"How Should Companies Prepare for When the Cloud Goes Down?" was the topic of discussion on ebizQ's Cloud Computing forum today. As this SearchCIO article, Time to lay down the cloud computing law for uptime, points out, it's when -- not if -- the cloud goes down. So how should you prepare for the inevitably of the cloud going down?
I agree... with the following clarification:
The technology might be new but the problem is NOT.
Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery (BC/DR) have always been risk management considerations... they were considerations before clouds, are still consdierations with clouds, and will remain considerations even after clouds.
Wikipedia defines DR as "the process, policies and procedures related to preparing for recovery or continuation of technology infrastructure critical to an organization after a natural or human-induced disaster."
DR is a subset of business continuity as BC involves planning for keeping all aspects of a business functioning in the midst of disruptive events, while DR focuses on the IT or technology systems that support business functions.
So, in short, Clouds DO NOT eliminate the need for proper BC/DR planning and testing. Don't make the mistake of confusing or blurring the lines between a technology (cloud) and legitimate business issues (survival and profitability).
* Originally posted on the ebizQ Cloud Computing Forum in August 2010.
Excellent post, thanks! :)
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