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Data loss is a common occurrence for many businesses, big or small. Larger businesses have the resources to recover from such losses, but small and medium-sized businesses are bound to experience irreversible losses. Data loss in a business occurs as a result of cyberattacks, accidental deletion, or hardware failures. Cyberattacks are the worst kind, as they often lead to financial losses and damage to a company’s reputation.
One solution to data losses is using continuous data protection (CDP), which protects data in real time. Small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) who choose this option will not need to wait for scheduled backups. CDP captures every data in the system, and a business has a complete, up-to-date record during recovery.
A modern data protection strategy should incorporate immutability, rapid recovery, and strong cybersecurity measures. At OTAVA, our cloud-based solutions and S.E.C.U.R.E.™ Framework offer a complete security posture that SMBs can rely on.
Data breaches are expensive. According to industry research, data breaches cost an average of $4.88 million per incident. Since SMBs do not have the financial cushion that large enterprises do, data protection is a top priority.
Traditional backups often operate on fixed schedules, such as nightly or weekly. In contrast, CDP continuously tracks every change in real time. If a file is edited, deleted, or corrupted, the system ensures that businesses can revert to a clean version from any previous moment.
Another defining feature of CDP is block-level (or byte-level) backup. CDP does not copy entire files repeatedly but saves only modified data blocks. Consequently, SMBs can minimize storage costs, improve efficiency, and speed up recovery times.
There are various ways of maximizing the effectiveness of CDP. One approach is to employ immutable storage and air-gapped backups. Without these layers of protection, even real-time backups could be compromised in the event of a ransomware attack.
Many businesses still depend on scheduled backups. They believe that daily or weekly snapshots are enough to protect their data. However, what happens when disaster strikes in between those backups? A cyberattack at 3:45 PM could erase everything from midnight. This would leave hours of lost work, corrupted files, and no way to recover critical transactions.
CDP eliminates this risk by reducing the Recovery Point Objective (RPO) to near zero. When every change is captured in real-time, businesses can restore their data to any point before the failure occurred.
However, CDP alone is not a silver bullet. If backups are not immutable or stored in air-gapped environments, ransomware can still encrypt live backups, making recovery impossible.
Traditional backup systems also demand manual intervention, which slows down restoration. In contrast, CDP’s instant rollback feature lets businesses restore files, applications, or entire systems within seconds instead of hours.
OTAVA takes CDP further. We integrate immutable backup (‘Undo’) and air-gapped storage (‘Recover’) to ensure that even if an attack occurs, businesses always have a clean, untouchable version of their data ready for recovery.
Every second of downtime costs money. SMBs must minimize interruptions to ensure that data remains secure and compliant with industry regulations.
Research indicates that downtime costs SMBs between $137 and $427 per minute. A single hour of system failure can result in thousands of dollars in lost productivity and customer dissatisfaction. CDP eliminates long recovery times by making data restoration instantaneous.
Cyberattacks have increased dramatically over the past decade. Since 2014, ransomware incidents have surged. Attackers no longer target corporations alone, and even SMBs are not spared. Unlike traditional backups, which may include already-encrypted files, CDP provides granular rollback options. Businesses can revert to a clean version of their data.
Some industries, such as healthcare and finance, are bound by strict data protection policies. These industries often handle sensitive data such as patient information and financial records. Without strict data policies, they can put the lives of many people at risk.
Healthcare organizations must adhere to HIPAA policies, while the finance sector is bound by the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS). CDP simplifies compliance by guaranteeing that data is consistently backed up and easily auditable.
OTAVA’s DPaaS (Powered by Actifio) offers a comprehensive compliance-ready solution that enables SMBs to exceed regulatory requirements while maintaining near-instant recovery.
For SMBs, where IT resources are often stretched thin, CDP delivers a critical layer of automation, security, and peace of mind.
CDP works around the clock, capturing every change in real time. Unlike traditional backups, which run only once a day, CDP ensures that no data is lost, even if a system failure happens minutes before a scheduled backup.
IT teams are often overburdened with manual backup tasks. This leaves little room for innovation. CDP automates the entire process, reducing human error and administrative workload. SMBs can focus on growth, customer service, and operations instead of worrying about whether backups run overnight.
Time is money, and downtime is expensive. If a server crashes or a ransomware attack encrypts files, CDP allows instant rollback to a previous clean state. Businesses can restore applications, customer databases, and even entire systems within seconds.
Ransomware locks your files and corrupts backups. Traditional backup solutions often store encrypted versions of infected data. With such methods, recovery can be frustrating and ineffective. CDP provides granular rollback options, letting businesses rewind to a point before the infection occurred. This way, data remains intact and uncompromised.
SMBs must strategically integrate CDP into their existing infrastructure. Data protection should be seamless, cost-effective, and compliant with industry regulations. Here is how businesses can do it right:
SMBs have different risk exposure and operational requirements. A small e-commerce store handling sensitive customer payment data may need a full-fledged CDP system with immutable backups and ransomware rollback capabilities.
In contrast, a local marketing agency might only require near-CDP, where data backup is done every 15 minutes instead of every second. Thus, it is important to identify mission-critical data and downtime tolerance before choosing the right solution.
Cloud-based CDP offers scalability without the hefty price tag of on-premises infrastructure. SMBs can avoid massive upfront hardware costs while benefiting from offsite redundancy, automated failover, and elastic storage capacity. Cloud-based CDP ensures data is always accessible, no matter what happens onsite.
A CDP system is only as good as its storage security. OTAVA Cloud Connect provides high-performance cloud storage with no ingress/egress fees. It is an ideal fit for SMBs needing secure, rapid recovery options. It ensures that backups remain encrypted, protected, and instantly accessible in case of an emergency.
While CDP is a powerful tool, some businesses may have concerns regarding cost, performance, and security.
Businesses lose data all the time. SMBs need fool-proof data protection or face financial losses, damaged reputations, and fines from regulatory bodies. SMBs should adopt continuous data protection to minimize these risks and recover instantly when hit by cyber-attacks.
OTAVA’s cloud-based solutions and S.E.C.U.R.E.™ Framework can help you safeguard your business. Contact OTAVA to learn how our solutions can protect your data in real time.
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