1. Make sure you get the expertise you need
When it comes to disaster recovery, many organizations get in trouble because they simply don’t have the expertise needed to run an effective DR plan. Of course, this is often one of the key drivers behind adopting DRaaS in the first place, but just the act of buying DRaaS doesn’t completely solve the problem. Make sure you choose a vendor that can connect you with all the expertise you need to effectively run your DR environment, or start thinking about how you can fill in any holes that might exist in your expertise.
2. Test early and test often
There is always going to be some degree of trust involved when you work with a third-party cloud provider to enable your DR environment, but that doesn’t mean you should give the provider your blind faith. A disaster recovery environment simply has to work correctly when you need it, and the only way you can verify this is by seeing it for yourself. Insist on the ability to test your DRaaS offering as a condition of purchase, and then continue to test at regular intervals after you buy and implement.
3. Be prepared to recover your business, not just IT
For many IT leaders, the focus of a disaster recovery plan is recovering IT systems. This is certainly important, but it’s a bit like missing the forest for the trees: the focus of any DR plan should be helping the business as a whole recover from disaster. IT systems are an important part of this, but they’re certainly not the only part.
For instance, make sure your DRaaS offering helps you recover applications, instead of just servers. Also, consider the human element of your DR plan. How will you contact the employees you need to run your business in the aftermath of a disaster, and how will you make sure they’re empowered to do their jobs? If their homes and families have been impacted by the same disaster event (Ex. a large storm), chances are they may have their own set of priorities.
4. Choose an offering that fits into your overall business plan
A disaster recovery plan is something you need, even though you hope you never have to use it. Even so, as we learned in our previous post, a DRaaS offering can help your business run a better data center even if you are lucky enough to avoid all natural and manmade disasters.
With this in mind, make sure you choose a DRaaS solution that best balances your need for DR capabilities with your ability to explore hybrid cloud environments and conduct rapid migrations. This will ensure you’re getting your money’s worth no matter what happens.
5. Work with the right vendor for your needs
Like everything else in the world of IT, the company you keep is extremely important when it comes to DRaaS. The results you experience from your DRaaS offering will more or less vary based on the quality of the vendor you choose to work with, so make sure you take the time to vet a vendor thoroughly before you work with them. Ask for customer references to get an idea of what it's really like to work with them, or ask to see statistics about how quickly they can perform failover in the event of a disaster.
As a leading provider of cloud services, Cima Solutions Group is uniquely positioned to be the partner that supports your DRaaS needs. Contact us today to learn more about what we can do for you.
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Ken Scott is the Director of Storage Sales at Cima Solutions Group. He has more than 31 years in technology sales, starting as a Client Representative with IBM in 1984. During his tenure with IBM, he supported clients of all sizes - from small business ventures to multi-national Fortune 100 enterprises. He spent his last 9 years with IBM as a Certified Storage Sales Specialist, recognized nationally for his expertise, and his ability to translate technical topics to business value. Ken joined Cima Solutions Group in 2007, and is responsible for building Cima’s storage portfolio, storage messaging, and storage solution design. He created RightStor, a process to help clients navigate the storage decision process and assign a validated Total Cost of Ownership and Return on Investment. Ken received a Bachelor of Business Administration Degree in Management Science and Computers from Southern Methodist University.
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