In today’s world, the threats to a business are many and they include both virtual and very real local forces.

The risk of data breaches and ransomware attacks from hackers located anywhere in the world continue to rise, and small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in Australia are being hit particularly hard. A global research study by Datto found that SMBs in Australia and New Zealand have the highest rate of reported ransomware attacks.

91% of SMBs in Australia and New Zealand have reported a ransomware attack in the last two years.

Ransomware is a particularly costly form of malware and it can cause organisations to lose their files entirely if they haven’t put a technology support plan in place that includes backup and disaster recovery.

Costs to restore systems after a ransomware attack run in the tens of thousands of dollars whether a company decides to pay a ransom (average payment is AUD $59,648) or not.

When it comes to local forces, the 2019-2020 bushfire crisis is one example of natural disasters causing unprecedented damage to residents and business owners. According to the Insurance Council of Australia, at least 5,850 fire-related insurance claims have been made since November, and that was just expected to be the beginning.

Whether from cyberattack or natural disaster, using Disaster Recovery as a Service can mitigate the downtime for a company and make all the difference when it comes to bouncing back quickly after a downtime crisis, or never being able to fully recover.

Disaster Recovery as a Service (DRaaS) Explained

There are backups and then there are BACKUPS. Just backing up your data in a way that copies your files to something like an external hard drive or cloud service, like OneDrive, is not the same as a backup and disaster recovery service.

True DRaaS ensures your entire digital infrastructure is backed up and easily recoverable in the case of data loss or loss of your on-premises computers and network.

Here are the some of the ways that using DRaaS protects your business in the event of a disaster, either virtual or local:

Backs Up Everything, Not Just Files

DRaaS uses the cloud to back up your entire technology infrastructure to protect applications and data from disruption caused by disaster. This includes the files and folder structure you use, device settings, email, and the applications on your hard drive as well.

Backing up the entire system reduces the time for recovery, mitigating costly downtime.

Vital to Business Continuity

Using a disaster backup and recovery service is vital to business continuity (i.e. keeping your business going no matter what). Downtime can happen from any number of reasons. Top causes of data loss and downtime include:

  • Malware/ransomware/viruses
  • Data breach that exposes sensitive data
  • Natural or manmade disaster
  • Hard drive crash
  • Human error
  • Malicious file deletion
  • Software malfunction
  • Cloud service outage
  • Lost or stolen device

60% of small businesses have to close down within six months of a cyberattack because they never fully recover.

Using DRaaS reduces the length of downtime in the event of data loss or some other catastrophe and allows you to keep your business up and running.

Protects Your Data in Cloud Applications

When you’re using applications like Office 365 or G Suite, your data can still be lost or compromised. Both service providers recommend that you back up your cloud data to a third-party system to prevent loss due to unexpected events.

Disaster recover as a service enables the full replication of all your cloud data in these applications, so they’re available to you no matter what may happen to the virtual cloud server.

Serves as a Secondary Virtual Office

If you’ve suffered a major event, such as network-wide ransomware infection, it can mean days of downtime until you’re able to access your data again.

This can be reduced to just hours or minutes if you use DRaaS because it can serve as a secondary infrastructure in case of emergency. This allows you and your employees to keep your daily business processes going through the secondary backup service while your primary systems are recovering from a downtime incident.

Covers Both On-Premises and Cloud Systems

Many offices use a hybrid infrastructure when it comes to their technology business processes. They may use one software housed on an internal server in addition to cloud-based storage or team chat services.

It’s important that data in all these places are backed up and able to be recovered in the event of an outage, and DRaaS has the capability to include redundant backups of both cloud and non-cloud systems.

Additional Benefits

A few additional benefits of using disaster recovery as a service include:

  • These cloud services allow the flexibility to use just what you need so you’re not paying for features or space you don’t require.
  • DRaaS replicates your backup data to multiple sites to ensure continuous backup and recovery in the case that one of the cloud server sites experiences an outage.
  • You won’t have to remember to back up or rely on your employees to remember. DRaaS is automated, so all systems that are connected back up to the service on a regular time schedule.

Keep Your Business Protected with a Solid Backup & Disaster Recovery Service

When disaster strikes, most businesses can’t afford the losses that come with extended downtime on top of it. NetCare can help you put a reliable DRaaS in place, so you have the protection you need to keep your company going no matter what.

Contact us today to schedule a backup and recovery consultation.
Call (02) 9114 9920 or reach out online.