Best Practices for Cloud-based Disaster Recovery
As organizations dive headfirst into the cloud’s speed, scalability, and cost advantages, they unlock opportunities for growth and innovation but also take on the responsibility of safeguarding digital assets. Cloud-based disaster recovery demands ongoing vigilance to protect systems and data from natural disasters, technical failures, cyberattacks, and (more frequently than we’d like to admit) human errors — issues that can rapidly escalate without a robust disaster recovery plan in place.
Common Disaster Recovery Planning Mistakes
While cloud services offer powerful tools, they can’t replace a solid disaster recovery plan. It’s up to you to protect your data, and relying solely on your provider may create critical gaps. Delegating disaster recovery to one overburdened cloud engineer is also risky. They may lack the resources or bandwidth to develop and support a comprehensive plan.
Another common mistake is underestimating risks. Sure, natural disasters and power outages often get the spotlight, but did you know that most security issues stem from accidental or malicious actions? If you don’t take the time to fully assess your vulnerabilities, safeguarding data and systems becomes an uphill battle.
Furthermore, skipping a disaster recovery plan — or neglecting to test it regularly — only makes things worse. Ignoring key data, system dependencies, or backups can throw a wrench into recovery efforts. To avoid major headaches, make sure backups are scheduled, stored securely, and integrated with your overall strategy.
6 Best Practices for AWS DRS
Among the many options available, we prefer Amazon Web Services Elastic Disaster Recovery Service (AWS DRS) for its flexibility, reliability, and automation. Having worked closely with the AWS DRS team for years, we’ve gained insight into the platform and how to maximize its potential so you can focus on what matters most without worrying about disaster readiness.
1. Outline Business Continuity Needs
To start, identify the applications and data essential to your business operations, map out critical systems, understand their interdependencies, and recognize the impact of potential disruptions.
2. Choose the Right Approach
AWS offers a wide range of services to support disaster recovery. Selecting the right mix, such as frequent backups, block-level replication with point-in-time recovery, resilient application design, or a combination of these, ensures your solution is tailored to your business.
3. Protect Your Data
Use immutable backups to shield your data from ransomware, accidental deletions, or malicious changes. Services like Amazon S3 with Object Lock and Backup Vault Lock provide peace of mind, ensuring your backups remain untouched.
4. Test and Refine Regularly
A plan that isn’t tested might fail when you need it most. Use AWS DRS’s non-disruptive testing capabilities to simulate recovery scenarios, validate your approach, and make improvements without affecting day-to-day operations.
5. Automate for Simplicity
Improve your processes by automating failover, failback, and routine tests. With AWS tools like CloudFormation and Systems Manager, you can ensure reliability and reduce human error.
6. Stay Secure and Compliant
Incorporate encryption and ensure your disaster recovery plan aligns with regulatory requirements like GDPR or HIPAA.
Stay Ahead of the Unexpected With JetSweep
The complexities of today’s IT infrastructures can make disaster recovery planning overwhelming, but JetSweep is here to help. Whether you need a one-time disaster recovery setup or ongoing disaster-recovery-as-a-service, getting started and remaining secure can be easier than you think when you have a collaborative partner with deep expertise and a commitment to your business’s priorities.