Only 33% of Organizations Test DR Plan Regularly

While 62% of survey respondents are
leveraging the cloud and/or virtualization, only 33% of these organizations
test data recovery plans regularly to ensure proper protocols are in place to
protect this data.

This is a key finding from a recent
survey conducted by Kroll Ontrack Inc. of 367 enterprise
and services providers.

49% of organizations reported
experiencing some type of data loss in the last year, but not necessarily from
the cloud. 55% denoted data was lost from a traditional storage device in
contrast to 26% who reported a data loss from a virtual environment, 3% who
reported a loss from the cloud and 16% who experienced data loss from both a
virtual environment as well as the cloud.

"It is clear that the cloud is
quickly gaining ground among organizations looking to streamline their
technology infrastructure and cut IT costs, as 26% of
respondents reported leveraging infrastructure as a service (IaaS), 16%
reported leveraging SaaS and 13% reported utilizing
both IaaS and SaaS," said Abhik Mitra, data recovery product manager, Kroll
Ontrack. "However, if there is anything that technology has taught us, it
is that data loss can occur in any environment, regardless of the specific
technology. The key to minimizing a data loss risk and successfully recovering
from a loss is asking the right questions prior to adopting a new storage
medium and amending your policies and procedures accordingly."

Key questions to consider prior to
incorporating cloud
in your storage architecture include:

• Are backup systems and protocols in
  place? Do these systems and protocols meet your own in-house backup standards?
• Does your cloud vendor have a data
  recovery provider identified in its BC/DR plan?
• What are the SLAs with regard to data
  recovery, liability for loss, remediation and business outcomes?
• Can you share data between cloud
  services? If you terminate a cloud relationship can you get your data back? If
  so, what format will it be in? How can you be sure all other copies are
  destroyed?

When asked about their cloud provider’s
ability to properly handle data loss incidents, only 29% revealed a lack of
confidence, compared to 55% of respondents in 2011. However, just 17% of
respondents revealed that they test their DR plan regularly to validate
technical and personnel readiness against cloud or virtual data loss technical
recovery capabilities and 13% responded that they do not have a DR plan.

"Virtualization is the engine of
cloud technology. If virtualization fails, the cloud fails," added Mitra.
"Whether it is human error or an operating failure, it is important to
know who to turn to. Only 14% initially turn to a DR provider. The first chance
of recovery is always the best chance, so it is critical to have a DR provider
that is experienced in complex storage platforms such as virtual environments
denoted in your DR plan."

Conducted at VMware Forums globally, 367 IT
professionals participated in this in-person survey. 51% of those surveyed
represented enterprises, while 32% were service providers.