The Cloud is Not a Passing Fad

Photo courtesy of Etsy
Photo courtesy of Etsy

Remember those plastic Star Wars action figures? They were the must-have toy for any kid in the late 70’s and early 80’s. By the mid-80’s it was Cabbage Patch kids and Transformers, followed by the Nintendo NES gaming console, the Furby, and Tickle Me Elmo. The list goes on and on. Hugely popular for a few years, eventually fading off into the sunset, never heard from again.

With the introduction of new technologies, businesses must ask themselves the same question: Is this here to stay, or is it a passing fad? “The cloud” is one of those things everyone is talking about today. Data protection is an ongoing concern for IT managers and backing up to the cloud can be an essential part of that protection. Now more than ever IT managers are seeking cost-effective ways to back up and protect their data, in part, because businesses are being asked to do more with less. Seemingly contrary to this demand is the need to protect massive amounts of exponentially growing data, spread across headquarters as well as at a sprawling network of remote and branch offices.Among the IT department’s highest priorities is backup of the core data center and applications, but there is also a need to protect those end users who are not tethered to a corporate desktop. Of particular concern is the data that’s being created at remote and branch offices. And what about all of those employees who spend much of their time travelling and are limited to accessing their data via a VPN? Among them are the sales professionals drumming up new business while away from headquarters. Not only do these employees rely on their laptops, no less important are their smartphones and tablets, which are so essential to helping them perform daily tasks. In fact, these employees are able to maximize their productivity by using their portable devices.

Backing up the data is critical, but so is providing access to that data from no matter what location. What’s corporate to do? The answer is…the cloud. But why is the cloud so compelling?
cloud storage protectionHere are the most common benefits of leveraging the cloud as part of your data protection and recovery strategy:

  • Reduced IT infrastructure costs
  • Reduced complexity within the IT environment
  • Reduced IT personnel costs
  • Improved user productivity
  • Reduced power and cooling costs

EMC MozyEnterprise provides secure data protection as a service via the EMC cloud. Centralized management, enterprise-grade file encryption, and the ability to restore files through any Internet-connected device makes it the perfect choice for protecting desktops and laptops for an increasingly mobile workforce. Files are sent to the EMC cloud for secure access and recovery when needed. MozyEnterprise is particularly suitable for remote and branch offices, including those with smaller server workloads. Back up Windows, Mac and Linux computers, as well as your VMware vSphere VMs. All new and changed information is backed up incrementally for fast and efficient daily data protection. One central administrator can manage the backups for the entire remote or branch office from a single web-based console.

The cloud is not a passing fancy nor will it suddenly go away tomorrow. An investment in cloud as part of your data protection infrastructure is an investment in increased agility and peace of mind in knowing that your data will always be there when you need it. Can’t say the same thing about that GoBot you HAD to have for your 8th birthday. Whatever happened to that thing…

About the Author: Brian Heckert