Sunday, August 11, 2013

Data Recovery and Cloud Hosting

Recovering data in a cloud environment may be new to those who have recently made the switch to cloud computing.  Because more and more organizations are migrating to the cloud, it is important to understand how to recover data in an event that any data is lost due to a security incident.  There are a number of methods to go about recovering data, and understanding each method is the first step in knowing what to do in case you have a security problem.  Below are three methods of data recovering as it pertains to cloud hosting.

Replication
Replicating data is one of the simplest and most relied on form of backing up data.  When you replicate data, you are simply placing your data on another system.  Doing this will give you backup data should anything be lost on one system.  Although this is one of the most popular methods of backing up data, it doesn’t necessarily translate to 100% of your data being able to be recovered.  Some data may be lost.  Talk to a cloud computing professional about what you can do to protect yourself using this particular method.
                                         
Outsourcing
Many organizations will elect to outsource their disaster recovery to a managed service provider.  There is obviously a cost associated with this method, but managed service providers are equipped to handle data recovery.  There is a great peace of mind knowing your data can be recovered from professionals that focus primarily on this task.  If you make the decision to go this route, make certain you understand the timeframe it generally takes to recover data from the managed service provider you are considering. 

Restore from Backup
There is an automated process of backing up data to the cloud that can be taken advantage of.  This particular method is relatively safe and inexpensive, but backing up the data can take hours depending on what was lost.  If you consider this method, talk to a cloud computing expert about the differences between interval backups and synced backups.  Each is different types of backup solutions with pros and cons to consider.

Regardless of what method you choose any route you decide to take a wise choice.  You want to make sure you backup your data and understanding what your options are is a great first step at making the right decision for your business. 

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