With severe global weather events increasing, and more information stored in digital form, people are becoming more aware of disaster recovery. The consequences of data loss or a targeted attack is greater now than ever.
What is DRaaS?
Traditional disaster recovery involved storing backups or replication of data to a separate data centre, in a different physical location. If data was lost or destroyed, it could be retrieved from the secondary location and the data is then restored.
While this is better than not having a DR plan, it has many issues. Paying for storage and other infrastructure costs at a second data centre is expensive, backup maintenance requires verification that your data is transferred without error and the recovery process is often painfully slow.
DRaaS uses cloud-based backups to complete the same process, but the service provider completes the testing, manages the replication process, and works to get everything back online quickly in case of data loss.
Why is DRaaS specifically important for government agencies?
If a disaster affects a large portion of a country, government agencies need to be back up and running quickly. In order to reach out to other governments for help, organise relief and assistance for citizens, and continue to conduct regular government business, they must have complete functionality as quickly as possible.
What benefits would governments see from DRaaS?
Government agencies are in a position to realise several benefits from leveraging DRaaS instead of legacy backups and disaster recovery solutions.
- Lower cost. DRaaS is less expensive than the cost of infrastructure in a secondary data centre, especially when the cost of IT staff to manage the backup process and the speed with which data can be transferred is considered.
- No need to worry about upgrades. Government agencies traditionally struggle to keep up with hardware refreshment cycles. By using DRaaS, agencies won’t need to worry about budgeting for capital cycles and making sure that they’re ready to purchase a new generation of servers. They simply budget a monthly or yearly amount for the service and let their dollars go to more important spending measures.
- Quicker recovery time. In the event of a disaster, failover can be completed much faster and services can be brought back online in a more efficient way.
- Ability to focus on most crucial tasks. In the event of a disaster, it is unknown who will be available to facilitate the restoration process. Completing a restoration from a backup can be a very labor-intensive process. DRaaS is managed solution which is backed by a 24/7 service.
In the event of a disaster, government agencies must be ready to act quickly and return to functionality as soon as possible. By utilising DRaaS, they are ideally positioned to recover and provide the assistance that citizens need. Contact Zetta to discuss how our comprehensive DRaaS is right for your business or agency. Find out more >>
