Is everything in the cloud automatically protected?

23 Apr Is everything in the cloud automatically protected?

According to the Cloud Industry Forum, 88% of businesses in the UK are actively using cloud services, and that figure was based on activity pre-pandemic. With COVID-19 still forcing thousands of businesses to operate either remotely or with flexibility, it’s highly probable that the number of those relying on the cloud is already even greater than the statistic suggest.

If your business is one of those, or about to begin using cloud computing, there’s one question that you should be asking yourself in relation to protection. And not just at the outset. This question needs to be asked on a regular basis. Is everything in the cloud automatically protected? On the face of it, at least, it appears simple to answer. There are so many advantages to cloud computing, not least its physical security, that the most obvious response is yes. And, to a large extent, that’s correct. But it’s not quite that straight-forward.

For example, what do you do when the unexpected happens? A recent serious fire in the French city of Strasbourg, on a site operated by cloud firm OVH, resulted in the loss of data and service outages across Europe. Not all its data centres were affected by the fire, but OVH had to switch off every single one of its servers and recommended to its customers that they activate their Disaster Recovery Plans. OVH went on to add: “We ask that our customers exercise caution around the emails they receive: in times of crisis, it is common for malicious activity (phishing, spam, etc.) to increase. It is more important than ever to stay alert.”

How many businesses using the cloud have a Disaster Recovery Plan in place? And of those that do, how many are testing it regularly? At present, the data isn’t available to answer these important questions but what you can be certain of is that any UK business – of any size – could be derailed by a fire at a French data centre. The safest way to work through a situation like this to have a carefully architected cloud solution in place.

Data is likely to be your most valuable asset, as it is for most modern-day companies. Any loss of data, or loss of access to it by something like a fire, can cause immediate and sometimes permanent harm to your reputation, yield and efficiency. You can’t prevent the unexpected from happening, but you can be ready for it if it does. That’s where a Disaster Recovery Plan comes in. If the worst really does happen, how quickly and efficiently you recover will be largely down to what you’ve planned and tested for.

In the past, traditional disaster recovery involved establishing a remote site away from your business where protection protocols, often laborious and time-consuming, had to be tested and maintained manually. With the cloud, of course, that’s no longer the case. It’s a lot quicker, takes up much less of your time, but it still requires careful planning and testing. If your organisation is currently moving to the cloud, or is already cloud computing but would like to revisit or prepare a Disaster Recovery Plan, we can help you uncover the best solutions for you. Don’t let someone else’s disaster become yours too.

For help with a Disaster Recovery Plan, please get in touch with Care Computers.