Cloud back structures are no fluffy matter for most small and midsize business since selecting the right company goes a long way toward resolving data back up and recovery issues which, if not managed correctly can consume a disproportionate level of resources.
However, the process of actually moving ahead with a company can entail so many variables that depend on the specific needs of each business such as the type of information that has to be backed up, frequency of back ups as well as the type of back up that is best for each business.
There are certain constants that can help define the proper solution which every business can benefit from understanding. Here are five things every company should know when considering a cloud based platform.
How strong is the software?
The first step in evaluating any cloud based storage solution is found in evaluating the software that is used to deliver the solution. Will the feature set fully meet the needs of the business or will the company be forced to use work abounds in order to achieve it goals? Does the software offer a comfortable level of protection for virtual machines as well as physical machines?
In addition to those questions a secondary consideration is the ability of the software to actually integrate with existing applications. Does the software offer full compatibility with existing software and if so what level of protection and recovery does it offer inside of that scenario?
Local Backup Storage
The fact of the matter is locally stored data reduces the need for cloud retrieval and speeds up the back up and retrieval process. In addition to speed the process of local backup storage also reduces the demand on the company’s network which then lowers the possibility of network congestion. Everyone has had to patiently tap their toes due to slow systems and no one likes it. Prepping the system to reduce the possibility of congestion goes a long way toward ensuring proper flow and data access.
The ideal structure for local back ups would be to hold approximately thirty days of data although some business’s will require much more depending on their needs.
Dumping the Duplicates
Inside the cloud storage sector there is nothing more important than having a bleeding edge technology which eliminates redundant data. Reducing redundant data vastly increases storage capacity, since streamlining the data then also reduces the amount of data that flow over the network which also reduces network traffic and streamlines the entire process.
Understanding the Cloud
What’s of vital importance is understanding the type of cloud solutions and how one cloud solution may or may not relate to other cloud systems. The way to accomplish this is to look into the back end cloud in order to gain insight into the physical location and it’s proximity to the network. Some IT professionals feel that is best to store backup data in the providers cloud however, determining what to keep in one cloud and what to move to the provider can often impact retrieval and network issues.
Since there are a number of approaches to owning an in house data center, leasing space, and the economics of storage facilities, understanding the relationship between in house storage and third party providers who offer economies of scale is key to determining where company data is to reside at any given time.
Data Retrieval and Replication
While a common practice in the industry is to replicate and retrieve data from back up devices via a back up cloud, not every company provides certain features that clients find to be extremely helpful. A short list of these features are scheduled data replication, the ability to adjust the replication and retrieval speed, the ability to replicate data on local media and the replicating data onto a secondary backup device.
Since each business has unique needs choosing which features are must have and can live without will provide key indicators when evaluating potential storage providers which at the end of the day will result in choosing an excellent solution.
Idera provides comprehensive application and server management software, including a backups SQL server. Susan Howard specializes in writing about leading software solutions.
