Cloud resilience study by Info-Tech Research Group unveils key gaps and practical solutions for business continuity

Although cloud providers have invested heavily in enhancing resiliency, organizations remain susceptible to cloud downtime and data loss. Hence, IT leaders who oversee disaster recovery plans and overall cloud resilience must now factor in the added risk of cloud failures.

To aid these IT leaders in improving their resilience and disaster recovery strategies, Info-Tech Research Group has released a new blueprint titled “Mitigate the Risk of Cloud Downtime and Data Loss,” which is supported by data and intended to help organizations thrive in an increasingly cloud-oriented and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) driven world.

Info-Tech’s recent industry resource emphasizes that as more companies transfer their applications to cloud-based services, they need to establish disaster recovery and business continuity plans that consider the possibility of cloud risks and provide solutions to manage them.

In creating such plans, organizations should also evaluate the reliability and resiliency of cloud providers and their offerings, their security protocols, their capacity to safeguard data, and their contingency plans for both technology and business operations in the event of a cloud outage or incident.

“The key to developing an effective cloud strategy is to recognize what can be controlled and what actions can be taken to evaluate and mitigate risk,” says Frank Trovato, advisory director at Info-Tech Research Group. “At a minimum, IT leaders can ensure senior leadership is aware of the risk and define a plan for responding to an incident, even if it is limited to monitoring and communicating status.”

The report highlights the difficulties that IT leaders often confront when managing the cloud, such as their lack of authority over third-party incidents that can impede their ability to recover or maintain continuity, mainly for SaaS services. While some vendors provide resilience options for popular SaaS solutions, not all cloud services have these options. To address this issue, it is critical to develop workarounds for business processes that necessitate the involvement of business leaders.

To minimize cloud services risk, IT leaders can take the following three steps:

Info-Tech proposes a practical approach for IT leaders to overcome cloud-related challenges that they must adapt to consider downtime and data loss risks, especially when dealing with SaaS solutions with restricted or no control over the system. Even with limited control, IT leaders can still establish an incident response plan that streamlines workarounds’ notification, evaluation, and implementation process.

• Assess the cloud risk
• Identify options to mitigate risk
• Create an incident response plan

The blueprint advises IT leaders to inquire about their cloud vendor’s disaster recovery and business continuity plans and their resilience capabilities. Additionally, leaders should ask about any supplementary services or recommendations that could enhance the resiliency of cloud services and evaluate potential risks. By taking these steps, leaders can assist their organizations in safeguarding against unforeseen disruptions and guaranteeing the continuous operation of cloud services.

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