Intelligent CIO Middle East Issue 54 | Page 83

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// FINAL WORD Immutable snapshots: To ensure unstructured data can be recovered, companies should protect their information with continuous immutable snapshots. Data captured this way is ‘frozen’ and cannot be overwritten or deleted by ransomware attackers. This ensures an organisation can revert to a secure set of data. Orchestration: A successful recovery process requires that business-critical data and applications are prioritised. Companies using cloud-based recovery should predetermine the order in which their data and applications will be recovered. This ‘orchestration’ ensures minimal downtime, once data recovery begins. Immediate recovery: Considering one minute of downtime costs US$5,600 according to industry analyst firm, Gartner, the speed of recovery following a ransomware attack is a crucial element of the remediation and recovery process. Solutions such as StorageCraft VirtualBoot provide the ability to recover virtual and physical infrastructures – and both structured and unstructured data – instantly. Failback: After a successful cloud-based recovery, the last step in remediating a ransomware infection is returning the data infrastructure to its original location and resuming operations as usual. The planned failback process should have a minimal impact on production applications to minimise any additional downtime and adverse effect on the business. What are some of the key challenges organisations face when it comes to data protection and how can StorageCraft help to address these? A recent survey, commissioned by StorageCraft, discovered that nearly 50% of IT decision makers are struggling with data growth and believe it is only going to get worse. Further to this, 51% are not confident that their IT infrastructures can perform instant data recovery in the event of a failure. It’s clear that exponential data growth and its safe storage is a challenge for organisations and an area that businesses need additional support. The findings also reveal a concerning disconnect between an organisation’s “ WHEN IT COMES TO SYSTEM DOWNTIME, BUSINESSES RISK BOTH REPUTATIONAL DAMAGE AND THE COST ASSOCIATED WITH DOWNTIME. www.intelligentcio.com INTELLIGENTCIO 83