Why disaster planning is vital….even with the cloud

The rising popularity of cloud due to its ease and efficiency is impossible to dispute, but are contingencies still in order?

When cloud first appeared on the scene, many companies expressed fears over embracing its services although the majority of these fears have since diminished.

This is because the diverse benefits of integrating cloud services have lifted a huge weight off businesses, particularly in accountancy.

However, some concerns are perfectly valid and should not only be taken seriously but acted upon.

Disaster planning is crucial, especially in regards to protecting mission-critical operations that are vital to the everyday running of a company.

Why?

Cloud systems are effectively rented from a provider, so the service is not technically owned by a company.

Whether it is storage, space, databases or even software they’re all in place for as long as the company continues to pay for them.

In the worst-case scenario, the company will only continue receiving cloud services as long as the provider stays in business.

Should the provider struggle then data stored in the system could be lost, making it imperative to have it stored in multiple locations.

How to plan ahead?

This doesn’t mean that a company should avoid cloud all together as it has plenty of benefits.

When it comes to IT all systems have associated risk therefore the solution lies in care and risk management.

When choosing a provider the key function of the IT department should be to adequately scrutinise them.

It’s important at this stage to keep an open mind as smaller vendors are often overlooked because they’re harder to vet.

The IT department should then develop a contingency plan in case a disaster strikes.

Another tip is to evaluate the business model of the actual vendor to see if they’re making profit as it is usually a good sign of their business acumen.

If for any reason the cloud system goes offline a back-up plan should be in place to minimise the effects it could have on the company.

This article has been produced by Liquid Accounts – leading experts in cloud accounting software.  For more information please see our homepage.