With IT downtime costing around $5,600 per minute, it’s no surprise that companies are focusing on reliability these days. A lot of business leaders think this means keeping IT services in-house, but what about the cloud?
Cloud-based hosting platforms are becoming increasingly popular, and for good reason. First off, cloud vendors simply have more resources at their disposal. Your company’s IT department may be well-stocked, but it probably doesn’t have the monitoring and security tools necessary to predict when a server is about to fail.
On top of that, at Afinety, we focus on cloud services and keeping your IT infrastructure up and running so your internal team doesn’t have to.
With IT downtime costing around $5,600 per minute, it’s no surprise that companies are focusing on reliability these days. A lot of business leaders think this means keeping IT services in-house, but what about the cloud?
Cloud-based hosting platforms are becoming increasingly popular, and for good reason. First off, cloud vendors simply have more resources at their disposal. Your company’s IT department may be well-stocked, but it probably doesn’t have the monitoring and security tools necessary to predict when a server is about to fail.
On top of that, at Afinety, we focus on cloud services and keeping your IT infrastructure up and running so your internal team doesn’t have to.
The cloud has completely altered how many modern companies conduct business. While this technology is certainly great at distributing computing resources in an efficient manner, one of its more specific abilities is the manner in which it handles disaster recovery.
3-2-1 backup rule
When it comes to disaster recovery, there’s no tool more important than a solid backup routine. The data your firm creates and stores is vital to its success, and it’s very often irreplaceable. Therefore, most experts in the field recommend what’s been called the 3-2-1 backup rule. This is where an organization creates three copies of each piece of data it handles. It then stores this information in two distinct forms of media, with at least one being physically separated from the main office. Basically, you’re putting your eggs in as many baskets as possible without overdoing it. To understand how vital the 3-2-1 backup rule can be, let’s take a look at a case where it wasn’t implemented properly.
Data backup doesn’t always go smoothly.
The year was 1998 and Pixar was working on Toy Story 2. All was going well when animated objects in the movie started disappearing, according to The Next Web’s former editor, Matthew Panzarino. Apparently, someone had run a command that deleted all the files related to the movie in Pixar’s database. When they finally got the situation under control, around 90 percent of the original no longer existed.
Pixar immediately attempted to switch over to their backup data that was kept on site. But, to their horror, they realized that backups hadn’t been functioning properly. All hope of restoring the movie was lost, until Supervising Technical Director Galyn Susman remembered that she’d been copying the movie on her personal computer so she could work at home. The film was eventually restored and went on to generate major success at the box office, but the lesson here is that relying on a single backup system is simply asking for trouble.
The reason that the cloud is so great here is that it allows you to fulfill two of the three backup requirements. A cloud-based data backup system would be a distinct storage medium, and the fact that your vendor is most likely far away from you means that your information is going to be physically separated. In fact, with the Afinety Cloud Platform, your applications and data are geographically replicated via AWS — the largest cloud platform in the world — for the ultimate in security and disaster recovery.
“Another major benefit of cloud-based disaster recovery is how affordable it is.”
High-quality protection at a low price
Another major benefit of cloud-based disaster recovery is how affordable it is. There was a time where only larger organizations had the money to afford a continuity solution, but those days are long gone. The main benefit of the cloud here is what TechTarget contributor Alex Barrett refers to as a “pay-for-use model.” Basically, you can scale up your firm’s needs as you grow, and scale them back as business slows. This mitigates the issue of older, on-site disaster recovery models, which forced you to purchase expensive hardware.
Clearly, the cloud can offer a lot to legal firms that want to ensure the security of their data. Company leaders who would like to make the jump to this incredible technology should contact an Afinety representative today.
In this age of cyberattacks and data breaches, companies all over the world are struggling to ensure the safety of their private data. However, many organizations feel hesitant about the cloud‘s ability to protect this kind of information.
Considering the fact that a cloud deployment means IT administrators have to give up a little control, this can seem like a solid fear. But it couldn’t be further from the truth.
A recent report found that 15 percent of the money spent on the global cybersecurity market will be going right into the cloud. This technology is clearly well-protected, and when you work with an experienced company like Afinety, you can rest assured that your firm’s data will remain secure.
Personal technology has been growing by leaps and bounds recently. The Pew Research Center stated that around 68 percent of Americans now own a smartphone, a device that could be considered a computer you can fit in your pocket.
Therefore, it has begun to make a lot of sense for employers to allow their staff to utilize personally owned gadgets for work. This trend has been named “bring your own device,” and it’s gaining a lot of popularity all over the world. In fact, many companies have begun to utilize BYOD in tandem with a cloud deployment.
“Your employees are already using their own devices.”
BYOD is here, whether you like it or not
To begin, it’s important to note that your employees are already using their own devices to complete their daily duties. A study from Gartner found that around 37 percent of those surveyed stated they were using personal gadgets for work-related purposes without informing their superiors.
This is a huge problem, because it means that these companies have a gaping security flaw waiting to be exploited by hackers, as people very often don’t secure their own devices properly. Implementing a BYOD program that leverages the many security benefits of the cloud can help alleviate this issue.
Outside of simply fixing an existing problem, combining BYOD and the cloud allows employees to truly take advantage of the wonders of modern mobility. Many organizations – especially those operating within the legal sector – have to complete their work outside of the office.
Employees very often have to collaborate outside the office.
This is where the cloud comes in. Before this technology, the only way for employees to complete tasks while away from the office was to lug all the resources they needed around with them. This was either cumbersome or simply impossible, and put a real damper on working to meet the demands of clients.
The other side of this is that BYOD allows for more flexibility in the movement of expensive equipment. While the cloud allows employees to access information wherever they are, they still need some kind of connected device. An organization could allow workers to sign out company-owned machines, but this always risks the chance of something expensive getting damaged.
BYOD, on the other hand, poses no such financial risk to the business. Anything that breaks or is lost needn’t be replaced by the company. It’s a major improvement that more organizations should be taking advantage of.
Those working in the legal industry have very specific needs in terms of the tools they use to get the job done. The fast-paced nature of the sector, coupled with the need for privacy for clients, means that law firms need to be extremely careful about the solutions that they choose to implement. Therefore, many organizations opt to stick with older ways of doing things, for fear that newer technologies could disrupt how they conduct business.
This has led to a lot of trepidation when it comes to adopting the cloud. Many legal firms feel like the switch will be hard, or that the cloud simply doesn’t have what they need. This simply couldn’t be further from the truth.
To begin, the cloud is incredibly easy to transition to if you have the right partner. Afinety has helped countless organizations move over to cloud-based platforms, and we’ve become quite good at making it as painless as possible.
The other side of this is the fact that the cloud is incredibly useful for those working within the legal sector. One of the biggest draws here is the technology’s ability to promote mobility. Lawyers and other legal employees often have to work outside of the office. This is where working off of an in-house solution can hit a major snag, as these people simply aren’t able to access the information they need to get the job done. In fact, the American Bar Association found that 94 percent of lawyers either use the internet “regularly” or “occasionally” when working away from the office.
Of course, mobility is only one of many benefits that the cloud has. This technology is truly revolutionary, and we want to ensure that as many people as possible are able to leverage its power. To that end, we’ve put together the infographic below that spells out the top four reasons why those working in the legal industry should consider a cloud-based solution.
If any of these pique your interest – and they certainly should – feel free to contact an Afinety representative today to learn more about this amazing technology.
Data backup doesn’t always go smoothly.![Is the cloud secure enough for your legal firm? [Video]](https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/client/q_glossy,ret_img,w_1000,h_709/https://afinety.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/14123838-1.jpeg)
Employees very often have to collaborate outside the office.![4 reasons why law firms should embrace the cloud [infographic]](https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/client/q_glossy,ret_img,w_500,h_334/https://afinety.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/How-can-law-firms-benefit-from-the-cloud_2439_40144310_0_14120309_500.jpeg)
