BCDR Solutions – Recovering your Business from Disaster Quickly

Preparing your business for the worst

Here at Corbel, we know that when disaster strikes, we fear the worst for our business. Anything from an unpredicted natural disaster to man-made cyber issues like ransomware can be overwhelming for businesses in Suffolk and it is tricky to know how to prepare for this sort of situation. It is up to your business to take control to ensure that you can recover quickly and effectively when disaster strikes. This is where BCDR solutions come in…

To ensure your business is always performing its best, it is vital you have an excellent business continuity and disaster recovery (BCDR) plan in place. A strong BCDR plan will address the issues you may come across and then how to restore them if disaster was to strike. When emergency strikes you need more than just a backup… you need a solution that will allow you to get back into your business as quickly as possible.

Many businesses in Suffolk don’t have the budget facilities to invest in experienced disaster recovery employees or are unable to invest in off-site facilities. Having an effective BCDR in place ensures your business can still benefit from fast restores compared to traditional backup solutions, and you will be working alongside a managed service provider for a much more affordable price.

The Myths of BCDR Solutions

Myth 1 – Normal backup is effective enough on its own

Despite what you may think, there is a big difference between a standard backup solution and a BCDR solution. Standard backup solutions can result in a costly downtime due the amount of time it takes for data to be restored, BCDR enables the backup with a fast restore – meaning your productivity is less likely to be hindered.

BCDR allows you to quickly recover the same data or files you had originally, so you do not have to wait around. BCDR solutions allow your business to continue operating in the case of a disaster – without any disruptions.

Myth 2 – All BCDR solutions offer the same levels of protection

We’d be lying to you if we said that the different BCDR solutions available are all equal and provide the same levels of protection. The best BCDR solutions are the ones which allow both local and cloud backup and failover, whilst allowing you to restore capabilities in a variety of recovery scenarios – including the complex ones.  

The BCDR solution Ipswich based Corbel provides, has the capabilities to cope with many different recovery situations. Additionally, an effective BCDR solution will provide data immutability. Data immutability is a way data can be stored to ensure that it cannot be modified by external operations. It prevents backups from being corrupted in a cyber-attack or with ransomware.   

Different BCDR products are made up in different ways. Some are made up of multiple vendors who will build a full solution together, although this can lead to clashing amongst the vendors, due to their different opinions. It would be recommended to seek a BCDR solution that is made up in a reliable way, from trusted individuals that will remain constant.

Myth 3 – BCDR solutions are not needed for a business of my size

With the threat of ransomware attacks only increasing, no sized business is safe. There tends to be a perception that small and medium sized businesses are key targets to these threats as they are easy to attack. Although we should not undermine attackers, they are becoming smarter and more direct with their attacks – no sized business is safe.  

When confidential systems are hacked, the hackers may force small-to-medium sized companies out of business by using a threatening approach. Even paying off a ransom is not enough for hackers anymore, and there is now the frightening potential that businesses may not ever get all their data back.

An effective BCDR solution will help to avoid your data from being wiped, and simultaneously protects your business from cyber threats – it’s a win-win.

Myth 4 – My data is in the cloud, so a BCDR solution is not needed

We cannot deny that having data in the cloud will provide some additional benefit in scenarios where the BCDR solution needs to be activated, however you should keep in mind that the majority of the protection you are getting within the cloud is for free. You have to consider there is only so much protection that it can provide.

Cloud providers offer their services under a “shared responsibility” basis and so in the incident that a file may have been accidentally deleted – it can be hard to recover these files. It should be noted that cloud storage doesn’t protect you from ransomware or your other credentials being hacked. However, a BCDR solution will protect you from both of these potential threats.

Myth 5 – All cloud providers are suitable for BCDR solutions

One thing that all cloud providers have in common is their ability to deliver highly available server and storage infrastructure. However, this does not guarantee they are ideal for a BCDR solution.

One type of cloud is the public cloud. The public cloud is where computing resources are owned by a third-party provider e.g., AWS, Microsoft and Google, and is then shared with multiple organisations. An example of a public cloud is Microsoft Azure. If you are involved with the public cloud, it can generate a range of costs at different types when you want to access things or move data out the cloud and so it can be hard to keep track of.

But the thing with a BCDR solution is that all costs for backup and restoration are built into a singly monthly fee and so you know exactly what are paying for and it remains constant. BCDR solutions will also always perform the same, whereas cloud services can vary with their performance characteristics and how well they meet your various security and privacy requirements.

Have you got the correct measures in place to ensure your business is protected?

Ipswich based Corbel Solutions Ltd have a range of disaster recovery and Cyber Security services to ensure your critical data is safeguarded and your business is protected from potential threats. BCDR implements the concept of normal backup but takes into consideration the potential downtime and cyber concerns and will create a solution with this in mind. With BCDR delivering a high-quality backup solution, your business in Suffolk can continue to operate as normal without any concerns that critical data will be lost.

Corbel are hosting our very own open morning on Tuesday 8^th November from 9:30am – 12:00pm. Throughout the morning there will be a range of technology breakout sessions and we will be sharing advice on how to ensure your business is protected for when disaster was to strike, and how to effectively implement a BCDR solution into your business. Come along, grab a coffee and get the all the very latest technology updates on Cyber Security, Automation, Technology Roadmaps, and advice on your IT Strategy. Register your spot for the morning here.

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Corbel Solutions Ltd are an Ipswich based Business IT support partner offering a range of services across Ipswich, Felixstowe, Stowmarket, and the surrounding Suffolk area. From IT Consultancy Services and Office 365 Support to Cloud Telephony and Communication services – Corbel work proactively with a range of sized businesses across Suffolk for all their IT needs.