Security | Threat Detection | Cyberattacks | DevSecOps | Compliance

Have your users spent hours working on a document in Microsoft Word, only to have it disappear when they try to save it? A recent bug in Microsoft Word, highlighted by Bleeping Computer, caused Word documents to be deleted instead of saved, leaving users frustrated. For IT administrators, it is vital to address these issues and educate users within the organization about best practices to reduce data loss and ensure business continuity.

Protecting your business-critical data and applications requires understanding two essential strategies: high availability and disaster recovery. While both aim to keep systems operational, they serve distinct purposes and operate on different timelines. This article explains these key differences, provides implementation best practices, and showcases advanced solutions that combine these crucial strategies.

Is my organization’s disaster recovery strategy ready for today’s uncertain cyber landscape? Your company has determined the recovery point objectives (RPOs) and recovery time objectives (RTOs) for all systems. You have also implemented solutions to achieve these goals. Your organization routinely performs successful Disaster Recovery (DR) tests meeting your established expectations and objectives.

Running a business is no easy feat, and it's made that much harder by the threat of natural disasters, data breaches, or cyberattacks that can happen at any given moment. Such cases can lead to delayed business operations, financial or legal problems, or even business shutting down. So, how can businesses prepare for the worst? The answer lies in implementing a Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery (BCDR) plan.

Businesses today rely heavily on the cloud infrastructure provided by Amazon Web Services (AWS) to drive innovation, enhance scalability, and streamline operations. However, with this reliance comes the imperative need to safeguard against potential disruptions that compromise business continuity and an organization’s reputation. This is where Disaster Recovery (DR) steps in as a critical component of any organization’s AWS strategy.

The cloud provides multiple benefits for running services and storing data. Just like with data stored on-premises, data stored offsite and in the cloud should be backed up. Data stored in the cloud is not invulnerable by default, as the risk of data loss is still present due to accidental deletions and cloud-specific threats. At the same time, the cloud can be useful for disaster recovery.

The founder of the Boy Scouts, Robert Baden-Powell, once said “Be Prepared… the meaning of the motto is that a scout must prepare himself by previous thinking out and practicing how to act on any accident or emergency so that he is never taken by surprise.” Much like the Boy Scouts, IT departments must also embrace the “Be Prepared” motto. Emergencies and accidents are no longer a matter of “if” but “when”.

In a world driven by data, the importance of disaster recovery solutions cannot be overstated. From natural disasters to cyberattacks and human errors, the risks of data loss continues to grow alongside businesses. Today, we will cover the 3 common mistakes companies make when creating a DR strategy, key steps for building an effective DR strategy for your business, and the ways Opti9 can protect your data in AWS.