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There’s no question that data is among the most critical elements of any modern business, big or small. This means that any unforeseen interruptions in the form of downtime for IT maintenance, cyberattack, natural disasters, etc., can all adversely affect the operational efficacy of a business, disrupting its sales, potentially reducing the company’s overall profitability, and becoming a source of distrust or annoyance to its customers.

This is essentially why companies should learn why disaster recovery as a service is a dependable, faster, and effective way to recover data, reduce any risk of disaster loss, and simultaneously ensure positive business continuity when things like natural disasters (earthquakes, floods, etc) or power failure, outages, etc. occur.

Ever since the dawn of the internet age and the subsequent evolution of digital technology and advancement, managing data and ensuring its synchronization with every core aspect of a business in the form of data backup or making sure that all data is sufficiently prepared for rapid recovery has been a complicated and painstaking process.

However, thanks to streamlined innovation in cloud technology, today, backing up and recovering your data on the cloud via DraaS is quickly being embraced by many businesses worldwide. Cloud-based systems help accelerate and simplify the process, making it easier to recover lost data.

Companies should consider implementing DraaS optimization that comes with data replication capabilities that are not just simple to integrate but do not, in any way, impact the company’s production workloads, minimizing the risk of downtime.

Understanding How Disaster as a Service Functions

Before you dive deep into knowing what disaster recovery as a service is, it is equally important to understand how it functions. You see, DraaS operates by duplicating and hosting cloud-based servers that are, in turn, operated by trusted and reputed third-party managed services providers instead of being implemented, maintained, or managed in-house or onsite.

One of the best benefits of having your disaster recovery system managed by a third-party vendor is the fact that in the event of an unforeseen complication such as a cyberattack, a natural disaster, or a systems failure, your data would still be active, stored, and maintained by the offsite managed services provider.

Plus, with an MSP, businesses have plenty of flexibility. For example, companies can buy a disaster recovery service plan via a contemporary subscription model or pay for DraaS services only when they face problems that will put their data and network infrastructure at risk.

Disaster recovery services are designed to help businesses save money, proving that they don’t have to invest much capital into managing and maintaining a DraaS system in-house. Thanks to cloud-based systems, companies don’t need to implement a tailored disaster recovery initiative on their premises. This also means they don’t have to hire IT specialists or teams of IT experts, thus saving money in the long run.

However, when discussing disaster recovery, it is just as crucial for businesses to analyze and contemplate service-level agreements. For example, what happens if the company and the managed service provider are equally affected in a disaster event, such as an earthquake? So, it is vital to go for a service provider with flexible design implementation on a priority basis. This means they should be able to cater to a client impacted by the disaster the most.

The Essential Steps in a DraaS Plan

Data Duplication

This is where the data infrastructure of a business is effectively and efficiently replicated and securely moved to a third-party disaster recovery specialist who then hosts the entire ecosystem remotely. The duplication process must comprise a combination of virtual and physical systems and servers (known as a hybrid solution) because many companies operate both physical and virtual processes.

The Failover

A failover DraaS system effectively and securely moves end-user access to another, more reliable cloud-based server in case of a natural disaster, a systems failure, or a cyberattack.

The Failback

This is where the managed services providers’ data migration infrastructure of a client goes back to its initial site.

The Benefits of a Disaster Recovery Plan in a Nutshell

Before discussing disaster recovery, it is also essential to understand the advantages it can bring you. Many companies have thinly stretched IT teams and experts. They can’t afford to invest time and money into comprehensively researching the best ways to initiate an in-house DraaS plan. A third-party DraaS provider helps ease the burden of the planning and implementation process, managing everything offsite using a vast network of technical resources coupled with industry-level IT specialists.

Another benefit is that protecting and recovering your data during a disaster will be much more affordable if you outsource the implementation to a third-party vendor. You have a better probability of protecting and securing your data in different and independent locations, which may not be affected by the disaster.

Types of Disaster Recovery Models You Can Choose From

Businesses can select from a variety of disaster recovery strategies. For example, you can transition control and management of your entire company data to a DraaS provider. In light of this, below are some popular DraaS models you should consider.

Managed Disaster Recover

A managed DraaS involves the company handing over the management and security of the data to a third-party managed service provider. This service provider will be accountable and responsible for ensuring your data is protected and recoverable.

If you go with this strategy, you\’ll be able to stay in touch with your DraaS provider, ensuring that the provider is continuously looped into understanding changes to your data infrastructure, applications, and services at all times. If you don’t want to spend time and money implementing your own DraaS environment, this is the best option that you can choose. 

Assisted Disaster Recover Service

Assisted DraaS is well-suited for businesses that want to exercise some management control and discretion over their overall data infrastructure. It is also a good choice if they use particular applications that will be too complex or time-consuming for the managed services provider to handle.

With this strategy, the DraaS vendor will provide the company with resources and expertise to continuously enhance and secure its data recovery processes. However, keep in mind that with this model, it will also fall on the company to implement some part of the disaster recovery implementation independently. 

Self-Service Disaster Recovery Systems

Self-service DraaS is relatively more affordable. Why? In this model, the company is accountable for laying out a disaster recovery plan, testing the efficacy of the plan, and supervising its disaster recovery implementation on its own.

This will also involve hosting their data system and backup on offsite physical and virtual servers. The method requires very stringent, carefully tested, and executed methodologies, ensuring the company can recover its data should one system fail. This option is best for companies with experienced and highly skilled DraaS staff.

Understanding The Different Types of DraaS Implementation Strategies

It doesn\’t matter whether you\’re a start-up business, a medium-sized company, or a large enterprise, disaster recovery should be at the very top of your list of data security priorities. You need to be able to manage your sensitive data in the face of a disaster, no matter what type of catastrophe it is.

In addition, you should always ensure that your disaster recovery implementation aligns with your Recovery Time Objectives (RTO), your Recovery Point Objectives (RPOs), resource enhancement, and network and security ecosystem. There should be clear guidelines for quickly and seamlessly recovering mission-critical data when a disaster strikes. 

In light of this, we will talk about the specific DraaS plans you can consider.

Datacenter-Based Disaster Recovery

This strategy primarily centers around your overall data environment and centers. The process comprises three critical stages for a thriving data center, DraaS: operational risk management and assessment, analysis of your vital components, and infrastructure management. Suppose you are unable to invest in an in-house DraaS system. In that case, it is wise to outsource the implementation to a third-party managed services provider who can manage and continually optimize your infrastructure processes for disaster recovery.

Disaster Recovery for Network Implementations

This DraaS plan primarily relies on your data network’s overall sophistication and technological aspects. The strategies require a detailed and well-thought-out recovery framework, including important particularities such as your networking functions, technical staff, and infrastructure performance.

Virtual DraaS

To make your disaster recovery implementation more straightforward and effective, you should consider virtualizing the process. Virtual DraaS can offer businesses dedicated and upgraded VMs (virtual machines) and make sure every aspect of your data recovery is achieved through high availability and prioritization. In addition, testing a virtual DraaS is more straightforward, allowing you to customize or tailor your strategies as per your RPO and RTO.

Cloud Disaster Recovery

A cloud DraaS can be an optimal choice regarding disaster recovery as a service. You see, cloud-based disaster recovery can give you various options and flexibility based on your needs and scope of operations. For example, it can range from just storing your files and data offsite to completely replicating your entire data infrastructure. However, ensuring that you adequately supervise and maintain your cloud disaster recovery implementation is just as essential. It is vital to outsource it to a reputed third-party managed service provider.