Create a Game Plan to Implement Cloud Backup the Right Way

Cloud adoption is frequently driven by hype rather than careful consideration of the best-fit solution.
IT is frequently rushed into cloud adoption without appropriate planning.
Organizations frequently lack appropriate strategies to deal with cloud-specific backup challenges.
Insufficient planning for cloud backup can exacerbate problems rather than solving them, leading to poor estimates of the cost and effort involved, budget overruns, and failure to meet requirements.

Our Advice

Critical Insight

The cloud isn’t a magic bullet, but it tends to deliver the most value to organizations with specific use cases – frequently smaller organizations who are looking to avoid the cost of building or upgrading a data center.
Cloud backup does not necessarily reduce backup costs so much as it moves them around. Cloud backup distributes costs over a longer term. Organizations need to compare the difference in CAPEX and OPEX to determine if making the move makes financial sense.
The cloud can deliver a great deal of value for organizations who are looking to reduce the operational effort demanded by an existing tape library for second- or third-tier backups.
Data security risks in some cases may be overstated, depending on what on-premises security is available. However, targeting backup to the cloud introduces other risks that need to be considered before implementation is given the green light.

Impact and Result

Understand if cloud backup is the right solution for actual organizational needs.
Make an informed decision about targeting backup to the cloud by considering the big picture TCO and effort level involved in adoption.
Have a ready strategy to mitigate the most common challenges with cloud adoption projects.
Develop a roadmap that lays out the required step-by-step to implement cloud backup.

Create a Game Plan to Implement Cloud Backup the Right Way Research & Tools

1. Understand the benefits and risks of targeting backups to the cloud

Build a plan to mitigate the risks associated with backing data up in the cloud.

2. Determine if the cloud can meet the organization's data requirements

Assess if the cloud is a good fit for your organization’s backup data.

3. Mitigate the Challenges of Backing Up to the Cloud

Build a cloud challenge contingency plan.

4. Build a Cloud Backup Implementation Roadmap

Perform a gap analysis to determine cloud backup implementation initiatives.

Member Testimonials

After each Info-Tech experience, we ask our members to quantify the real-time savings, monetary impact, and project improvements our research helped them achieve. See our top member experiences for this blueprint and what our clients have to say.

7.0/10

Overall Impact

$15,755

Average $ Saved

Average Days Saved

Client

Experience

Impact

$ Saved

Days Saved

Testimonial

County Of Rockdale

Guided Implementation

10/10

$15,755

Dish Network

Guided Implementation

4/10

N/A

We didn't get a lot of guidance in this area

Create a Game Plan to Implement Cloud Backup the Right Way visualization

Optimize your backup initiative and mitigate the challenges of the cloud.

About Info-Tech

Info-Tech Research Group is the world’s fastest-growing information technology research and advisory company, proudly serving over 30,000 IT professionals.

We produce unbiased and highly relevant research to help CIOs and IT leaders make strategic, timely, and well-informed decisions. We partner closely with IT teams to provide everything they need, from actionable tools to analyst guidance, ensuring they deliver measurable results for their organizations.

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A blueprint is designed to be a roadmap, containing a methodology and the tools and templates you need to solve your IT problems.

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Table of Contents

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Get the help you need in this 1-phase advisory process. You'll receive 4 touchpoints with our researchers, all included in your membership.

Call 1: Evaluate the business case for cloud backup

Start your project off on the right foot. Discuss the value of the cloud and identify realistic objectives for your backup environment implementation. Determine whether the cloud is the solution to achieve them.
Call 2: Identify candidate data sets for cloud backup and assess opportunities and readiness

Identify candidate data sets for cloud backup. Determine RPOs and RTOs for candidate data sets. Discuss the potential value of the cloud for your candidate data sets. Evaluate organizational readiness for targeting backup at the cloud. Pinpoint best-fit data sets.
Call 3: Mitigate the challenges of backing up the cloud

Select the cloud provider model that best fits your needs. Identify probably risks and estimate their likelihood. Develop a contingency plan for likely challenges. Evaluate the financial argument for – or against – cloud backup.
Call 4: Build a roadmap to your cloud backup implementation

Perform a gap analysis to determine implementation initiatives. Construct a roadmap for your cloud backup implementation.

Authors

John Sloan

David Drysdale

Contributors

International Facilities Management Association
American Health Care Association
3 additional organizations contributed information to assist with the development of this solution set. Due to the sensitivity of the information, they requested confidentiality.
150 individual professionals contributed information that assisted with the development of this solution set.

Search Code: 73851
Last Revised: December 3, 2013