By EVault Guest Blog 2

Some customers still use tape as their main method of backing up data, but most are considering whether there’s a more reliable alternative. They may be curious about better technology, or they may be at point where they have so much data they’re forced to find a different solution. Some may even have been hit with a natural disaster and realized too late how much data, time and money can be lost via tape that could have been saved with a cloud-connected backup solution.

Most companies recognize the need to move away from tape backup and are looking to solution providers as their Trusted Adviser to help them navigate the options and create a roadmap for next steps. There are many considerations, including affordability, simplicity and comprehensiveness of the solution, as well as long-term ROI. Companies need a strategy that covers onsite backup, server and system failure as well as disaster recovery.

Disaster Recovery: Spend a Little to Avoid Big Losses Later

The majority of SMBs do not have offsite recovery or cloud-based disaster recovery (DR) solutions implemented, and therefore are not actually prepared to recover their data or maintain business continuity in the event of a disaster. Unfortunately, it often takes a disaster and data loss to make them realize it. It goes without saying that this is an ineffective process — one that you can prevent by properly educating your customers and prospects. One way to get the point across is to ask your customers how they would feel if they had to report critical data loss to the C-suite. A recent backup and recovery survey found that  17 percent of IT professionals would rather have a tooth pulled out without anesthesia than report that mission-critical data had been lost. Yet somehow, companies still find themselves cutting corners when it comes to spending on backup.

When disaster strikes, they’re singing a different tune, but by then, it’s often too late. At that point, costs are huge: they’re not just paying to recover data and repair damages, they are also paying for the loss of business continuity. Have your customers calculated what it would cost them if they couldn’t do business for a day – or a full week? If not, it might be time to suggest they do. It’s a great way to prove ROI.

Fast, Continual Backup: Time Saved = Money Saved

DIY or disk-based solutions are effective at backing up and recovering data to a degree, but even with concerns about actual data recovery capabilities aside, efficiency of the backup process is still a pain point. Yet, it’s a burden many companies endure; they hesitate to make the leap to cloud because of cost. At first blush, implementing a cloud services solution is an additional expense for businesses. What all businesses know but often forget is that time is money, and the time that’s saved with automatic backup translates into reduced operation costs.

Remote Backup: Scale With Ease

Disk-based backup might be sufficient as long as all employees always work onsite, but even one employee traveling with a laptop is a game-changer. And that’s just the beginning. What happens when it’s time to scale, employ a remote workforce or open up a new office? Growth is challenging for many reasons, but one of them shouldn’t be, “How will we manage and back up our data?” Neither tape backup nor disk backup is equipped to service a workforce that’s on-the-go.

What’s even more alarming is that in many cases, employees who fear losing their work are utilizing consumer cloud backup software. They may feel like they’ve got their bases covered, but what they’ve actually done is made confidential company data vulnerable to hackers. How much would it cost your customers if they experienced a security breach? Failure to protect data can cost companies in highly regulated industries their clients — or even their entire business.

Bottom Line? Cloud-Connected Backup Protects Their Bottom Line

It doesn’t take a math whiz to do a quick cost-benefit analysis of cloud-connected backup — but empowering your customers with all the information they need to make educated, financially sound, thoroughly researched decisions is an excellent way to facilitate the transition. Save them money while increasing your revenue stream. Everybody wins.

Monthly guest blogs such as this one are part of Talkin’ Cloud's annual platinum sponsorship. Read all EVault guest blogs here.