Will cloud computing boost our economy? According to a recent study by the London School of Economics reported in Joe McKendrick’s article on Forbes.com, the answer is YES!
McKendrick’s article, titled “Cloud Computing Fueling Global Economic Growth” summarizes the study, which was underwritten by Microsoft.
Some interesting facts from the study include:
- Cloud computing is contributing to growth
- Cloud computing is increasing job creation
- Cloud computing frees staff to focus on more strategic activities
- The U.S. is leading is cloud job creation
- The impact of cloud computing on a business depends on the industry
- There will be an increase in new data centers to accommodate cloud computing businesses
Unlike a few years ago, there is no question that cloud computing is here to stay and will significantly impact our economy over the coming years.
Why go with Asigra’s agentless architecture? The answers are listed in a January 18 blog post on Backup Technology.
The first advantage is that an agentless solution only requires one backup agent across an entire network. For the other advantages, click here to read the complete blog post.
On February 8, Asigra will be hosting a webinar on “Building the Right Cloud Backup Partnership: Five Tips for MSP Success”.
If you are a managed service provider, data center operator, or hosting provider, this is a don’t miss event. It will be held February 8 from 2:00-3:00 p.m. EST.
Matt Grosso, VP of Data Storage Corporation, will be one of the speakers on the webinar. The speakers will discuss how they built their own cloud backup and recovery services while retaining control over the own destiny – setting their own pricing, margins and service level agreements.
To register for this free webinar, click here.
George Crump makes some excellent points in his blog post “How to Choose A Cloud Storage Provider: Availability” on InformationWeek’s Storage blog.
His first point is that it’s not all about the storage, but also about the availability of the data. When selecting a cloud storage provider, you need to consider the following:
- Understand the availability your organization needs
- Understand how you are going to use it (i.e. to store backups or as your primary storage)
- Ensure redundancy
- Use the basic services of two different cloud suppliers (could be expensive)
- Invest in a provider that offers a multi-copy level of redundancy
- Understand the Service Level Agreement and make sure that the provider can fulfill the agreement by verifying that the provider
has:
- Quality storage systems
- Quality data centers
- Quality network connections
- Financial stability to provide its services into the future
- Have a plan in the event a failure occurs
To read the complete article, click here.
In an article titled “Five Cloudy Resolutions for Your Data Storage” written by Nicos Vekiarides this week for Cloud Computing Journal, he lists the following five New Year’s resolutions that can be met by moving to a cloud storage platform:
- Never run out of storage capacity again.
- Kiss tape backup goodbye.
- Stop purchasing dedicated hardware for disaster recovery.
- Centralize storage management across sites.
- Retain access to a broad ecosystem of solutions.
What are your IT resolutions for 2012?
Today, Data Storage Corporation announced that it has formed a partnership with inFORM Decisions, a leading provider of document automation solutions for IBM i Power System / iSeries environments. Together, the companies will offer a one-stop-shop for automating document processes and protecting the data, applications and systems to ensure business continuity.
To read the complete press release, click here.
As we end 2011, today’s post will also be the last of the series summarizing Asigra’s “What you need to know about cloud backup: your guide to cost, security, and flexibility” white paper.
Given the reliability, cost savings and ease of operation associated with cloud backup, it is not a surprise that many organizations are moving to the cloud to protect their data and systems and ensure they are easily recoverable.
Asigra summarizes the reasons for leaping onto the cloud with these six points:
- Ability to leverage existing infrastructure – a cloud backup and recovery solution doesn’t require buying or installing expensive equipment as it takes advantage of your existing corporate network
- Set it and forget it – once you select a backup schedule, company data is saved automatically, providing a transparent solution
- Tape backup shortcomings – tape backups are often expensive, vulnerable to obsolescence and can be lost or stolen when being transported off site
- Improved recovery time objectives – by using a managed backup service, the speed and reliability of your recovery and restore will be governed through your SLA
- Smarter use of IT resources – a cloud backup and recovery solution will allow your business to redirect IT resources to more pressing challenges within your organization
- Backup Lifecycle Management – a cloud backup and recovery solution aligns the value of your data with the cost of protecting it. As the value of your data declines over time the cost of protecting it also declines providing you with additional cost savings.
If you haven’t moved to the cloud, you may want to make it a 2012 New Year’s Resolution to evaluate your options and make sure you have a secure and reliable backup and recovery solution in place to ensure your business continuity well into the future. Happy New Year!
Posted Under:
Asigra,
Backup,
Business Continuity,
Cloud Computing,
Data Privacy,
Data Protection and Recovery,
Data Recovery,
Disaster Recovery,
Information Technology,
Managed Services
This post was written by Matthew Grosso on December 30, 2011
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Of course, like any technology solution, an important question is what costs are involved. In Asigra’s “What you need to know about cloud backup: your guide to cost, security, and flexibility” white paper they address the question of whether a monthly subscription fee for cloud backups is equivalent to implementing a tape backup system.
Asigra points out that comparing these two solutions can be difficult, so the best method is comparing the total cost of ownership for both systems. To determine the total cost for tape backup, Asigra suggests considering the following:
- Hardware
- Software
- Ongoing maintenance for both hardware and software
- Initial setup costs for configuration
- Time and resources for managing backup and restore, including periodic recovery drills
- Future scalability and costs of additional infrastructure
For a cloud-based backup service, costs to consider include:
- Recoverability assessment
- Initial implementation
- Pay-per-use for capacity
Cloud backup service providers have ROI calculators to help you figure out the cost savings over multiple years. Total cost of ownership for a cloud backup and recovery system is typically significantly lower than an on-premise solution. Other financial benefits of a cloud backup service include:
- Lower operating and administrative costs due to automated backups
- Built-in scalability which makes it easy to evolve with new business needs
- Cloud backup software that scans your data for integrity or corruption issues and alerts your company immediately, preventing costly problems in advance
- Deployment of IT resources in more strategic innovative initiatives that enable greater competitive advantages
- Simple recovery drills for peace of mind
When you at it all up, cloud backup and recovery makes the most financial sense!
A common question asked by anyone that is considering cloud computing, is “How is my data stored in the cloud?” Asigra answers this question in its “What you need to know about cloud backup: your guide to cost, security, and flexibility” white paper.
The first fact that Asigra points out is that all data is not equal and will not have the same recovery time objectives. One simple example is newer data versus older data. Most likely, your organization’s most recently created data will need to be available first if there is a system failure. And, with costs increasing with the more data you store, it doesn’t make sense to pay for more frequent backups and a higher service level agreement for all your data, new and old, critical and non-critical.
You need to assess your data with your cloud backup service provider to determine which data is more critical and create a tiered recovery, also known as Backup Lifecycle Management or BLM.
The next post will discuss the monthly subscription fees associated with cloud backup solutions.
The team at Data Storage Corporation would like to wish you and your family a healthy and happy holiday season!
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