Cloud computing an important step in disaster recovery

There are many ways that the cloud has been able to help companies improve their operations. From making it easier to share information with co-workers across an entire organization to having access to a virtual desktop from any computing device, businesses are improving how they run through the use of cloud computing.

There is another benefit to the cloud that holds a special meaning right now—disaster recovery. At this time last year, Hurricane Sandy was officially on the radar and gaining steam in the Atlantic Ocean. A few days later it would make landfall in the New Jersey and New York and cause $65 billion worth of destruction. Many companies were unable to open due to flooding and power outages.

Organizations that had disaster recovery systems through the cloud were able to stay operational during the storm or jump back quickly when the doors to the office were finally re-opened.

A recent article from The Guardian highlighted the ways organizations are able to keep information secure in the cloud.

"Deploying a disaster recovery program is a must if you want to mitigate the risk of outages or data loss in the cloud," the article reads. "Businesses must compare the performance of different cloud service providers without being locked into a single offering if they want to get this right. A cloud service broker solution is the key to enabling this."

With the help of an IT consulting firm that specializes in cloud computing services, any organization can install a virtual disaster recovery solution.