Although all Cloud providers will have backup facilities, this doesn’t always mean they are up and running for your systems. Some hosting providers offer backups only as an optional service, they are not automatically applied and if they are missing, then it maybe your configuration that is at fault. So check carefully or select a provider that always provides them and doesn’t allow it as an optional extra.

We will provide (and also strongly recommend you implement) backups in multiple locations to guarantee business continuity in the event one system and/or set of data goes offline.

We also recommend frequent testing of every backup system. There are many cases when people have “assumed” something is being backed up, but when they have gone to retrieve it in an emergency, have found that actually the backup was not working.

Just walk in one day and test your system. Assume the worst and go looking for an important file or set of data in your backup and make sure it is there.

Then go and test the other backups too.

Now that most companies are working in the Cloud at least to some extent, it’s more important than ever to have Disaster Recovery and Backups in place. In the event of a catastrophic data loss, Disaster Recovery allows an organisation to restore their services with minimal disruption.

Without a Disaster Recovery plan and replication of systems and data at a different location, there is a genuine risk of significant data loss and serious consequences for the continuity of business operations. In the worst cases in can lead to business failure.

If you use a click and buy service from companies like Amazon, Azure or some others such as OVH, you need to be sure you know how to pin the infrastructure together to give yourself the best chance of recovery should a disaster happen.

If you are wondering what the differences are between the different technologies available we have written an article on AWS vs Azure vs Independent here…

A real-life example in 2021

A fire at a major datacentre resulted in many organisations losing data and caused major disruption to operations across both the UK and the world. Some companies had their data stored and backed up in the same facility, all original data and backups were then destroyed by the fire.

Lessons about data security and recovery were learned but in the most painful manner and sadly came too late for some organisations.

Good Cloud providers will work with you to ensure that you are not exposed to this unnecessary risk.

Some OVH customers have lost data that can’t be recovered, and it’s been suggested that some ‘didn’t understand exactly what they bought’. The consequences of data-loss on this scale can be catastrophic for any organisation. That well-worn phrase, ‘If you fail to prepare, prepare to fail…’ is wholly appropriate in this case.

We believe in working closely with our customers, taking time to explain the benefits our hosting service offers. All of our customers have robust security, multi-site backups and disaster recovery measures in place as standard. It is a shared responsibility. Ultimately you are responsible for making decisions for your own business but as hosting experts we see it as our responsibility to provide an industry-leading service and to do everything we can to protect our customers from potential data-loss. It is about responsible Cloud-hosting and for us there is no other way.