The other day, I came across the results of a recent Symantec survey of small and midsize businesses examining the effects of virtualization , cloud computing, and mobility on disaster preparedness .
I was heartened to see results showing that more than a third of these smaller and midsize business decision-makers took disaster preparedness into account when deciding how they’d venture into virtualization, mobility, and the cloud.
And I was downright pleased at results showing that 71% report improvements in their disaster preparedness thanks to server virtualization, while more than 40% said using cloud computing helped their preparedness. And 36% said increased mobility improved their disaster preparedness.
The lesson I’d recommend taking away from this survey — and from incorporating cloud, mobility, and virtualization technologies into your business — is a two-parter:
- If you’re concerned that these new technologies and capabilities might threaten the security of your data and apps or undermine your business continuity plans — don’t be. In fact, when they’re done right, cloud, mobility, and virtualization technologies can improve your ability to protect your data and your business.
- None of these new technologies will ever be a stand-in for the 5 key business continuity steps every organization needs to take to avoid business IT disruptions and minimize the effects when events beyond your control do happen.
Over my next several blog entries, I’ll review those 5 business continuity steps.
