Disaster recovery another benefit of cloud computing

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Cloud computing remains at the forefront of the IT industry, and the technology's array of advantages continues to grow.

ZDNet's Alan Priestley recently highlighted the benefits of cloud computing's disaster recovery capabilities. Businesses can use a number of models associated with the technology for this purpose, including having their files managed by a third-party storage provider.

"Another cloud disaster recovery option is to keep applications and data on-premise and back-up data into the cloud," wrote Priestley. "Then data can be restored onto on-premises hardware if a disaster occurs. In this approach the back-up in the cloud becomes a substitute for tape-based off-site back-ups."

According to the reporter, an additional disaster recovery method includes backing up and restoring data directly to the cloud.

Priestley also suggested disaster recovery in the cloud is especially beneficial for small- and medium-sized businesses with restrictive budgets.

As more organizations realize the potential of cloud computing solutions, expenses allocated for the technology are expected to rise. According to a study conducted by Global Industry Analysts, global cloud services spending is projected to reach approximately $127 billion by 2017.