What is Disaster Recovery as a Service?
DRaaS or Disaster Recovery as a Service is a cloud-based backup and recovery model. It saves the business from disasters and brings resiliency into the IT system to keep servers up and network running all through recovery phases.
A disaster is quick enough to halt a business’s critical operations; it can be anything from a cyber breach such as ransomware to IT outages and hardware failures to natural calamities. The objective of DRaaS is to provide remote DR for a business and help it operate normally without getting affected by significant disastrous events.
Having a cloud-based DR strategy in place means the business can manage to quickly resume its operations following an IT infrastructure failure. With more flexible options offered in Disaster Recovery as a Service, businesses may often find it hard to understand what they should go for and how it can add to their disaster recovery needs.
DRaaS — Simplified Explanation
Disaster Recovery as a Service includes complete replication and secure backup of all business data and apps on the cloud while working as a secondary backup infrastructure.
It provides continuous backup support to the business and its users so that they can carry on with the daily business operations without any disruption. The cloud environment of DRaaS makes the data and applications available on virtual systems 24/7; without succumbing to any awful disaster on-site.
DRaaS also suits businesses that already have an on-premise backup solution, giving them an exclusive opportunity to test cloud backup/recovery service. It is as simple as replicating its backup system on the cloud without giving up its on-premise solution for the business and, once done, it is ready to experience the benefits of a remote DR system.
3 Basic Elements of Disaster Recovery as a Service
To get a clear idea of the DRaaS method, let’s have a quick look at three of its basic elements:
- Replication or Duplication — a hybrid technology that often captures both physical and remote servers (cloud). It includes replication of data from a production site and taking it to the 3rd party host.
- Failover — a transitioning phase through which end-user gets access to the 3rd party hosting server during a disaster. It is rather straightforward for the system to failover to the replicated infrastructure.
- Failback — It is the process of switching back user access from the 3rd party remote failover environment back to the original production site.
DR vs DRaaS — Know the Difference
Disaster Recovery as a Service adds cloud-hosted replication, backup, and failover to DR (Disaster and Recovery) services. It comes as a monthly subscription packaged with enterprise-level, preset hardware, protection, and technical support for the DR needs.
The DRaaS service efficiently shifts the trouble of maintaining the production site to the 3rd party vendor, removing upfront costs, and lowering total operating expenses. Just like the way many businesses have taken HR, payroll, and IT infrastructure to MSPs and SaaS, using DRaaS decreases the resources and labor-related costs of DR.
- DRaaS and backup solutions are based on a special (cloud-based failover) guideline for backup/recovery.
- Highly protected mission-critical data and apps
- Smartly protected lower-tier data and apps
- No downtime for mission-critical data and apps for the business
- Equally balanced investment at both ends of the app range
Disaster Recovery as a Service — How It Works
DRaaS starts by replicating/duplicating and hosting physical servers in a 3rd party vendor’s services. The 3rd party provider uses a cloud-based disaster recovery model in the case of any disaster that closes down a customer’s production site.
Businesses may choose for DRaaS monthly subscription plans or pay-per-use plans that enable them to use the service only when disaster hits. Disaster recovery as a service differs in scope and price — it is necessary to assess prospective DRaaS providers as per individual DR requirements and budget.
Disaster Recovery as a Service — Which One is Fit for You?
Businesses may decide to take a part or all of their disaster recovery plan to a DRaaS vendor. The three widely used models for DRaaS are as follows:
- Self-Service Disaster Recovery as a Service: It is a highly risky but low-cost option where the user is liable for DR planning, testing, and maintenance. The user will have to be careful while planning and hosting its IT infrastructure backup on the cloud environment in an off-site location.
Or else it won’t be possible to failover to the remote servers immediately during a disaster. It will only work if there are experienced DR experts in-house.
- Assisted Disaster Recovery as a Service:- To share responsibility for some portions of their DR plan, or if they have difficulty handling rare or customized apps to host through a third party, assisted DRaaS seems to be the most perfect.
- Managed Disaster Recovery as a Service:- In such a model, a third party is fully liable for the implementation of disaster recovery services. It saves the user from the hassle of managing a part or whole of their DR plan.
Conclusion
Disaster Recovery as a Service provides much needed IT resiliency to a business by ensuring nonstop replication of vital infrastructure and data to a secure and all-time available cloud environment. With its disaster recovery for the business can be rapid and inexpensive too.
