Cloud backup savior for the data center

A host of new data protection benefits for enterprises has been brought about by cloud computing, according to software firm Acronis, who says the cloud has transformed the way IT solutions are delivered and consumed.

The company says backup and disaster recovery is one of the numerous IT services that has been transformed by cloud computing.

"More and more businesses need systems to protect their data, with the amount of data expanding exponentially, explains Lincoln Goldsmith, general manager, Australia and New Zealand, Acronis.

"Cloud-based infrastructure is one of the few ways to keep up with this emerging demand, and provides the flexibility necessary to be implemented quickly, with the ability to expand rapidly if needed.

Goldsmith says there are four key ways in which cloud technology has transformed the backup and disaster recovery solutions landscape.

Flexibility

The cloud provides a level of flexibility for IT applications, software, and infrastructure that is simply not possible with traditional server and data center configurations, Goldsmith says.

"Disaster recovery solutions built into the cloud come loaded with this flexibility. This means fast implementation and rapid scaling when requirements expand," he says.

Reliability

According to Goldsmith, cloud-enabled disaster recovery strategies can minimize the effect of a potential disaster on a business because they can continue operations almost immediately from a different location if one data center goes down. "This means that organizations can continue operating no matter how severe a disaster is," he says.

Speed

"Cloud delivers speed, letting providers offer dramatically improved service level agreements," says Goldsmith. He says recovery time objectives (RTOs) and recovery point objectives (RPOs) are now just a fraction of the timeframe they once were.

"Today, the expectations are that disaster recovery is almost instant; definitely faster than 15 minutes," Goldsmith explains. "This means that if something happens to your server today, you need to be able to bring up an exact copy of the server in less than 15 minutes, with minimum or no data loss at all.

"And that's all made possible thanks to the cloud," he says.