The goal with cybersecurity and BCDR – otherwise known as business continuity and disaster recovery – is to protect businesses from incidents that can destroy their data and cripple their business.
The problem is, there are many ways to do that. Each with their own complexities and flaws.
And, there are many different providers of these business continuity and disaster recovery solutions.
These solutions run the gamut: From simple “home-brewed” solutions that some MSPs sell, all the way to the top-of-the-line solution built for the enterprise and critical Government agencies.
The problem is, these different solutions are all sold the same way. There’s no obvious labeling of the product and service that would allow you to easily see there is a difference.
And so when purchasing a Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery (BCDR) solution you have to follow the old adage “Caveat Emptor!” – let the buyer beware.
And just to throw in one more adage, if you’ll allow it, this is an Apples and Oranges conversation … not an Apples and Apples conversation.
A Solid BCDR Solution
Just wondering, but isn’t the goal of a business continuity and disaster recovery solution to be able to get a business back up and running as quickly as possible after an “event” happens?
And, not just be able to get your computer network back up and running after something simple like a power outage. No, I mean after a business threatening “disaster” with your computer network, systems and data … like a flood, ransomware, or malicious deletion?
That should be the minimum requirement in a solid BCDR solution.
Unfortunately, that is not the case. I’m not going to point fingers, but of the handful of top tier solutions in the business continuity and disaster recovery space, only one is a solid option. That option is Datto.
Of the others, you get – in my opinion – only about 60% coverage. And that may not be a great way to say that, but here is what I mean.
With Datto, let’s say the worst thing possible happened to you: you were hit with ransomware on every computer and server you own. You can’t access anything. You have no control over your finances. You can’t even access them. AND your supply chain requires you to know what is coming in, what needs to be ordered, what is on premises / on site, and if there are enough workers to handle it, and how are they going to be paid – and on and on.
But you can’t access it. You can’t work. You can’t do anything. You are actually … out of business!
With Datto, we can remediate the ransomware quickly because Datto has multiple, redundant layers of protection.
It’s not software you install from a website. No, this must be installed and set up by a qualified Managed Service Provider like us. And you get constant incremental backups.
And those backups are stored in three places simultaneously. On-site, and in the cloud at two separate locations. And even if all your computers, servers and network were compromised and unusable. You could run your entire business virtually from either one of these cloud facilities.
This system is so seamless, we have had to call clients and tell them they had a huge issue we just repaired, but they didn’t know about it because their entire business operations failed over to their virtual network in the cloud.
It makes us feel really good when we can tell our clients we solved a problem they didn’t even know they had. And when we know they sidestepped a disaster that could have destroyed their business … it reinforces how valuable the service we provide to clients really is.
That’s why I’m adamant about the need for the Datto Business Continuity solution.
So now, back to my “others only give you 60% coverage” statement earlier.
From my example above, you can see that Datto covers you in any event, 100% of the time. There are only two scenarios I can envision that would stop your data from being accessible. Either Nuclear war would have to break out, or hackers would have to hack your business and delete your on-site backup, while simultaneously hacking Datto’s Primary and Secondary Network Operations Center and deleting your data there as well.
But Datto has multiple locations. And figuring out where your data is … would be astronomically difficult.
There’s a slim .005% chance they could get into your network and delete your data and backup, then get into your primary backup at Datto and damage it before it was stopped. But there is zero chance of a hacker being able to access your second virtual backup.
Which makes me believe the Datto BCDR solution we sell is 100% effective.
On the other hand, the alternative solutions to Datto BCDR, that 90% of Managed Service Providers sell, give you what I would call 60% coverage.
For example, a recent competitor of Datto was hacked through the business clients they were paid to protect. Not only this, but hackers used their service to spread ransomware to over a hundred other clients.
It was a massive attack.
Now, only 5% of their clients were affected. Which is good, but … as a precaution, this company – a serious yet less expensive competitor to Datto, chose to shut down its service until they fixed the issue and could ensure that they could not be used to spread ransomware to their clients any longer.
They were shut down for nine days. Nine days!
For the 5% of clients who were attacked by ransomware, they are still dealing with it. Their data was backed up and they will be able to get back to business eventually. But at what cost? They have lost weeks.
As we’ve learned from the pandemic, few businesses can completely shut down for weeks at a time and survive.
But for the 95% of businesses who were not affected by the attack on their BCDR solution and were able to continue business as usual – it may seem like they are safe.
But are they really? They are paying for a solution that is down. That doesn’t work. That isn’t actively protecting them.
They weren’t protected during that nine-day outage. They were vulnerable! And if they would have been hacked or had a natural disaster that took out their network and data, they would have been able to get a backup in place that they could work off of, but it would probably take 3 – 4 days for that to happen and that backup would have been from a time 7 – 9 days in the past.
Meaning, every email, every invoice, every document you created within the timeframe of the last backup to the present moment is gone and you and your team have to recreate them from memory.
This is what I call a 60% solution.
It’s one thing to be able to tell a client that with your Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery solution they will never have to pay a ransom.
It’s a completely different thing to be able to tell a client that not only will they never have to pay another ransom, they also typically won’t have to recreate anything from memory. Plus, there is a really good chance that when something does happen, they won’t even know it happened because nothing has changed for them. They are still working as usual. The failover to the backup is seamless.
The Only Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery (BCDR) Solution We Sell
I think it’s fairly obvious why we only sell Datto’s BCDR solution: it’s the best solution money can buy and the only solution that gives you 100% protection.
Business owners who already have a managed service provider (MSP) typically call me looking for a quote when their network and computers have been down for 4 days or more. This is mostly due to ransomware attacks.
It’s one thing to be told by your MSP that you need a Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery solution in place, and you choose not to pay for it because … well, for whatever reason.
It’s an entirely different thing when you have been paying for a Business Continuity solution and it isn’t effective at getting you back up and running in a reasonable amount of time.
With Datto, most of the time you are back up and running from near-instantaneously to 20 minutes later. If the attack was especially horrendous, you could be looking at one or two hours.
But let’s be ridiculous and say it might take four hours to get you back online and up and running.
Compare that to the average 4 days … 9 days … in some cases … weeks it takes to get back up and running with other BCDR options.
Like I said, “Caveat Emptor!”
I don’t personally trust any solution other than Datto. I’ve done the research. I’ve seen it in action. I’ve been able to protect my clients and deliver exceptional service because we use Datto. I have peace of mind and complete trust in their solution.
I’ve always got my ear to the ground and am on the lookout for the next, better way to protect my clients, but at this moment in time … it’s Datto.
And that is why Datto is the only Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery solution we sell.
In life, you tend to get what you pay for. Datto is a little more expensive, but it’s worth every penny!
Additional Business Continuity and Disater Recovery Resourses
- You Need a Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Plan NOW
- The Cost of Downtime and the Effects of Ransomware on Small Business
- Combating Ransomware
