How Cloud Hosting Saves You When Disaster Strikes

Many of us have experienced this scenario: you arrive at work to find that the power is out in your building. Perhaps there was a storm the night before, or some joy-rider crashed his truck into a pole holding a power line. You cannot access your company’s data because the server is down.

Even those working remotely are unable to log in. You lose productivity time working to get everything up and running again. You must ask clients for their patience as normal business flow is abruptly halted. If a natural or man-made disaster strikes, does your business have a plan to access and save its critical data?

Using cloud hosted desktops can provide a great deal of relief and security to your business in case of a random event. Disasters and interruptions always seem to strike at the most inconvenient times and even in the case of storms, there is often very little time to prepare.

There are many ways that cloud hosted desktop solutions can help your business. They include:

Flexible Working Situations

With globalization, working from remote locations is often necessary to keep your business growing, whether you are visiting a small midwestern town or a city in southeast Asia. You often need to visit in-person in order to ensure that operations are working smoothly, and maintain a strong relationship with the client who wants the “personal touch.” Sometimes these trips are last minute: this is the reality of modern business. Many businesses that have been using cloud-based storage delight in its easy accessibility. And as your business grows, your storage needs may change. Cloud hosting allows for easy scalability and quick adjustment of your storage solutions without creating disruption in the work flow.

Cloud hosting also allows for documents to be shared over different devices: smartphones, tablets, or laptops, allowing for quick communication both internally and externally. Smoother collaboration should lead to greater productivity. In this new use-your-own-device era, using a cloud for your business provides greater flexibility for workers which can translate into a happier, more productive and more resolute workforce.

Stability in the Event of Disasters

The concept of flexibility often leads one to think of bouncing around. Such an image might be deciphered as code for instability. Nothing could be further from the truth, if your business is using a cloud host to store its data and applications. Cloud hosting can provide businesses with stability: something highly cherished in our current mercurial world. Making transitions from one site to another, or from small to medium sized storage needs can occur without any friction in your IT world when using a cloud host.

The flexibility of the cloud also allows businesses to continue operations even if there is an emergency causing them to evacuate their physical headquarters. In the event of a flood, there may be lasting damage for months in a building, forcing renovations. A terrorist attack, or even the threat of an attack can force everyone out of their building for a day, if not weeks at a time. Being able to get people out safely in an emergency has to be your business’s number one concern no matter what the cause of the problem is. You will not have to time to gather precious tapes, files, or hardware before leaving, no matter how badly you may want to.

With cloud hosting, your business can relocate temporarily without loss of vital data that keeps you up and running. Furthermore, there is no reason for clients to feel worried about unsecured or damaged servers or hardware that result from the disaster. Their information and your business can be safe for the entire time you are displaced. Even if you must relocate a few different times in search of that “permanent-temporary” location, you access to your data will not be disrupted.

Greater Security

As we have seen with the flexibility and stability that cloud hosting provides, it is also vital to discuss security. Most businesses with their own server on premises are not fully equipped for the sophisticated hackers and threats that exist.

The leading players in the cloud computing world have business models that offer some of the safest security measures in the world. They already have rock-solid security measures in place to protect their core businesses, be it Amazon, Google, or Microsoft. Investing in the cloud hosting offered by one of these leading players can even be a better investment than hiring a firm to provide cyber security, saving thousands – if not millions- of dollars over the long term.

One of the concerns about investing in cloud computing innovations is that data is moved off the premises of the different companies’ home bases. They follow the logic that if the server is physically closer to them then they have greater control over its security. It can seem a little daunting to move valuable and critical data off-site and into the “cloud.” Again, it is important to remember that the main players in the cloud hosting world are consumed by security and place large teams of experts in your corner. In a way it is like investing your money in a bank savings account versus keeping it in a piggy bank under your bed. Keeping it close might seem like the better option, but you have other important things to do besides worry about its safety twenty-four/seven. And in the event of a fire or robbery, you cannot possibly be expected to be a one-person rescue team. Obviously your money is safer in a stable bank. The same analogy holds true with your company’s data. Placing it with a cloud host who has made it their business to keep data safe would be a wise investment.

Some businesses do require a server that is physically closer to their place of business simply because of the nature of the business. No system can be guaranteed to be completely risk-free. Data breaches have occurred, and there is continued concern over advanced persistent threat (APT) parasites. But the Cloud Security Alliance is continuously addressing these concerns and working to stop both internal and external threats as well as predicting where the next threat may come from. And there is actually a greater statistical chance of your server on premises getting hacked by a malicious insider than of your data in a cloud getting attacked by an outsider.

The important thing to remember is to stay connected with the business operating as the cloud host. Do not simply move your trusted data to the cloud and forget about it. You are their client, and as such you are entitled to stay apprised of their security measures and have access to the team leader in charge of keeping your information safe. It also behooves the client stay on top of information in the cloud industry – not necessarily as a daily measure but perhaps weekly, and more importantly, remain aware of what may be reported about the company in the news.

Please contact us if you would like to learn more about cloud hosted desktops and how they can benefit your business. We are happy to help you find solutions for your needs and help you prepare a plan to keep your business running in the event of an emergency.