Modern companies need to protect their IT environments from many risks and threats. Organizations that fail to take the necessary steps to safeguard systems and applications jeopardize their businesses. Decision-makers need to prioritize the protection of the computing environment from all types of threats.
Cyberthreats represent some of the most serious risks to a company’s IT environment and valuable data resources. Threat actors utilize multiple techniques to launch cyberattacks. Their tactics range from simple phishing to sophisticated social engineering attacks as they attempt to plant malware in a computing environment. A business can be devastated by a successful attack.
Companies must implement strong cybersecurity measures to keep threat actors out of the environment. An organization also needs a reliable backup strategy to protect its data and make it available to recover affected systems. Many businesses can benefit from implementing a managed backup solution to protect themselves and ensure business continuity if a cyberattack occurs.
How do Cyberthreats Impact Business Continuity?
A successful cyberattack can render part or all of an IT environment unavailable. In many cases, threat actors attack specific, high-value infrastructure elements. The loss of critical systems may make it impossible to maintain business operations.
Companies must guard against the following impacts of cyberattacks that can impact business continuity.
- Downtime – A company’s vital systems can be compromised by a ransomware or malware attack. Ransomware attacks encrypt company data and demand payment to decrypt the data. Companies can avoid meeting these demands by recovering the affected systems with valid backups.
- Data corruption – Cyberattacks can be designed to corrupt company data so it cannot be used by the business or its customers. Backups are required to recover these data resources. Some cyberattacks attempt to destroy or corrupt backups, complicating data recovery.
- Disrupted operations – A successful cyberattack can disrupt internal operations and make it impossible to address employee requirements. Companies may need to resort to less efficient alternatives until regular operations are restored.
- Reputational damage – Companies can experience long-term reputational damage due to cyberattacks affecting customer-facing systems or that disrupt the ability to service clients efficiently.
Backups can help companies minimize these impacts by enabling teams to restore affected systems quickly and maintain business continuity.
What Are Managed Backups?
Managed backups are data protection services offered by a third party, such as a managed service provider (MSP) or cloud service provider (CSP). The provider furnishes the technical resources to set up and manage a company’s backup strategy. Most modern managed backup solutions leverage cloud storage resources to back up on-premises, hybrid, and cloud environments.
Several key components of managed backup solutions make them an excellent choice for protection against cyberattacks.
- Automation – Managed backup solutions implement automated procedures to ensure data is consistently protected without manual intervention. Teams can modify backup schedules to address the company’s recovery timelines.
- Security – Providers typically encrypt managed backups to protect customer data. Encryption safeguards data from unauthorized access during backup procedures and while it is stored.
- Scalability – Managed backups utilizing cloud resources offer scalability to address a company’s evolving business requirements.
- Flexibility – Companies can increase backup frequency easily with the flexibility of a managed backup solution. Teams can define backup schedules that meet recovery objectives without adding on-premises hardware.
- Offsite storage – Managed cloud backups are stored offsite rather than at the customer’s data center. Offsite storage provides enhanced resilience and eliminates onsite backup media as a target for cyberattacks.
- Monitoring and customer support – Managed backup providers monitor the backup process to ensure they perform as expected and protect customer data. The provider’s technical team should address and resolve any backup issues.
Advantages of a Managed Backup Solution
Organizations can enjoy multiple benefits by adopting a managed backup solution. These advantages help protect a company from cyberattacks and support business continuity strategies.
- Cost efficiency – Companies don’t need to build and maintain on-premises backup infrastructure with managed backups. Businesses can enjoy substantial savings by eliminating the hardware, media storage, and support personnel costs associated with onsite backups.
- Reduced complexity – Managed service providers will help a company set up, configure, and manage its backup systems. Their experts work with customer requirements to design a backup strategy to support business continuity.
- Peace of mind – Companies can be confident their data is secure with professionals handling and managing the backup system. Teams can focus on value-added activities that help grow the business without worrying about backups.
- Regulatory compliance – Companies that process regulated information such as credit card or healthcare data need to comply with strict backup standards. Teams can configure managed backups to address these compliance issues and avoid potentially expensive violations.
- Enhanced business continuity – Managed backups enable teams to recover affected systems quickly. Recovery can be performed anywhere with an internet connection, providing flexibility in the face of a large-scale cyberattack that impacts standard recovery procedures.
VAST’s Managed Backup Solution Protects Business Continuity
Companies can protect business continuity by implementing a reliable managed backup solution. VAST’s experienced professionals will tailor a managed backup strategy that is aligned with your business objectives. We’ll ensure your valuable data is secure and available to recover your systems and applications after a cyberattack.
VAST’s Cloud Backup-as-a-Service (CBaaS) is a fully managed backup solution powered by Druva’s advanced data protection technology. Our solution provides customers with the following benefits.
- We fully manage the backup solution and ensure it aligns with your data protection policies and business strategy.
- The solution offers fixed pricing for predictable budgeting.
- Immutable backups protect sensitive data resources and address regulatory compliance.
- The cloud-based solution eliminates the need to maintain a dedicated backup infrastructure.
Our CBaaS solution focuses on these four specific areas of your IT environment:
- Microsoft 365 environments;
- Public cloud environments;
- On-premises or hybrid data centers;
- Enterprise endpoints.
All backups are secured with end-to-end encryption and customer-only access to backed-up data. Immutable backups protect against cyberattacks targeting backup media and offer enhanced ransomware protection. Backups are easily accessible to support fast recovery, minimize downtime, and business continuity.
Talk to the data protection experts at VAST today. Protect your valuable information from cyberattacks with an effective and efficient managed backup solution.
