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Technology advances at an amazing rate. A decade ago, the thought of self-driving cars and everyone having an AI assistant in their pocket and home was reserved for Sci-Fi films. A recent study showed that currently 40% of the world’s population is connected to the internet, 90% of all the world’s data was created in the last two years, and five million jobs will be operated by robots by next year. As our world becomes more driven by technology and data, our way of living becomes more vulnerable to technology availability.

A recent study showed that cyberattacks can cause 12 hours of downtime on average as well as major revenue loss. The survey also showed that a third of organizations say that ransomware is the most prevalent cyber threat to them. This was proven when 22 municipalities were hit with ransomware attacks in Texas, all of them taking place in August of this year. 

While the survey revealed the shocking statistic that 83% of organizations have experienced a cyberattack within the last two years, other catastrophes like natural disasters also can challenge system availability. Disasters such as hurricanes can negatively affect power grids and cause damage to buildings that host internet servers or even complete data centers. 

The recent hurricane that devastated the Bahamas has so far caused around $3 billion worth of damage in the Caribbean, and while the hurricane did not cause damage to the U.S., we are only in the middle of hurricane season. Two years ago, Texas saw the devastation of Hurricane Harvey, which caused $125 billion in damage, impacting homes, power grids, data centers, and businesses. With several more weeks left in this year’s hurricane season, we unfortunately could see another hurricane hit our shores.

These extreme cases are important to prepare for, but something as simple as an employee tripping over a wire or unplugging a device to plug in the vacuum can cause major IT issues. Even if you are able to quickly return to power, there’s the issue of getting connected again. Statistics show that 92 percent of small businesses use the cloud, and 66 percent of small businesses couldn’t operate without wireless technology. That’s why it is extremely important for any modern-day business to utilize Disaster Recovery as a Service (DRaaS).

DRaaS is implemented to protect an application, network, or data from a natural disaster, human mistake, or service disruption. This is different from traditional disaster recovery which is implemented in-house because DRaaS is done by a third-party provider. There are multiple benefits for DRaaS, but we are going to focus on the top four:

• Price: DRaaS is incredibly cost-effective. Outsourcing your company’s disaster recovery environment means that you are relieved of the stress of operating and maintaining a DR facility 24/7. The majority of DRaaS providers utilize the cloud, which means that your office is not cluttered with tons of hardware and wires, and you are most likely only going to be billed based on usage.

• Speed: DRaaS also provides a more rapid and more reliable recovery process. The fact that DRaaS leverages the cloud means that getting connected again or recovering your data is a lot less complicated. The majority of DRaaS providers use data replication technologies, which allow for a more reliable recovery point and time.

• Availability: DRaaS provides you with a ‘data center in the cloud.’ This means that applications that are crucial to your business’s operations are more available and readily accessible even after a disaster. As long as there is an internet connection, you can access your data and system from anywhere in the world. 

• Location: The last benefit, but definitely not the least, is geodiversity. Geodiversity is short for geographic diversity, which is when there is a substantial amount of distance between two or more data centers. Many DRaaS providers offer this as part of their solution. That means that your data is always safe because even if you are hit by a natural disaster or your local network is targeted by a cyberattack, the distance between you and one of your third-party data storage facilities keeps your business from being affected by the issue. Industry experts recommend distances between 60 to 200 miles.

In the data-driven modern society, the benefits of DRaaS seem like a no-brainer to ensure that your business can continue no matter what life may hurl your way. Investing in a strong DRaaS solution means that you have the peace of mind that your business can quickly get back up on its feet even in the worst of times.