Disaster Recovery & Business Continuity

Does any topic get people more excited than planning for the time when your business is severely (or even mildly) disrupted by unforeseen events?

Actually we're being a little sarcastic. A lot of business managers are focused on getting through the day and have little interest in really thinking hard about this subject.  We all get it, one crisis at a time right?  Well here are three reasons why you should think about the subject right now:

1. Disruptions to your business will hurt you badly and you know it. You will regret it dearly if you haven't planned for it
2. Tape or online data backups are nice, but how quickly will you really be back up?  Do you really think that your current practices are going to get you back online quickly?  How much would it hurt you if you were struggling or limping along for weeks?  
3. Technology options today offer what you need for true disaster recovery / business continuity and the cost is reasonable (and often lower)

So if you were offered a virtual "insurance policy" that would keep you up and running during a crisis but wouldn't cost you more money, or one that might even save you money, wouldn't you take it?  

The "Cloud" is here to stay.  The most innovative companies are using cloud technologies to make their business better but many are benefiting from the built-in continuity of the cloud model.  Consider these benefits:

• Cloud solutions like hosted phone systems, hosted call center / cloud communications, virtual desktop, infrastructure as a service (dedicated and virtual servers) etc are all purposefully provided out of redundant data centers that are geographically diverse. Put simply, they are a lot less likely to be hard down and have the redundancy needed in the event of a major catastrophe.  

• Right now, if disaster strikes your office(s) and your critical hardware is damaged, what is your plan?  Will you have to replace hardware, rebuild all of it from scratch and then load up your backed up data and hope that you can fill in the gaps of what is missing?  Would you internal IT resources or outsourced managed IT company have the resources to do this quickly in a crisis?   In a cloud environment, your only concern is connecting to your critical applications / hardware.  This means that you just need to find a working Internet connection as opposed to rebuilding your technology from the ground up.  This cuts weeks of time off the "recovery" side of the equation and makes continuity a lot more likely. 

• It's a selling point for you.  Wouldn't your customers like to know that your operation is setup to continue operating or to recover quickly in the event of a disruption?  If they're relying on you, and you're relying on your technology, then logic dictates that you had better have access to your technology so you can keep your promises to your customers.  

• Cloud technologies typically have the same or lower cost than your current practices.  While only a true analysis can prove that out (which we can help with) it certainly makes sense to think about being prepared when it likely might save you money at the same time.  

So what are the drawbacks of redundancy and continuity options?  We're always very honest with our customers at Stellis but we haven't yet come up with a reason to dislike being prepared, especially when the benefits of cloud technologies go well beyond just this subject.  Make sure however that you're getting the "right" kind of service from your cloud provider.  Like anything else, the details of how this is all put together make a big difference.  We can help you with that.

Five Secrets About Cloud Technology

Now that I've got your attention....

Secret #1 - Big companies have been using a "cloud" approach for years.  Only recently has the technology become available to mid-size companies (and smaller).   There are many reasons for this, including access to bandwidth and the fact that companies prefer to buy technology "as a service" now instead of big capital spends on hardware/software that may not work for them in the long-term.   So if nothing is new about the cloud, why are some people afraid to utilize it? 

Secret #2 - Some of your fears are justified.  Not all "cloud" providers are the same.  Some are quite terrible.  Some are excellent and there are many in-between.   Any change you make should be well thought out. Our advice:  don't fear the cloud because it offers you tremendous benefits, just be smart about how you utilize it.  

Secret #3 - Worries about secure voice / data in the cloud are a little overblown, kind of.  The devil is always in the details but consider this: is your server infrastructure or phone system really that much more secure in that computer room in the back of your office that has no redundancy for power, climate control, or has the physical security of a locked door?  Did you know most thefts of data come from within a company?   Wouldn't it be better if your hardware was in a secure data center run by experts whose livelihood depends upon keeping your service secure for you?  Keep in mind that there are ways to enhance security in the cloud and you absolutely must work with providers who know how to do this properly.  

Secret #4 - The government may want your data and you should always remain in control of it.  The Patriot Act gives the government the power to request your private data no matter where it resides.  Google recently posted in their blog about the number of requests for data they've been fielding.  So what can you do about it?  First of all, if the government wants your data they'll come for it one way or the other but you can be "in control" of it even if you decide to put it in the cloud.  It's your data and the providers we work with give you the power to control it which means the government has to come to you first before they can gain access.  

Secret #5 - The term "cloud" is prolific and many business mangers don't really understand what it means.   It sounds more intimidating than it really is and there are a lot of ways to learn about the revolution that is happening in telecom / IT, not the least of which would be to contact Stellis Technology Advisors for some guidance.  

Top 3 Reasons to Consider Virtual Desktop

For those that are not aware, virtual desktop (as a service) will transform how businesses manage their employees' computing needs.  So what is it exactly?  VDI (Virtual Desktop Interface) is a cloud solution that takes what you know as your "desktop" away from your local PC and puts it in the cloud.  Your local computer is transformed into a much less important device that simply views your desktop which sits on a secure server in the cloud.    If you're still scratching your head don't feel bad, it takes time to fully grasp what this whole "cloud" thing is really all about.  Part of our job at Stellis is to explain it in greater detail.

So as promised, we've come up with the top three reasons to consider moving your company to a virtual desktop solution.  Please note we said "consider" because we're not suggesting that this solution is for every situation, but where it works it works very well and the benefits are tremendous:

#1: Fewer problems, fewer headaches -  When was the last time you had a six month stretch without a computer problem?  When they get bad enough you're pretty much at a standstill aren't you?  Wouldn't it be better if you had fewer problems and therefore had fewer interruptions to your (or your employees) important work? VDI offers more stability which means less user downtime.  You know better than anyone how much it costs you when an employee is sitting around waiting for their PC to be fixed.

#2:  Easier fixes, more productivity - So we just got done telling you that you'll have fewer issues but we're not saying it's flawless.  You're still running software and have a unique computing environment so nothing is perfect, but in a VDI world fixing any issue is infinitely easier because the "computer" you're working off is centralized.  Your administrator (or the solution provider's help desk) can easily rebuild a desktop in 20 minutes and that would be the most extreme fix required.

#3 Lower cost - If you care about the idea of saving money then you'll like the fact that the total cost of ownership is much lower.  Consider all the costs of your IT needs and how often you have to refresh your employees' PCs/Laptops.  It's no small sum is it?  Those costs decrease dramatically in a VDI world.  We'd like to also point out that your internal IT staff can focus less on fixing things and focus more on proactive technology improvements which have a more strategic impact on your business.

There are many other reasons to consider virtual desktop for your business and also a few reasons to pause and ask important questions.  At Stellis we don't start with a conclusion and work our way to it; we go through an evaluation process with you and determine together whether this or other cloud / telecom technologies are a good fit for your organization.

Spare me your verbal promises, put it in an SLA.

We've all heard it.  "Our network has 99.999% up-time  or "we respond to troubles day or night," but in the end what good do those words do us?

They all mean well and no doubt they believe it but any assertion made by a telecom provider should be backed up by a Service Level Agreement (SLA) that demonstrates consequences when those promises are not kept. 

At Stellis we make sure our clients have SLAs with teeth.  For example, one of our carrier partners offers global commitments that are very aggressive for reduced jitter and latency.  For companies running global private networks with converged voice, video and data these commitments are a critical.  A provider's network might be clean and well balanced today, but what keeps them honest?  How can you be sure they won't oversubscribe and have the service you initially singed up for degraded each time they acquire new clients?   SLAs make providers stay true to their word and it helps protect you for the long term.