST be ready when called upon.

All Global Data Vault solutions are fully managed solutions. We are different from other providers. We are never content to think that it’s your job to solve all the ongoing IT issues that happen in business routinely.

We proactively monitor your backups and your replication to us. If we notice problems – even if these resulted from changes in your environment, we’ll make the necessary adjustments to make sure that your protection stays in place.

You don’t need to worry that your protection will fail, because Global Data Vault is continually monitoring your protection status.

We know what it takes to get the job done – we go the extra mile to be sure it is done and done right.

We want you to know we’re looking at your backups and disaster recovery solutions and your protection very closely – every day.

Does Your Cloud Disaster Recovery Service Come with Hidden Fees?

Does Your Cloud Disaster Recovery Service Come with Hidden Fees?

by | Apr 16, 2015 | Disaster Recovery

When it comes to picking a cloud disaster recovery service provider, you can make an easy choice by simply picking the one with the lowest rates per GB, right? Not so fast. Even if a cloud disaster recovery provider quotes you mere cents on the dollar per GB, the provider may have a costly lineup of hidden fees that aren’t obvious until you get the bill. A few key questions can help you avoid these fees by choosing a provider that includes them.

Top 4 Questions to Uncover Hidden Fees

Are there additional fees for a recovery environment? A recovery environment is essential when your network goes down and you have no access to the usual resources that keep your business’s computers up and running. These include computing power, memory, storage and bandwidth, all things that are part of a virtual data center your cloud disaster recovery plan can provide. Your question is, however, does the provider include access to this virtual data center in the base cost or will you be charged an additional monthly fee and/or a per-use as the need arises?

Are there additional fees for your retention? Service providers can offer a fixed monthly price based on how long you need to retain your data, while others may adjust your rates and fees based on your data’s daily change rate. The daily change rate refers to the percentage of your data that’s expected to change on a daily basis, a rate that varies by industry, nature of the data and other factors.

If loads of data change on a regular basis, you may end up paying loads of extra fees to keep your backup up to date. This holds true even though it’s rare for businesses to need to recover its entire cache of backup data when recovery services are required.

Will you be charged additional fees for a failover event? In theory, cloud disaster recovery services were created to give you support, backup and access to resources you need in the event of a total disaster. In reality, service providers may charge additional fees if you ever need to take them up on those services.

Is the cost of local protection for fast, local restores included? Even if you’re paying a big-time monthly rate for big-time cloud disaster recovery services, you may be subjected to additional costs related to the local data storage or “repository” or “appliance” required to support fast local restores.

Suddenly the low cost per GB can add up to an astronomical amount of money if these four services aren’t included in your cloud disaster recovery plan.

A Global Data Vault plan includes all of these services – and more. With no hidden costs, no vacillating calculations and no surprises if you actually need to use the services your plan was created to provide.

Read more about our Global Data Vault pricing and billing policies before you make your mind up. 

Global Data Vault makes it easy to pick a cloud disaster recovery provider by offering one lower monthly fee for everything. It doesn’t get much easier than that. Contact us today.

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Webinar: The Importance of a Business Impact Analysis

Webinar: The Importance of a Business Impact Analysis

The following is a lightly edited transcript of our September 2022 webinar on the importance of Business Impact Analysis. The speakers are: Kelly Culwell, Senior Manager, Service Transition, Dataprise Steven New, Director of Operations, Dataprise Tom Shay, vCIO,...

read more
Disaster Recovery as a Service
30 Day Free Trial
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West Coast Companies Prepare Cloud Backup and Disaster Recovery Solutions

West Coast Companies Prepare Cloud Backup and Disaster Recovery Solutions

by | Dec 19, 2014 | Archived, Disaster Recovery

Los Angeles is aiming to prepare for the next big earthquake, yet some companies may already be prepared. LA Mayor Eric Garcetti outlined a proposed preparedness plan that would give the city a layer of resiliency when the “Big One” hits, according to NBC, but not every company necessarily needs to craft a fresh resiliency plan if they already have solid network and resource protection in place.

The Proposed Plan

The earthquake plan outlined by Garcetti involves billions in infrastructure improvements, specifically targeting three key areas: buildings, water supply and telecommunications. Certain types of at-risk buildings erected prior to a specific date would require retrofitting to add strength.

A backup water system would be created, while the existing one would undergo an earthquake-resistant upgrade to pipes and materials. Measures would also be taken to protect the San Andreas fault, pegged as the most likely epicenter of the next big quake.

The mayor’s telecommunications proposal involves improving cellphone and Internet networks to protect against quake-related breakdown. His ideas also include designing a solar-powered wireless Internet network and strengthening cellphone towers.

The Protection

Some companies, those that have implemented cloud backup and disaster recovery solutuons, already have the fortification they need in the event of the next big Los Angeles quake. Others may find themselves in the same situation as the New York Stock Exchange after Hurricane Sandy. The NYSE went dark due to the failure of several trading firms to test the recovery and backup systems.

Protection can come from two main strategies. The first is to ensure a backup data and real-time data recovery solution is in place – and regular testing to ensure the solution works. The cloud-based disaster recovery solution offered by Global Data Vault is a prime example, particularly because GDV conducts quarterly testing of customer systems to ensure systems would be operable when they’re needed most.

The second strategy involves location. All companies, but especially those with resources along the West Coast, would be wise to maintain a cloud backup and disaster recovery solution in a risk-free environment. Redundancy is a must, and opting for redundancy in a data center located in a low to risk-free area of the country can best preserve continuity of business operations.

While the mayor’s plans may be beneficial for protecting Los Angeles as a whole, companies need to ensure they have their own strategies to protect their individual businesses. A no-fail, cloud-based recovery solution is definitely one of them.

Mobile disaster recovery trucks – are they a good idea?

Mobile disaster recovery trucks – are they a good idea?

by | Mar 20, 2013 | Archived, Disaster Recovery

Service trucks have never been as en vogue as they are today. Nearly everyone is familiar with the mobile trade shows and health care stations, and more recently become adept at Twitter stalking the locations of the ubiquitous food trucks doting the urban landscape. These mobile units are bringing delicious meals to offices and public spaces. Now we’re seeing an uprising in apparel trucks and mobile boutiques. But there’s a more serious side to some of these mobile service providers. They’re also equipped and rolling at the ready as disaster recovery command centers.dr-truck-1

IBM and Cisco Systems, Sunguard and others, have implemented mobile disaster recovery services that bundle electrical generators, phones, satellite and wireless connections, Windows servers, and software into portable offices that can be transported by foot or truck into a disaster area.

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