Why Colocation Needs to Be in Your Business Disaster Recovery Plan
No matter where you may be located in the United States, there is a possibility that a disaster could strike. From tornadoes to fires to hurricanes to floods, disasters can happen at any time. For businesses, it’s paramount to have a disaster recovery plan in place.
A key component of that disaster recovery plan should be where and how you plan to store your data. If a wildfire rushes through your area and there’s no time to save data, then you could be out years of records and other invaluable business information if the data isn’t securely stored elsewhere.
Here’s why colocation should be included in your business disaster recovery plan if you live in Orlando, Space Coast, Tampa, and other Florida areas as well as other parts of the United States.
Off-Site Data Storage Allows Your Data to Be Protected in the Event of a Disaster
When you host and store your data in the same building as your business, you’re taking a risk. In the event of a disaster such as a fire or flash flood, you could be looking at a complete and total loss without off-site data storage. Losing years of information, data, billing info, and other aspects of your business without any backup can be disastrous in itself, but if you have that information stored off-site, it will be protected.Business Can Still Operate After Disaster Strikes with Off-Site Colocation
When your data and applications are stored off-site, it may still be possible for your employees to remotely work after a disaster strikes, meaning business can still operate. For example, when hurricanes sweep through, many employees evacuate to safer areas and can’t come into the physical office. But if they have the ability to remotely access data, it’s possible for them to not only continue working and receive a paycheck, but also to keep your business open while your employees are safe from the impending storm. Colocation also offers you the ability to backup your data to other machines in the event you lose any computers that may be at your physical office building.
Choosing colocation for your off-site storage is a great option because it gives you the chance to choose your equipment and how it will be maintained.
How to Choose a Colocation Center for Your Disaster Recovery Plan
When you’re looking for a colocation data center to store your IT equipment, you should look for four key areas:
- Physical Security – access to each entrance should be controlled through secure methods including multi-factor authentication (MFA) to ensure only authorized individuals can access the facility. Each entrance should be monitored by video surveilance for record of entry.
- Power Redundancy – all colocation data centers should offer backup battery (UPS) and generator failover protection, however, truly redundant facilities offer N+1 power redundancy. N+1 means there are “backups to the backups” in the event a generator or UPS fail, there is additional equipment support to carry the power load immediately.
- Mulitple Internet Service Providers – Rarely, an internet service provider can fail due to a cut line, or some other operational issue. It is important to have automatic routing to an available ISP so that connectivity is maintained at all times.
- Certification of Controls – Third-party audits are important to show that not only are security and safety protocols in place, but they are adhered to by staff.
