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Many businesses across Corporate America are now realizing the benefits of moving their entire On-Premises infrastructure into a Cloud-based one, such as that of AWS and Microsoft Azure. With this, organizations can quickly create and spin Virtual Machines (VMs) and Virtual Desktops (VDs) in just a matter of a few minutes.
But there is yet another strategic advantage of using Cloud Solutions: The ability to back up data and call it up again in the process of recovering from a Cyberattack. We examine other key benefits of this approach.
6 Benefits of Virtualization
- You can still use existing hardware:
Even despite the advantages that the Cloud brings, there are still some companies out there that are hesitant in making the full migration. So, by using virtualization, a business owner or CISO can take part in their On-Premises solution and run that in the AWS or Azure and keep the other part (which is the actual hardware) in the physical presence of the business. This dual approach also serves another purpose. For example, one of the cardinal rules in security is to have redundant data backups located both offsite and onsite in case they need to be used in a restoration process. This methodology also serves this need as well. You back up your data both in your Cloud-based platform as well as on onsite, utilizing the hardware that you already have.
2. Virtualization streamlines the process:
The traditional ways of backing up data have typically included making use of tapes, external disks, and even portable storage devices. While these are a good way to a certain extent in backing up your data, they can be clunky and take time to restore what is needed in the chance you are faced with a Disaster Recovery process. Not to mention they can also take up room at your business if you have been using this method for a long time. But, with virtualization, all that you need to do to take a full backup of your data is to image it. Essentially, it contains all of your files, software applications, and data sets in one complete file. If you need restore your data again, you can use this image to gain all of it back in just a matter of a couple of minutes, as opposed to using the tape backup process which could take hours.
3. Data can be backed up all over:
With virtualization, you are often given a choice as to which data center you want to use to store and backup your data in. But the nice thing here is that you can make and create backups across multiple data centers in different geographic data centers, literally all over the world. For example, if one of these data centers were to be impacted for any reason and there is downtime, you can rollover to another data center so that you can keep backing up your datasets on a real-time basis.
4. You can test backup strategies:
Given the dynamics of the Cybersecurity threat landscape, you and your IT Security team will have to come up with newer ways to back up your data so that they can be recalled quickly. Doing this On-Premises can be time-consuming, and even be costlier. But with Virtualization, you can easily create a sandboxed environment in which to test your new strategy. After you have created a test image (as previously described), you can see how well it conforms to your new plans. If all goes well, you can then take this new backup strategy and apply it to all of the datasets that you have stored in your Cloud environment
5. The process can be automated:
Another cardinal rule in Cybersecurity is to make backups daily. Typically, this means at least twice a day, and preferably even more. Doing this with On-Premises hardware can prove to be a time-consuming process, as you will need someone from your team to take time out of their workflow to do this. With Virtualization, you can create certain rules that will automate this process. The result of this is that as you are fending off any threat variants, the backup process will keep continuing to run in the background, and the latest version of your datasets can be available to you when you need it.
6. Scalability will be available:
With most businesses having a huge online presence, scalability is a must, especially as your data keeps growing. With Virtualization, you can create new VMs quickly to store and backup this explosion in data that is coming in at a fraction of the cost it would take to invest in new hardware with an On-Premises architecture.
How Can Results Technology Help Secure Data?
Overall, this article has examined some of the ways in which Virtualization can be used in your data backup and disaster recovery process. But there is also another huge advantage here as well. The data privacy laws of the GDPR and the CCPA are now mandating that companies keep effective data backups in place.
By using AWS or Azure, all backup tools that you make use of are already compliant with the statutes and provisions of them, thus making your company fully compliant. If you are needing more information on how working with a reliable experienced managed service provider like Results can help with Compliance read more here or give us a call today at (877) 698-0934.
