Businesses are more reliant on technology than ever. Like many, this is your competitive edge. The data that you gather and the systems used to access that data are business-critical. Any disruption to that can cost you customers, revenue, and possibly your entire business.
At Summit, we have been providing solutions to safeguard our clients for over 20 years. We have developed a comprehensive portfolio of business continuity solutions. The first step we take when recommending data protection or disaster recovery solutions is to understand your business.
Backup and Recovery
There are many approaches to backing up data. Traditionally, files and applications were backed up to tape or disks. The tapes were then taken offsite to remain safe. However, some of the problems with this approach include long backup windows, routine errors, and the difficulty of testing recovery.
Today, many organizations are moving to the cloud. There are several technologies that have made this solution work. Compression and data deduplication reduce the amount of data that needs to be backed up. Inexpensive cloud storage can make an ideal target for backups, snapshots, and multiple recovery points. The key is to understand whose cloud your data will be stored on and how secure your data is.
Disaster Recovery
Backup is critical to making sure you can recover data in the event of hardware failure or inadvertent deletion. But what happens when disaster strikes? A natural disaster such as a hurricane, tornado, or fire could wipe out your entire infrastructure.
This is where true disaster recovery (DR) comes in. The goal is to get your critical teams, like customer service or finance, back up and running in hours or days instead of weeks or months. This takes strategic planning and consideration of overall business needs. Pre-established processes can then get mission-critical applications and data back up and running quickly.
In the past, DR was expensive and out of reach of many organizations, especially small and medium-sized businesses or local governments. It required building a duplicate data center that was far enough away geographically so that it did not get disrupted by the same disaster.
Today, the cloud changes all of that. Servers can be spun up in minutes, and data can already be duplicated and standing by. There are multiple cloud technologies that can be used, all with their pros and cons. Public, private, and hybrid cloud all have their place in a DR solution. The key is to partner with experts in utilizing technology to solve business challenges. That is Summit.
IBM Power and iSeries Recovery Health Check
At Summit, we go beyond x86. We also are experts in IBM’s advanced technology solution, including Power Systems and iSeries. These systems typically run mission-critical applications and are heavily relied upon. Many organizations do not test the backups and the recoverability of these systems regularly enough.
At Summit, we perform a Recovery Health Check that tests the recoverability of your systems from backups with no interruption to your business. These tests are completed in the Summit lab environment and are designed to form a comprehensive disaster recovery plan that supports your business.