Facing a multitude of threats to systems and data, everyone from small and medium businesses to large enterprises and nonprofits are turning to cloud backup and recovery services. Combining both data backup protections and recovery capabilities, disaster recovery as a service solutions help ensure continued operations should a catastrophe, failure, accident or other adverse event occur.
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What is disaster recovery as a service?
DRaaS is a cloud computing strategy in which an organization pays a provider to protect the organization’s data and information from disruption ⏤ due either to natural disasters, human error or cyberattacks ⏤ by enabling full operational recovery using a cloud-based solution.
How does DRaaS work?
DRaaS works in various ways. In some cases, a disaster recovery services vendor will leverage a small appliance installed on-premises at a client’s site. These appliances collect backup images and send backup information offsite where it can later be used to recover operations at a new location. In other cases, DRaaS solutions target continuous data replication to permit spinning up disaster recovery services in the cloud or at another location.
Regardless of the data backup and synchronization strategy, most DRaaS solutions offer many common capabilities, including encrypted data transfer, offsite replication, emergency recovery and maintenance.
What are the benefits of using DRaaS?
The benefits of using DRaaS are that organizations can integrate these cloud-based services within their larger business continuity and disaster recovery plans to properly protect systems, applications and data in a way that also fulfills their specific disaster recovery requirements.
Proper and effective disaster planning requires addressing numerous elements, such as system, application and data backups, safe storage of those backups, and quick recovery. DRaaS providers offer a complete smorgasbord of options to organizations of all sizes operating across all industries. These providers tailor their DRaaS solutions to an organization’s specific needs.
A small advertising firm may survive if recovery operations take several days. However, a large accounting firm might need to return to regular operation in just an hour were a disaster to occur during the height of tax season.
Top DRaaS providers and solutions
Acronis Cyber Disaster Recovery for Acronis Cyber Protect
Acronis offers a variety of cloud-based data protection and recovery solutions. While some Acronis products, such as Acronis Cyber Protect Cloud, are designed for managed services providers to wield assisting customers, still others are built specifically for businesses and organizations.
Paired together, two Acronis products provide organizations with a powerful one-two punch. Known as Acronis Cyber Disaster Recovery for Acronis Cyber Protect, this DRaaS solution creates a powerful combination to both protect data and applications and enable disaster recovery.
The primary product, Acronis Cyber Protect, gives businesses potent backup and recovery software that also includes integrated cybersecurity features. Its single console simplifies managing data and endpoint protection, reducing administration overhead while identifying and resolving issues. Starting at $79 for small- and medium-size environments, the software permits making image, file and local backups. The platform permits bare metal recovery and the recovery of production systems to dissimilar hardware. It is compatible within Windows, Linux, VMware ESXi and Microsoft Hyper-V environments.
Adding another Acronis solution, Acronis Cyber Disaster Recovery, boosts effectiveness. The service adds a streamlined disaster recovery process in which testing failover and failback of protected data, applications and systems is both enabled and simplified.
The Acronis Cyber Disaster Recovery add-on also enables other critical capabilities. Using the add-on, administrators can customize recovery point objectives that help ensure the most current data is recovered. In the event of a disaster, the add-on also permits recovering and running an organization’s operations directly from Acronis’ cloud server environment. Such potentialities prove critical in the event of floods, fires, tornados and other disasters.
Pricing depends upon a number of variables, including the number of protected machines and the amount of data being stored. Firms can test the solution for free for 30 days.
Contact Acronis directly at 1-781-782-9000 for more information or with questions.
Carbonite Recover
Boasting push-button failover, Carbonite Recover is a DRaaS offering that reduces the risks of unplanned downtime and operations interruption by securely replicating critical applications and data to the Carbonite cloud. Subsequently, an up-to-date production environment becomes available for immediate failover.
Using Carbonite’s solution, primary servers can replicate in real-time, at the individual byte level, to the DRaaS cloud (Figure A). Organizations can perform their own non-disruptive, self-service tests, and access and view failover reporting. In the event organizations need more assistance, Carbonite’s technical services team can also provide support, including for deployment, testing and recovery.
Figure A
The solution works by installing a Carbonite Recovery agent on each system to be protected. Following service configuration, those systems then begin sending encrypted data continuously, and with little adverse performance impact according to the vendor, to the Carbonite cloud.
When an outage occurs, organizations can spin up the cloud-based replicas to recover operations. Then, once an organization is ready to return to using its primary production systems, the process is essentially reversed.
Supported across a variety of environments, including Windows, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, VMware and Hyper-V, pricing is based on the number of endpoints, the amount of data and the types of assistive services the organization selects.
Contact Carbonite directly at 1-877-542-8637 for more information or with questions.
Datto ALTO & SIRIS
Datto, whose acquisition by Kaseya was announced in April 2022, provides a range of DRaaS and BCDR offerings for MSPs (Figure B). The company’s ALTO and SIRIS solutions provide data protection solutions that also include full BCDR capabilities.
Figure B
Datto ALTO is a cost-effective and reliable hardware device that replicates an on-premises server and supports up to four Datto agents. The device serves as an onsite backup, but the solution also includes cloud-backup capabilities. Holding up to 2TB of data, customers can run operations from the device itself or from Datto’s cloud.
Datto SIRIS is similar to ALTO except SIRIS permits managing an unlimited number of agents for accommodating more servers and virtual machines, including VMware ESXi and Microsoft Hyper-V VMs. SIRIS is scalable, as up to 120TB can also be backed up using the solution. With SIRIS, backups can be performed as frequently as every five minutes, including on Windows, Linux and Mac machines.
Designed for larger environments, Datto SIRIS supports physical, virtual and cloud infrastructure, permits restoring data from any point in time and enables replicating server images directly to the cloud. Ransomware protection, flexible restoration and indefinite cloud retention are other features.
Cost varies by the product and amount of data stored. Although Datto takes pains to simplify pricing, the firm works directly with MSPs, who are permitted to customize their own pricing plans. Because pricing can be included within MSP’s regular recurring monthly service agreements, organizations working with an MSP can wrap the DRaaS pricing directly within a monthly service contract, should an organization choose to do so.
Contact Datto for more information or to find a reseller at 1-888-294-6312.
DRaaS Tierpoint
TierPoint Disaster Recovery as a Service sells its DRaaS services directly to businesses. With customizable disaster recovery services, the firm aims to assist a variety of organizations, whether those firms require cloud-to-cloud recovery, on-premises or data center server-to-cloud recovery.
Depending upon the service chosen, TierPoint leverages Dell Technologies’ Recover Point for VMs, Nutanix’s native DR platform, VMware’s vCloud Availability or Zerto’s IT Resiliency Platform. Permitting replicating from any cloud to a TierPoint cloud within an organization’s region, this DRaaS platform permits backing up and exchanging data from anywhere while also meeting VM-level near-synchronous replication to minimize any chance for data loss.
TierPoint’s DRaaS offering also offers automatic failover, permitting recovery in just minutes at a secondary site. With simplified management and administration, lower costs resulting from not needing to keep a warm recovery site, Azure Site Recovery, IBM recovery capability, hybrid support for Microsoft Hyper-V and VMware ESXi servers and a pay-as-you go pricing model, TierPoint offers a variety of options capable of meeting most requirements.
For more information, contact TierPoint at 1-877-859-TIER.
IBM Resiliency DRaaS / Kyndryl Hybrid Platform Recovery
Spun off from IBM IT infrastructure services in 2021, Kyndryl Hybrid Platform Recovery and Recovery Retainer Service provide continuous data replication, including for applications, infrastructure, data and cloud systems, as well as comprehensive disaster recovery services.
Many organizations require production environments composed of a range of complex systems and platforms. Kyndryl’s Hybrid Platform Recovery with DRaaS service assists such firms in addressing business continuity risks even when using a variety of disparate solutions and multiple cloud systems. Designed for rapid response and recovery, with results guaranteed by SLAs specifying RPO and RTO requirements, the service strives to minimize any operations disruptions resulting from outages.
The hybrid platform works by creating and capturing server image and production information to replicate that data to the cloud. The service also supports automated failover and failback between on-premises, public cloud and hybrid environments.
Kyndryl’s Recovery Retainer Service, meanwhile, provides organizations seeking such assistance with access to Kyndryl’s team of technical specialists and recovery experts, as well as tools and technologies for recovering operations when an event occurs. The Recovery Retainer Service also assists assessing, strengthening and maintaining an organization’s BCDR planning. Among the services included with the solution are 24/7 support and up to 150 annual retainer hours of labor.
Pricing is dependent upon multiple factors, including SLA terms and the tier level of support an organization requires. For more information, contact Kyndryl at 1-855-596-3795.
InterVision DRaaS
Formerly known as Bluelock, InterVision acquired this DRaaS firm in 2018. InterVision Disaster Recovery as a Service provides customers using on-premises Windows and Linux systems, virtual machines and even those working within hybrid environments with advanced failover and failback capabilities, including to Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure platforms.
With four Service Level Agreement options, InterVision can match a DRaaS solution to an organization’s custom needs. Customers can choose from the following four SLA types:
- Infrastructure availability: Infrastructure necessary for recovery is guaranteed to be ready when a customer declares a disaster.
- Replication service: Because replication traffic will already be working, client RPOs aren’t jeopardized.
- Recovery team response: Regardless of day or time, InterVision’s Solutions team is guaranteed to be ready to assist recovery within minutes of a disaster being declared.
- Recovery time objective: InterVision commits to meeting specific, predetermined recovery time objectives, including for application recovery.
As is common with DRaaS offerings, pricing is dependent upon a variety of factors. The SLA an organization selects, as well as corresponding RTOs, are among elements impacting cost.
Contact InterVision at 1-844-622-5710 for more information or with questions.
Microsoft Azure Site Recovery
Microsoft Azure is a scalable solution for more than simply configuring cloud servers and applications. From powering identity management services and virtual desktops to provisioning innovative software development environments, Azure solutions cover an almost bewildering array of functions.
Azure Backup and Azure Site Recovery are but two of a multitude of Azure-powered solutions (Figure C). Teamed together, the two Azure offerings provide a complete DRaaS solution.
Figure C
Capable of securely backing up on-premises and cloud-based servers, virtual machines and Windows and Linux systems, Azure Backup provides everyone from SMBs to enterprise environments a centralized backup center that assists monitoring, administering and scaling backup operations. Whether working with file servers, databases, VMs or other technologies, the offering also supports using APIs, PowerShell and the Azure command-line interface to manage and automate backup and security parameters.
Azure Site Recovery fulfills the second half of the DRaaS function after backing up or replicating data: Recovery. Organizations begin by replicating Azure VMs to a different Azure region, thereby providing geographic protection from common failures and disasters. Azure Site Recovery also permits administrators to retain application availability during primary system outages thanks to automatic recovery, including from an on-premises platform to Azure or from one Azure region to another.
Microsoft Azure is available from MSPs and VARs, as well as from the vendor directly. For more information, contact Microsoft at 1-855-270-0615.
Nutanix Disaster Recovery
Similar to other cloud providers, Nutanix offers a variety of cloud services, from data analytics to desktops as a service to BCDR solutions. The firm’s Data Disaster Recovery platform simplifies replicating data across multiple sites to ensure and speed disaster recovery.
With always-on availability across multiple sites and geographic distancing, the DRaaS solution replicates data synchronously, thereby minimizing data loss and downtime. With the ability to continue powering business operations even when multiple sites fail simultaneously, Nutanix assists in implementing aggressive RPOs and RTOs to permit rapid recovery.
Boasting centralized management and supporting the administration of both on-premises and cloud platforms, the service permits customizing BCDR plans as an organization requires. Nutanix’ DRaaS service also integrates with third-party data protection solutions to better enable granular data recovery.
The firm’s services can be purchased from resellers as well as directly from Nutanix, For more information on the company, contact Nutanix at 1-855-NUTANIX.
Quorum DRaaS
Available from partners or directly from Quorum itself, Quorum onQ claims status as a leader in the single-click instant recovery space. By automatically maintaining current critical system and application data on ready-to-run VM clones of an organization’s physical and virtual servers stored on a dedicated appliance, recovery can be simplified to a single click.
Built on top of high-availability infrastructure, the Quorum solution supports storing backup archives and images for the long term. The solution also offers isolated sandbox environments for testing patches and upgrades, deduplication to reduce storage and bandwidth requirements and a host of migration tools.
Compatible with both on-premises and cloud servers, standalone or VMs, Quorum’s service actually tests server snapshots each time a snapshot is made. Such automated DR testing helps ensure operations can be properly recovered, including full bare metal restores to dissimilar hardware and from physical to virtual or virtual to physical servers.
For more information, contact Quorum at 1-877-997-8678.
ServiceNow Business Continuity Management
Sold via partner programs and directly to businesses, ServiceNow’s Business Continuity Management solution includes the traditional array of DRaaS features, including setting RTO and RPO targets. The service also supports practicing recovery operations, activating continuity plans and monitoring backup and recovery tasks.
The solution includes yet other capabilities, too. Using the service, organizations can help eliminate surprises by using data stored within the ServiceNow continuity management platform to monitor for risks and identify possible gaps in recovery capabilities.
One of the persistent challenges with BCDR plans is the rate at which production environment components change. ServiceNow’s BCDR’s services assist organizations in managing such issues by permitting automation of plan maintenance with larger BCDR workflows powered by the ServiceNow platform.
ServiceNow’s business continuity management initiative also encourages prioritizing critical applications, services, processes and sites. Subsequently, ServiceNow’s DRaaS solutions offer compelling benefits, especially for firms that depend on ServiceNow for CRM, DevOps and other operations assistance.
For more information, contact ServiceNow using its Contact Us page.
ShadowProtect
Plagued by a data loss event that primarily impacted MSP clients beginning in March 2022, Arcserve’s StorageCraft backup service proved prone to human error. An extended period of degraded operation, in which business’ data backups reportedly proved inaccessible, looks to have been due to mistakes made when preparing backend upgrades, according to Arcserve’s CEO.
With Arcserve working diligently to solve the problem and communicating proactively with customers and partners, the firm remains a player within the DRaaS space. The ShadowProtect brand was long previously trusted to enable both data backups and recovery.
Sold by partners as well as directly to businesses, StorageCraft’s ShadowProtect DRaaS boasts cross-platform coverage, including for Windows and Linux systems, physical servers and VMs. The storage-agnostic solution supports most disk-based storage technologies, including the OneXafe NAS storage format. With broad hypervisor support, including for Microsoft, Red Hat Enterprise and VMware technologies, the service offers the typical DRaaS scheduling, replication, testing and migration features SMBs and enterprises require.
For more information, contact StorageCraft at 1-801-545-4711.
VMware Site Recovery
Sold by partners and direct, VMware Site Recovery protects both on-premises and VMware AWS and Dell EMC installations. The solution is an add-on service for organizations using VMware Cloud on AWS and VMware Cloud on Dell EMC.
Powered by its own vSphere technologies, including VMware’s native vSphere Replication hypervisor software and the VMware Site Recovery Manager, the DRaaS solution reduces secondary recovery site requirements and expenses by leveraging cloud replication advantages, which permit accelerating recovery efforts.
By pairing configurations, such as a client’s physical production site with a recovery target powered by VMware Cloud on AWS, DRaaS can be integrated with other VMware administration and operation components. As is now expected from enterprise solutions, the platform supports non-disruptive recovery testing and verification. Because fast recovery is so important, the solution can assist by automating and managing critical business operations when an unplanned outage occurs.
Licensing and compatibility issues can arise due to the service’s goal supporting a wide range of technologies. Fortunately, VMware maintains online tools, including the VMware Product Interoperability Matrices and the VMware Compatibility Guide, organizations can use to plan and research potential issues.
Available on-demand or via one- and three-year commitments, subscription fees are paid upfront, whereas on-demand usage is billed hourly and invoiced monthly. VMware Site Recovery is priced as a separate add-on from VMware Cloud on AWS but includes the VMware Site Recovery Manager and vSphere Replication elements needed for recovering either to a VMware Cloud on AWS instance or an on-premises box.
Contact VMware with questions or for more information at 1-877-486-9273.
Zerto Disaster Recovery as a Service
Zerto, now an HP enterprise, provides a range of DRaaS services via an expansive partner network. The company’s offerings include both continuous data protection (CDP) as well as DRaaS options.
The Zerto technologies eliminate snapshots in favor of a CDP strategy that the vendor states results in “industry-lowest” RPOs and RTOs. The platform, software and hardware are agnostic, thereby encouraging compatibility with a wide range of production systems. Zerto DRaaS services permit storing data on premises and in the cloud or any combination therein, and, because hundreds of MSPs serve as partners, design, implementation and support services are widespread.
Other features include non-disruptive testing, spatial geographic protection and an option to fully automate recovery and mitigation efforts. The solution also benefits from its approachability, in that its software-only administrative interface smooths adoption and management.
Organizations can choose from multiple billing models. Pay-as-you-go plans are available, as are a variety of data protection and support options. For more information, contact Zerto on its Contact Us page.