10 Compelling Reasons for Outsourcing Disaster Recovery

by Chris Preimesberger

Most data centers are a collection of new and old equipment from multiple vendors. Working with a disaster recovery provider helps companies leverage a shared pool of current and legacy equipment. The provider can also bring an expert recovery services team, skilled in working in complex IT environments.

Businesses can rarely afford to have recovery systems that stand idle waiting to respond to a disaster. A disaster recovery service provider can have hundreds of servers available at a single site for business recovery—shrinking recovery times at a fraction of the cost of maintaining this equipment internally.

At most companies, many IT staff have never had to participate in a full recovery at a remote site. Lack of ongoing experience can cost a business as it needs to wait longer for systems to be recovered. A service provider can strengthen IT resources by expanding organizational expertise with people skilled in recovery methodologies and best practices.

No one can predict the issues an organization will encounter as it attempts to recover operations at a secondary site. Working with a service provider whose primary business is disaster recovery gives access to knowledge acquired from thousands of recovery tests and events.

Many businesses are short on IT staff and time resources. In this environment, disaster recovery testing can be deferred, putting a company’s recovery plan at risk. A disaster recovery service provider can be a resource to manage recovery testing; allowing organizations to know recovery plans will work before disaster strikes.

When a disaster occurs, an organization needs to focus on its most important asset—its employees. Disaster Recovery service providers maintain a dedicated support team who understand their role in the recovery process. They also offer flexible options and workspaces for employees to work in a safe environment, either remotely or on-site.

Service providers are dedicated to Disaster Recovery services and do not just offer DR as a sideline business. If a company is distracted by other business priorities, it will be difficult to retain the level of dedicated support required.

Service providers understand and can fulfill the full range of an organization’s critical service requirements, such as different operating platforms, communication services and integrated applications. Thus a DR provider is able to recover crucial operating systems faster, saving thousands of dollars in revenue from being lost.

To avoid hefty fines from audits, data centers need to be compliant and on top of industry regulations such as Federal Continuity Directive 1 and 2, Title 21 CFR part 11, and SOX Act (section 404), just to name a few. DR providers bring an expertise with accreditations, levels of privacy and government mandates, potentially saving a company from unplanned financial penalties.

A disaster recovery service provider can offer a top-notch infrastructure, complies with PCI DSS and SAS 70 Type II standards, and has the capability to ensure that hosted applications are available on a 24/7 basis. A DR service provider can also provide scalable solutions and the option to upgrade your capabilities over time as business needs grow and change.