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Digital Transformation

Organisations ‘need to seriously think about contingency plans’

More attention may need to be paid to disaster recovery.

In order to avoid vast amounts of data being lost due to natural or man-made disasters, businesses need to take time to seriously think about their contingency plans.

This is according to Susan Feinberg from Axway, who said in an article for Computer World that this is necessary not just for their own benefit, but also for the consumers and end users who rely on their services.

She said the only option may be to abandon current approaches to disaster recovery and bring in something that ensures operations can carry on running smoothly no matter what is thrown at them.

"Cloud-based contingency solutions certainly provide some benefit by offering institutions remote data centres for mission-critical operations," the expert pointed out. "We can investigate the potential of faster, less expensive recovery options now available with cloud-based disaster-recovery solutions."

Ms Feinberg suggested this may be the best way to make IT systems and data as invulnerable as possible to unforeseen circumstances – although she insisted a human element must always be included to account for interactions and potential oversights.

She said she expects to see more widespread adoption of cloud-based disaster recovery solutions so that data can be handled offsite while companies act to handle and rectify whatever catastrophe is going on.

It comes after chair and chief executive of security company Qualys Philippe Courtot told the RSA Conference Europe that cloud computing and off-site data storage are both key for the future of information security.

Mr Courtot noted that a number of existing and traditional security measures were lacking when it came to keeping apace with rapid business expansion, something that is not a problem with the cloud.

Whether it is by implementing greater security measures or helping staff to meet the cost of remote working, the need to apply appropriate methods of protection when backing up files and important data should not be overlooked.