6 questions to answer before you adopt a cloud backup strategy

If your business is like most in today’s era of rapid data center transformation, your files are your lifeblood. Your employees orient their schedules every single day around accessing the data they save on their computers – they’re writing documents, gathering data in spreadsheets, and sometimes even tackling exciting new multimedia projects. Without their files, your employees would be severely hamstrung in their ability to complete their daily responsibilities.

This is precisely why having a backup strategy is so essential. And increasingly, corporate IT leaders these days are realizing that the best way to back up their files is in the cloud. Rather than depending on a local data center or a tape backup solution, either of which could be damaged or breached rather easily, companies are opting to save backup versions of their files online, where they can be secure and relatively easy to retrieve at a moment’s notice.

Are you thinking of adopting a cloud backup strategy for your business? If so, you’re probably moving in the right direction. But before you act, there are a few open questions you may want to consider. Here’s a rundown:

1. What’s your overall backup game plan? Think carefully about the purpose behind setting up a cloud backup infrastructure. Is this a platform your employees will need to access on a regular basis, or is it more of a tertiary option that people will fall back on as a last resort? The game plan for using your cloud infrastructure will inform the way you design it.
2. Will your backup infrastructure include multiple tiers? Some companies decide that their storage needs are complex – some data, they’ll need to access frequently, but others, not so much. This leads them to create tiered systems with different levels of access. Would this work for you?
3. Do you have a plan for cloud connectivity? Having a cloud backup system is all for naught if your employees aren’t able to seamlessly access that system. Are there any gaps in the connectivity of your network? If so, you’ll need to plug them up.
4. What about disaster recovery? What will happen if your organization falls victim to a data breach? Do you have a blueprint for how your business will respond quickly, retrieve all the necessary data and keep daily operations humming along?
5. How will your backup needs change over the long haul? You might need a certain amount of storage space for your data now, but what if that amount changes as your business grows? Do you have a cloud infrastructure that’s adaptable and can respond to these changes?
6. Do you have the right cloud experts on your side? Setting up a cloud backup infrastructure is a tough job, but it gets a whole lot easier when you have teammates you can count on. And Zones can be the winning team for you. We have a comprehensive approach to Storage & Data Protection that will help you analyze your needs, draw up logical plans and manage costs effectively at every step of the way.

To get all the details on what we can do for you in the world of Data Center Transformation, all you have to do is keep reading.

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