3 Simple Steps to Ensure Data Recovery in The Cloud

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There is no such a thing as a recycle bin in the public cloud

What happens when we accidentally delete a file in the public cloud?

Usually, you would expect that everything goes into the recycle bin; the "trash can" icon that you find on your desktop or in the menu bar. Unfortunately, that feature does not exist in the public cloud, at least I didn't see it. Once deleted or overwritten, your data is gone, permanently.

More than half of 1,200 technical and business decision-makers told Veritas in a recent Truth in Cloud research study that they feel that the responsibility of backing up data in the public cloud lies with the cloud service provider. This is a myth.

The truth is backup is your responsibility – even in the public cloud. Here are three simple steps to avoid finding this out the hard way:

1. Check your public cloud contract terms

Did you carefully read your public cloud contract? Or did the pages and pages of legalese terms lull you into hitting “Accept” too soon? 

Bear in mind that most cloud service providers make you responsible for taking appropriate steps to secure, protect and backup your business data.

At the time, when the public cloud was merely an experiment, not having a backup was not a huge issue. But, over time, that same experiment may have evolved into a critical business application. Now, you no longer can tolerate data loss because this immediately puts your organization and perhaps even your career at risk.

It is worth asking your legal department to read through your public cloud contract to make sure it meets your business requirements today.

2. Make a backup copy of your data in the public cloud

Do not assume that the public cloud protects your business data just because their service has been designed to deliver eleven 9's of durability. Durability is not a service level agreement for uptime, nor does it provide you with guarantees for the recoverability of your data.

Always make backups of your critical business data with copies replicated to another cloud region or your on-premises data center for disaster recovery.

3.  Clean-up redundant backup copies in the public cloud

The recycle bin on my desktop contains thousands of files. What I should be doing more regularly is emptying my trash as this will help me find a file much quicker. The same applies to keeping old backup copies in the public cloud. Cleaning up your backup copies as soon as they become redundant not only saves you money, it speeds up the search and recovery of a backup too.

Check that your backup solution is offering the ability to automate the retention management of your backup copies, as well as delivering comprehensive indexing and data classification capabilities so you can alleviate regulatory risk and compliance concerns.

It is never too late to carry out a thorough risk analysis of your data protection strategy. Veritas CloudPoint offers a simple solution for backup and recovery of your applications and data across multiple public clouds.

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