business continuity

What is BaaS and Why is it Important?

As we’ve discussed on our blog, it’s important to take proactive, preventative action against the threat of ransomware, outages, and hacks. But there’s another piece that’s equally (if not more) important: the restorative aspect of disaster recovery, and protection against data loss. This is where BaaS comes in.

What is BaaS?

BaaS, or Backup as a Service, is focused specifically on the retention of data in the event of an outage or breach. BaaS protects data from loss, which leads to a more complete recovery and minimizes impacts to customers.

Why is BaaS Important?

First and foremost, Backup as a Service protects data. It tends to take a bit longer to retrieve and recover data, but this extended timeline allows for more time for QA. In addition, it saves costs, which is especially important when dealing with the fallout from a ransomware attack, outage or hack.

Aligning BaaS and DRaaS for Maximum Benefit

According to Beta News, the best strategy is to enlist and align BaaS with DRaaS (Disaster Recovery as a Service). While DRaaS focuses on minimizing downtime and recovering all IT infrastructure as quickly as possible, BaaS focuses on retaining data and minimizing data loss.

Utilizing both allows companies to tailor their recovery plan to the unique needs of their industry, dataset and IT infrastructure. Not only will this optimize disaster recovery, but can also lead to significant cost savings.

Do you need help creating a DRaaS or BaaS plan? Contact Vaultas today!

Vaultas is a technology ecosystem provider that facilitates direct access to any network or service provider. Our services include colocation, cloud, hybrid IT solutionsconnectivity, communication and collaboration including UCaaS and CCaaS, disaster recovery and business continuity, hosting, consulting, energy conservation and much more.

Our primary ecosystem access points are located in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, as well as Alexandria and St. Cloud, MN, and Milwaukee, WI, with remote access from anywhere in the world. Contact us to get started. 

How to Include Disaster Recovery in 2022 Budget Planning

Over the last few years, ransomware and cyberattacks have become increasingly more common. Organizations of every size and in every industry have been targeted, which shows that disaster recovery and business continuity are no longer an option. As your company or organization works on its 2022 budget, here are a few things to consider when planning for an outage, storm, attack or other disaster.

Incorporating Disaster Recovery into the 2022 Budget Process

According to the Disaster Recovery Journal, there are three questions to ask during the budgeting process. These will help identify risks and ensure that your business has the right resources in place for the 2022 budget year.

1. What risks does the company face?

Don’t think about risk only in terms of revenue. Consider the potential loss of reputation, of employee engagement, of systems and data, and more. How much risk is your company willing to accept?

2. What is the likelihood that the company will experience an event?

Remove the word ‘disaster’ from the conversation, and discuss the more likely potential causes of an outage or data loss. These range from simple human error or hardware failure, to power outages, storms and major meteorological events. Thinking along these lines will help you make more informed decisions.

3. What are the benefits of an increased investment in disaster recovery?

There are many benefits to investing more in disaster recovery and business continuity. Put simply, the faster your company can recover from disaster, the less impact on systems, customers, and revenue.

If you need help with IT budgeting or making a disaster recovery plan, give Vaultas a call! Leverage the power of the Vaultas Ecosystem to create a plan that meets your company’s unique needs. Contact us today to get started!

Vaultas is a technology ecosystem provider that facilitates direct access to any network or service provider. Our services include colocation, cloud, hybrid IT solutionsconnectivity, communication and collaboration including UCaaS and CCaaS, disaster recovery and business continuity, hosting, consulting, energy conservation and much more.

Our primary ecosystem access points are located in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, as well as Alexandria and St. Cloud, MN, and Milwaukee, WI, with remote access from anywhere in the world. Contact us to get started. 

What is the Technology Ecosystem?

As we enter the sixth month of COVID-19, shutdowns, social distancing and remote work, many companies are starting to think long-term. It’s clear that the current situation will most likely persist for many more months, and the world will look much different when we return to “normal,” whatever that will be. So how can companies meet the challenges of this new reality? Better yet, how can they leverage the current situation to improve their processes and operations? The Vaultas technology ecosystem can help.

What is the Technology Ecosystem?

There are many different definitions of a tech or IT ecosystem, depending on the context in which it’s used. For our purposes, we define the Vaultas technology ecosystem as the coalition of vendors, suppliers, tools and services that deliver custom IT solutions for businesses and institutions.

How Can the Technology Ecosystem Deliver for Your Business?

At Vaultas, we have access to nearly 200 suppliers of IT tools and services, allowing companies to select the individual solutions that are right for their specific needs. We have the skills and experience to integrate your selections into a cohesive, efficient IT system that will work for you.

Fast, Efficient and Automated

Gone are the days of waiting weeks or months for a new IT system to be built and installed. We can identify and connect the right solutions for your business in a matter of days. Systems will be integrated and automated, allowing your team to focus on your business and customers instead of the IT hassles that devour so many resources.

The Power of Choice

You know your business and its needs. The technology ecosystem gives you the ability to select the tools and vendors that are exactly right for your company. And in this current climate, with all options on the table, there’s no better time to exercise your power of choice and find an IT solution that will deliver for your employees, customers and stakeholders.

Vaultas Is Your Trusted Advisor

We know that the options can be overwhelming. That’s why we’re dedicated to helping you navigate the ecosystem from start to finish. As your trusted advisor, we’ll harness the latest trends, identify needs, and help you harness the IT solutions that will give your business a competitive advantage. A trusted advisor is a CIO’s best friend, and Vaultas has the experience to play that role.

In short, the Vaultas ecosystem provides options, improves efficiency, and saves money. From security and connectivity to cloud and colocation, managed services, voice, and everything in between, let the technology ecosystem change how you do business.

Businesses are facing a wide variety of challenges as they navigate our new reality. The Vaultas IT ecosystem is here to help with all of them.

Vaultas is a technology ecosystem provider that facilitates direct access to any network or service provider. Our services include hybrid IT solutionsdata storage and backup, disaster recovery and business continuity services, hosting, colocation, cloud storage, data center consulting, hosted PBX and VOIP solutions, and more. 

Our primary ecosystem access points are located in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, as well as Alexandria and St. Cloud, MN, and Milwaukee, WI, with remote access from anywhere in the world. Contact us to get started. 

What to Include in a Business Continuity Plan

The impact of COVID-19 on both individuals and businesses was sudden and staggering. Many companies scrambled to take their operations remote, while others worked to create and maintain safe conditions for employees and customers. Regardless of the specific ways in which the coronavirus affected a business, one common thread was the realization among many companies that their disaster recovery and business continuity plan was sorely lacking.

Although the specifics of a disaster recovery and business continuity plan will vary from company to company and industry to industry, there are a few things that should be included in most plans. We’ll summarize them briefly below. If you have questions or need help getting your business continuity plan off the ground, give Vaultas a call today.

Trigger Points

This is perhaps the most important detail to include in a DR-BC plan: the event or metric at which the plan will be put into action.

Documentation and Authority Management

Which persons or groups will be in charge of guiding the company and employees through the plan? And who will be in charge of documenting the steps taken?

Application Prioritization

Which functions or services will take priority in the plan? To determine this, look at the impact each service has on the business, and order them according to importance.

Testing and Review

For a plan to be truly effective, it must be tested. Make a plan for when and how often the plan will be tested, reviewed and updated. Ensure that employee training is part of that process.

Not sure where to start creating your disaster recovery and business continuity plan? The Vaultas ecosystem is here to help. Contact us to get started.

Vaultas is a technology ecosystem provider enabling direct access to any network or service provider. Our services include hybrid IT solutionsdata storage and backup, disaster recovery and business continuity services, hosting, colocation, cloud storage, data center consulting, hosted PBX and VOIP solutions, and more. 

Our primary ecosystem access points are located in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, as well as Alexandria and St. Cloud, MN, and Milwaukee, WI, with remote access from anywhere in the world. Contact us to get started. 

(This is a republication of a blog post from January 2018, updated in June 2020.)

The Lasting Costs of Unanticipated Downtime

There are many reasons that a company might experience unanticipated downtime. Whether caused by a storm or flood, a cyberattack or hack, a network outage or power failure, or simple human error, downtime that is unexpected and unplanned can throw even the most organized business into chaos.

Luckily, companies can plan and prepare for these events. The most important steps are to back up data, and create a business continuity plan. An experienced IT provider, such as Vaultas, can help your company determine exactly what you need to avoid the negative effects of such an unplanned scenario.

So what are the costs of unexpected downtime? Mission Critical Magazine examined the potential outcomes.

Data Loss and Data Breaches

If your business experiences an outage, will you be able to get your data back? Maybe – depending on when it was last backed up. Any data not securely saved before the outage began may be lost forever. Further, during downtime, employees may move to unsecured third-party tools and services, putting sensitive data at risk.

Disruptions to Productivity

When employees don’t have access to data, tools and services, they can’t do their jobs. And even if the outage or interruption ends quickly, studies show that it often takes a significant amount of time for employees to get back in the work mindset.

Lost Revenue

The unsurprising outcome here is that lost data and decreased productivity is likely to have significant financial costs. Even if a company recovers quickly, the effects of unanticipated downtime can shake customer and investor confidence, causing long-term damage to the bottom line.

Don’t let unanticipated downtime catch your company off guard. Contact Vaultas today.

Vaultas is a premier provider of IT solutions, providing data storage and backup, disaster recovery and business continuity services, hosting, colocation, cloud storage, data center consulting, internet connections, hosted PBX and VOIP, and more. Our data centers are located in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Alexandria and St. Cloud, MN, and Milwaukee, WI. Contact us to get started.

The Impact of Winter Weather on Business Continuity

Here in Minnesota and throughout the Midwest, winter weather is becoming more unpredictable. Blizzards and snow are still a major concern, but in recent years we’ve seen record cold temperatures, long cold snaps, and late-season storms. These increasingly-common weather events are often dangerous, and can cause power outages and physical damage to homes and businesses.

Therefore, it is essential that companies understand these risks, and create solid business continuity plans to mitigate them. We’ll share a few tips, courtesy of Mission Critical.

Establish an Emergency Response Team

The most important step companies must take to ensure business continuity is to determine which employees will handle the emergency response. Create a team and assign specific roles and duties to each person.

Create Different Plans for Different Scenarios

Because there are so many different winter weather scenarios, it’s a good idea to create business continuity plans for every conceivable situation. One strategy is to plan for each of the National Weather Service’s winter weather warnings. (Winter Weather Advisory, Winter Storm Watch, Winter Storm Warning and Blizzard Warning.) This will help the team easily decide how to proceed, and will help employees and stakeholders remain informed.

Ensure Contact Information is Up To Date

This seems like a no-brainer, but it must be said: make sure all employee and stakeholder contact information is up to date well ahead of any winter weather.

Use Multiple Modes of Communication

Because winter weather can cut off telephone lines or Wi-Fi, it’s essential to send information and alerts through multiple channels. Inform employees of these modes of communication well in advance so they know where to get the information they need.

Permit Two-Way Communication

While it is essential to relay updates to employees and stakeholders, it is also important to allow them to communicate back. Not only will this help ensure that all are safe, but it will also allow managers to gather feedback about business operations, storm conditions, and more. And permitting employees to ask questions will go a long way in maintaining stability and confidence throughout the storm.

If a winter storm strikes your company, are you prepared? Are your data, applications and networks protected against disaster? If not, give Vaultas a call today.

Because ransomware, hacks and natural disasters tend to happen less frequently this time of the year, it’s the perfect time to review your BC-DR plans, and prepare budgets for next year’s goals and objectives. Contact Vaultas for help in reviewing and adjusting your plans and budgets to meet your company’s goals and objectives.

Vaultas is a premier provider of IT solutions, providing data storage and backup, disaster recovery and business continuity services, hosting, colocation, cloud storage and more. Our data centers are located in Minneapolis/St. Paul, Alexandria and St. Cloud, MN, and Milwaukee, WI. Contact us to get started.

How to Fight Back Against a Ransomware Attack

The number of organizations affected by ransomware has gone down by more than 40 percent in recent years. Good news, right? Not completely: the total amount demanded in ransomware attacks has gone up by nearly 90 percent. So while the total number of attacks has gone down, experts believe that hackers are growing more sophisticated, targeting higher-value systems such as cities and school districts. It’s no coincidence that these governmental organizations tend to be less prepared against a ransomware attack, either.

So what should your company do to prevent a ransomware attack – or at least mitigate the fallout? Forbes recently shared a few good tips.

Establish a Business Continuity Strategy

If your company’s data is securely backed up and you have a business continuity plan in place, you’re much less vulnerable to a ransomware attack. This may be the least expensive and most accessible option – and Vaultas can help you get started.

Strengthen Login Credentials

A recent study found that 80 percent of data breaches are at least partially caused by weak or stolen login credentials. Essentially, hackers are no longer hacking, but simply logging in using compromised credentials. Make sure all members of your organization are using secure logins, and establish multi-factor authentication.

Minimize Access Points

Hackers often get into a company’s network through shared accounts that are no longer in use. Be vigilant about the tools and accounts employees use, and close them down when they’re no longer operational. In addition, consider creating access zones, with specific users and multi-factor authentication.

Is your company protected against ransomware attacks, hacks or breaches? Are your data, applications and networks protected against disaster? If not, give Vaultas a call.

Vaultas is a premier provider of IT solutions, providing data storage and backup, disaster recovery and business continuity services, hosting, colocation, cloud storage and more. Our data centers are located in Minneapolis/St. Paul, Alexandria and St. Cloud, MN, and Milwaukee, WI. Contact us to get started.

Which Backup Level Is Right For Your Business?

A company’s data is its most important asset. It’s essential to protect it, through data storage and backup, as well as an up-to-date disaster recovery and business continuity plan. That seems simple enough, but there are some nuances to understand in order to achieving comprehensive and complete data security. Ensuring your business has the right backup level is one of those key concepts.

One obvious consequence of having the wrong backup level is not having sufficient space to store essential data. Another lesser-known concern is wasted storage space and bandwidth, which can lead to unnecessary expenditures.

So what’s the difference between full, incremental and differential backup? What is a forever-incremental backup? We’ll discuss each below.

Full Backup

A full backup is exactly what it sounds like: a backup of all data in the entire system. One caveat is that some files are specifically excluded from backup by the set configuration. Usually, these are directories that won’t hold any value during a reboot, or contain temporary files.

Incremental Backup

An incremental backup includes all data that has been changed since the last backup of any kind (in contrast to differential backups, discussed below). Previously, they backed all files that has been changed. However, that often caused a great deal of unnecessary backup effort (like when one small piece of a file has changed) and significant inefficiency. Now, many incremental backups only back up the blocks that have been changed.

Differential Backup

In contrast to an incremental backup, a differential backup includes all data that has been changed since the last full backup. Differential backups were popular in the days of tape-based backups, and have largely fallen out of use in recent years.

Forever-Incremental Backup

Now that most backups are done on disk, full and differential backups are less relevant. Instead of restoring data, a forever-incremental backup system keeps a record of the location of the files in storage, and transfers the files back to the client. This is significantly more efficient.

Not sure what backup level your business needs? Give Vaultas a call today.

Vaultas is a premier provider of IT solutions, providing data storage and backup, disaster recovery and business continuity services, hosting, colocation, cloud storage and more. Contact us to get started.

Don’t Forget Data!

There’s a lot to consider when writing a business continuity plan. The plan needs to establish the process for continuing business operations in the event of a disaster, incident or outage. Business continuity plans don’t focus on IT systems, but the departments that are supported by IT, including sales, customer service, and HR. In addition, it’s essential to plan for the protection and recovery of the company’s data.

Why is it so important to protect data? To put it simply, your data is the lifeblood of your company. Without it, you can’t fulfill orders, communicate with customers, product reports, measure progress, contact employees, market your business and more. Data is essential to both day-to-day operations and long-term objectives, which is why it’s so important to include in business continuity discussions.

A good business continuity plan will cover both data protection (the process of safeguarding information from corruption or loss), and data recovery, (the process of restoring data that has been lost.) And because most data loss occurs due to simple human error, not large-scale incidents or outages, it’s important for each and every business to include data in business continuity plans.

But how should data be incorporated into the plan? Disaster Recovery Journal recently shared a few basic tips, which we’ll summarize here.

 

Backup:

First and most importantly, ensure that your data is backed up, either physically or virtually.

Recovery:

Consider colocating data on the cloud so that it can be recovered in the event of a loss. This limits downtime by allowing employees remote access.

Remote Data Movement:

Copy data to a location outside the primary physical location, or better yet, to the cloud. This will ensure that it remains safe through fire or natural disaster.

Storage System Security:

It’s important that your storage facility is accessible to employees. However, it’s vital to protect it from unauthorized users who may have bad intentions.

Test and Test Again:

Make sure all essential employees know the procedures for backup and recovery, and run drills to ensure that data can be easily recovered in the event of a loss.

 

From data backup and storage to cloud colocation, Vaultas can help your company prepare for disaster. Give Vaultas a call at 888-998-2858, or contact us online. With custom solutions to meet the most demanding IT needs, we’ll work with you to find the best solutions for your business.

The Benefits of Server Hosting

As companies continue to transition more of their data and operations to digital platforms, the need for a sufficient and secure hosting service becomes even greater. Depending on a company’s size and resources, it often makes more sense to enlist a server hosting service, like Vaultas, to maintain and oversee the company’s physical hosting.

But what are the benefits of using a hosting service?

First, a refresher: server hosting is the offsite management and maintenance of a company’s hardware hosting resources – the physical and virtual servers on which data is stored. Read our previous blog post to learn more about the different variations of server hosting.

There are many benefits of server hosting. When physical hosting services are outsourced, so are the financial and personnel resources involved in maintaining a server onsite. This can result in significant savings – both in time and money – and is especially beneficial for smaller companies who can’t afford a dedicated IT staff.

In addition, server hosting usually significantly increases a company’s protection against disasters, ransomware, and other security threats. Hosting services protect their clients’ data with firewalls, backups and physical security measures, protecting it against whatever threat might occur.

Finally, if your company seeks to host an application or website, there may be special skills required to support those platforms. An experienced physical hosting service will have the necessary knowledge, saving the company the effort and cost of having to hire or train someone skilled in that area. At Vaultas, we engage a network of vendor partners to support most applications, and our data center environments allow us to offer customers the reliability necessary to support the applications that are critical to business continuity.

Ready to switch to a hosting service for your data, website or applications? Learn more about Vaultas’ dedicated hosting service, then get in touch to receive a custom quote from our experienced hybrid IT professionals.

Five Important Things to Include in a Disaster Recovery Plan

With the ever-increasing threat of ransomware and other forms of cybercrime, it’s becoming apparent that a disaster recovery plan is no longer an option – it’s a necessity. Many businesses have put DR on their to-do list for 2018, but are unsure of where to start. If you’re in that situation, give Vaultas a call – we can help you along every step of the disaster recovery planning process.

No matter your industry or business size, the experts at Mission Critical agree that there are five essential elements that should be included in your company’s disaster recovery plan. We’ll summarize them below.

 

  1. Define Trigger Points

What is the point at which the company will put its disaster recovery plan into action? To determine this, it’s important to perform a business impact analysis and create a risk profile.

  1. Determine Authority and Documentation Management

If an outage occurs, who is in charge of guiding the company through the DR plan? This should be more than one person – ideally, all members of the IT team should be able to follow the procedures laid out in the plan, and document the steps taken.

  1. Application Prioritization

Determine which services take priority, based on which have the greatest impact – financial, reputational or otherwise – on the business, and order them accordingly.

  1. Set a Testing Schedule

A good disaster recovery plan will include a schedule for review and testing of that plan. It’s important that the plan stays current, and that the team knows how to execute it seamlessly.

  1. Continual Evaluation

Along those lines, remember that a disaster recovery plan should be a dynamic and evolving strategy. Companies should continually work to evaluate and improve DR plans, especially following an outage.

 

Have questions or need help creating and implementing a disaster recovery plan for your business? Vaultas can help! We’ll create a personalized solution for your company’s specific DR needs, and ensure that you have the tools to implement it. Get in touch today to get started!

12 Steps to Better Business Continuity for Data Centers

No matter the reason, IT downtime can be costly for businesses of any size, in any industry – but it’s especially damaging for data centers. That’s why it’s important to establish a business continuity plan in the event of ransomware, severe weather, or any other unexpected outage.

Today, we’re going to discuss 12 important steps that data centers must take when establishing a business continuity plan, as detailed in Mission Critical Magazine.

1. Get the Conversation Started

Discuss business continuity with the companies and IT professionals that rely on your data center, asking what systems are the most critical to maintain during an outage.

2. Conduct a Hardware Risk Analysis

Create a specific list of the hardware that needs to be protected in the event of an outage, including the original cost and current replacement cost. Rank the importance of each piece of equipment based on how important it would be to keep it up and running during an outage.

3. Diagram the Network Structure

Here, you’re trying to determine how to replicate the network by identifying network switches, cables, routers and other components. Make a list of backups as well.

4. Divide Assets into Two Performance Cycles

By splitting assets into “business critical” and “temporary downtime” categories, you’ll be able to focus on the most important aspects of continuity and recovery.

5. Discuss Disaster Recovery Time Limits

Create a list of potential disaster types and assign approximate response times for each step of recovery, based on the specifics of that disaster.

6. Create a Contact List

When disaster strikes, it’s essential to have all necessary contact information available immediately.

7. Back Up Everything

Back up the server, back up applications, back up data. Back up everything.

8. Make a Plan for Temporary Offsite Networks

If main places of business need to be restored, have a plan for working out of temporary, offsite facilities, both in and out of state. Don’t forget to plan for transportation of both personnel and hardware.

9. Redirect Telecommunication

Because it may take time to get those temporary locations set up, create a system to divert calls to a different location. A third-party provider may be a good option here.

10. Virtualize

Add extra agility and resiliency by virtualizing the IT environment. This allows for complete automation at the virtual machine level.

11. Invest in Power Management Software

Power management software can be a powerful tool – it moves data to safer locations without any interruption to users, and can even trigger a recovery platform.

12. Use a Network Monitoring Tool

By monitoring networks and watching for the first signs of an outage or threat, you can significantly minimize downtime and negative effects.

If you need to create a business continuity plan and you’re not sure where to start, get in touch with the hybrid IT experts at Vaultas today. We create custom disaster recovery and business continuity plans, ensuring that your business is prepared for any outage that may occur.