If you are planning to take your business to the next level, you must consider opting for cloud computing services. This ensures your business doesn’t have to face huge data loss or extreme down time. Disaster recovery is an integral aspect of any and every business as it helps rescue the crucial business data in case there is a mishap and all the important data gets lost. These days, business owners prefer cloud based disaster recovery solutions over traditional disaster recovery methods. This is because cloud based solutions offer multi-site availability and quick recovery times.

How cloud based disaster recovery solutions are special

Cloud computing is based on the concept of virtualization and it takes a completely different approach to disaster recovery. In this approach, the entire server, including the applications, the operating system, all the data and the patches are combined into a single virtual server or a software bundle. One of the most notable features of this type of solution is that the entire server can be backed up or copied to another data centre. This data can also be spun up on a virtual host within few minutes.

What are the different types of cloud disaster recovery options?

Since the requirements of cloud based solutions vary from one business to another, there are different approaches to the cloud based disaster recovery solutions, and you can choose any one from the available options. Here is a brief overview of the different types of cloud based solutions –

• Managed disaster recovery – One of the most popular cloud based disaster recovery options is to put both the disaster recovery instances and primary production into the cloud and handle both of these by a MSP or managed service provider. This helps you reap all the benefits of cloud computing. For instance, you can eliminate the cost of setting up an on premise infrastructure. Moreover, you have to pay only for what you are using. With this type of solution, you don’t need to worry about the disaster recovery management; you can simply hand it over to the managed service provider. Make sure you choose the right service provider and manage to negotiate the best possible SLA or service level agreement.

• Replication to virtual machines in cloud – This approach is most suitable for applications that need recovery point objectives (RPO) as well as aggressive recovery time. Replication is also relevant for applications that need a lot of awareness. In fact, this method of replicating data to cloud virtual machines is used for protecting on-premises as well as cloud based production instances. Basically, replication products are based on CDP or continuous data protection.

Apart from these two approaches, applications and data are often backed up in the cloud, though these remain right on the premise. When a disaster occurs, the data gets restored in on premise hardware. In this way, the backup file, stored in the cloud turns out to be a substitute of the off-site backups that are tape-based. Make sure you check out all the options thoroughly and choose one based on your requirements.