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The following is an excerpt from our Disaster Recovery white paper that explains different disaster recovery and offsite backup technical solutions, from traditional to virtualization (cloud-based disaster recovery), as well as considerations in seeking a disaster recovery as a service solution (DRaaS) provider. A case study of the switch from physical servers and traditional disaster recovery to a private cloud environment details the differences in cost, uptime, performance and more. This white paper is ideal for executives and IT decision-makers seeking a primer as well as up-to-date information regarding disaster recovery best practices and specific technology recommendations. Download the full version here. 5.3.1. Offsite Backup Options Sending data offsite ensures a copy of your critical data is available in the event of a disaster at your primary site, and it is considered a best practice in disaster recovery planning. There are several offsite data backup media options available, including the traditional tape backup method that involves periodic copying of data to tape drives that can be done manually or with software. However, physical tape backup has its drawbacks, including read or write errors, slow data retrieval times, and required maintenance windows. With critical business data from medical records to customer…
We’ve just launched our latest white paper, Disaster Recovery! This white paper is ideal for executives and IT decision-makers seeking a primer as well as up-to-date information regarding disaster recovery best practices and specific technology recommendations, including cloud-based disaster recovery options. Download the Disaster Recovery white paper. Read below for an excerpt about designing for mission-critical application and data recovery: 4.2. Designing for Recovery High Availability Infrastructure Strategic data center design involving high availability and redundancy can help support larger companies that rely on mission-critical (high-impact) applications. High availability is a design approach that takes into account the sum of all the parts including the application, all the hardware it is running on, power infrastructure, and the networking behind the hardware. Using high availability architecture can reduce the risks of lost revenue and customers in the event of Internet connectivity or power loss – with high availability, you can perform maintenance without downtime and the failure of a single firewall, switch, or PDU will not affect your availability. With this type of IT design, you can achieve 99.999%, meaning you have less than 5.26 minutes of downtime per year. High availability power means the primary power circuit should be provided by the primary…
Although it is extremely rare for Michigan to suffer damage from a hurricane, there are many lessons that can be learned about the importance of business continuity and disaster recovery plans. David Sarbacha of Deloitte Touche LLP identified 10 lessons that Michigan companies could use to better prepare for a disaster. 1. Take care of employees – It is impossible for employees to think about work if basic necessities are not being met. Companies should consider providing employees water, food, shelter and finding contractors who can repair or rebuild their homes. After all, the sooner employees can get back on their feet, the sooner it will be business as usual. 2. Detailed disaster recovery and business continuity plans are a must – Disaster recovery plans “should establish clear chains of decision-making and empower employees to take action.” Employees shouldn’t have to wait for direction from a decision maker, whose communications may be unavailable. 3. Plan for different impact levels – Companies mistakenly assume that a disaster event will only affect them for 24 to 48 hours. Companies need different disaster recovery strategies for events of different durations. 4. Don’t rely on employees working from home – Many business continuity plans…
The question of how far is far enough – for disaster recovery – arose after 9/11 when a significant area of Manhattan was shut down. This prompted the Security and Exchange Commission to suggest that 200 miles would be appropriate between primary and secondary sites. But even that suggestion was questionable. Then in October 2012, the area was hit again with a different disaster – Hurricane Sandy. This disaster took out companies’ primary data centers in New York and their backup data centers in New Jersey. This type of disaster displayed the need of having a disaster recovery site nearby and one far away. So how far should your disaster recovery site be? There is no one-size-fits all solution to determine the perfect distance between your disaster recovery sites. However, a first step to consider is the probable threats in your geographical area. If your area is prone to hurricanes, than your disaster recovery location may be different that if you are in an area threatened by tornadoes. For companies looking to Michigan for their disaster recovery site, 50 miles is perfectly acceptable, says Yan Ness, Online Tech Co-CEO. Although Michigan does have a very low probability of natural disasters,…
The first and most important decision your organization can make regarding disaster recovery is deciding on the geographical location. There are many things to consider including the probability and severity of natural disasters, other weather conditions like temperature, power structure of the area, and availability of a knowledgeable workforce. The state of Michigan offers many positives in all of these areas. Let’s take a look at the top 5 reasons why Michigan is a good disaster recovery location. 1. Low Probability of Natural Disasters – It is hard to predict when and where a natural disaster will hit. However, there are geographical locations that are more prone to natural disasters than others. For example, the state of Florida and Texas has a high probability of hurricanes while California has a high probability of earthquakes. There is an extremely low risk of natural disasters in the state of Michigan and it is one of the safest states in terms of natural disaster. The NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) found that the Great Lakes region has a low probability of hurricanes or tropical storms. According to their research, the region experiences hurricane or tropical storm remnants, on average, twice a decade….
When considering business continuity and disaster recovery options, there’s really only one constant from business to business: it’s important to have. No matter how small or large your business, if something happens and there isn’t a plan, your company may never be able to get back on its feet again. But, where do you start? Map out your needs Steve Aiello mentioned in his webinar series that the best starting point is to find out where the sources of income are for your business. He proposes that the best way to do this is to map out your company’s departments, dependencies, and processes first. This is going to give you a clear and concise idea of where the effect will fall, depending on different causes. It’s also a good time for a company to take stock of their processes, to ensure you’re running everything as efficiently as possible within your framework. Within the planning, you’ll also want to find out what aspects of your business are most time sensitive to have up and running. Look at your options When you’re thinking about IT disaster recovery specifically, there are lots of facets that your company may need. For instance, in the…
Disasters don’t wait until you’re ready. They can happen at any time and in many ways like natural disasters (tornadoes, earthquakes, and floods), technical issues (hard drive failures, viruses) or humans (deliberate or accidental). And Michigan small and medium-sized companies (SMBs) are at risk. According to AMI’s 2009 U.S. Small Business Annual Overview study, 70% of small U.S. businesses have experienced a data loss in the past year due to technical or human disasters. Even with this high percentage of data loss, very few SMBs have disaster recovery plans. Over half of Symantec’s SMB disaster preparedness survey respondents said that they do not have a disaster recovery plan in place. Surprisingly, 41% respondents said that it never even occurred to them to put a disaster recovery plan together in the first place. Why Have a Disaster Recovery Plan? As a Michigan SMB business owner do you need a disaster recovery or business continuity plan? You can ask yourself one simple question, “Can my business continue to function without <insert specific software application or system, communication service, data, etc.>?” The next thing to consider is if it is financially worth using a disaster recovery solution. Ask yourself how much money would…
Disaster recovery plans have become crucial for nearly every industry that relies on connectivity and uptime for business survival. According to the Forrester/Disaster Recovery Journal Business Continuity Preparedness Survey, a few of the top business drivers for creating an IT disaster recovery plan include the increased reliance on technology (48 percent) and an increased reliance on third-parties (33 percent). Although some CIOs might not see the reasoning behind budgeting for a disaster recovery plan, as a valuable subset of business continuity planning, disaster recovery can save a business from shutting down completely in an unpredictable event – the health of IT systems is vital to maintaining a business. When you look to a third party disaster recovery provider, what kind of questions should you ask to ensure your critical data and applications are safe? Read on for tips on what to look for in a disaster recovery as a service (DRaaS) solution from your hosting provider. 1. Do you have the following data center certifications: SSAE 16, SOC 1, 2 and 3? Data center certifications should be up-to-date, backed up by an auditor’s report, and comprehensive of all security-related controls. Here’s a brief snippet of what each one measures: SSAE…
Michigan Offers Top Data Center’s Host Cities Recently I listened to a very interesting webinar by UBM Future Cities “Choosing Your Data Center’s Host City.” The webinar focused on what qualities you should consider when selecting a location to build a data center for colocation. Throughout the presentation, Andre Belisle shared some of the criteria that should be used when selecting a data center location. Low Natural Disasters – A location should be selected that has low probability of natural disasters such as hurricanes, earthquakes and flooding. Building a Data Center – If you are planning on building a data center, you want to select a location away from residential neighborhoods or other individuals that might be sensitive to noise. If you build too close to residential areas, you may have to build fences or use noise reduction materials that may add to your costs. The building itself should be on one level. If you build a data center with 3 or 4 stories to save on land costs, it may become more costly to construct the building to support the weight of the equipment. Another thing to consider is to make sure there are no community regulations that may…
According to Mlive.com, Michigan ranked fourth in the country for new major corporate facilities and expansions in 2012. Site Selection magazine’s annual Governor’s Cup reports that Michigan increased from 85 qualified new building/expansion projects in 2011 to 337 in 2012 (nearly 300 percent), preceded by Pennsylvania, Ohio and Texas. Site Selection is a corporate real estate strategy and area economic development magazine, the official publication of the Industrial Asset Management Council. Qualified new projects must involve an investment of $1 million or more, create at least 50 new jobs or add 20,000 square feet of new floor area, according to Mlive.com. Earlier this year, the publication reported on Online Tech’s planned investment in the Flint, Michigan area – in addition to the $1 million investment a year ago, we will be investing another $1 million in our Mid-Michigan data center once operated by General Motors Co. for their disaster recovery facility. The top metropolitan areas in Michigan contributing to the increase in the new and expanded facilities rate include Detroit, Grand Rapids, Battle Creek, Jackson and Saginaw. According to the Associated Press, GM is currently seeking tax abatements for a 100,000 square foot data center in Oakland County worth $258…