Study: Cloud services improve disaster recovery

Organizations that utilize managed cloud services for data storage and backup are able to recover from IT downtime nearly four times faster than companies that store all data on-site, according to a recent study.

The study, conducted by the Aberdeen Group, found companies that employ cloud-based storage are, on average, meeting all of their recovery time objectives, while other organizations regularly miss these goals.

The study examined the storage and disaster recovery policies and practices of more than 100 companies worldwide. It found that those using cloud storage are more likely than other organizations to operate a successful disaster recovery program.

Forty-six percent of public cloud users utilize the most efficient disaster recovery programs, the study found.

Dick Csaplar, senior research analyst for the Aberdeen Group, said storage of mission-critical data at a remote location can be very useful for data recovery. "Users of public cloud storage are more likely to be among the leaders of reducing or eliminating IT-related downtime than organizations that keep their data onsite," Csaplar said.

Adoption of managed cloud services by businesses, organizations and government agencies worldwide continues to grow. According to a recent Ovum report, government IT programs are increasingly embracing cloud services.