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The emergence and rapid proliferation of e-commerce and Internet-based services have stimulated significant changes in the business continuity and disaster recovery industries. In today's new business venue, ensuring secure and uninterrupted business operations is of paramount importance for both public and private organizations. Sound business continuance requires planning and bracing for all types of business disruption, ranging from human error, power problems, and hardware failures to catastrophic natural disasters and external or internal sabotage or terrorist attacks.

A vital component of business continuity and disaster recovery planning is data storage and backup applications. Among different data backup methods and practices, electronic vaulting is a relatively new technique that is becoming increasingly popular in the disaster recovery industry. Although electronic vaulting has traditionally been used for only high-end solutions, it has emerged as a feasible strategy for enterprises of all sizes in recent years.

Electronic vaulting, also referred to as e-vaulting, is the process of periodically transferring backup data to an alternate off-site location over high-speed networks. Some integral components of electronic vaulting characterize and distinguish it from traditional backup strategies. The main components are (1) offsite data storage, (2) reduced recovery time objective, (3) reduced recovery point objective, and (4) data security and confidentiality.

Offsite Data Storage

A disaster-proof data protection strategy requires that backup data are not only off-line but also off-site and out of reach. However, most companies use their own methods to back up data within their facilities. Although such traditional methods may ensure against minor disruptions caused by technical problems or human error, they are useless in case of a major disaster. Furthermore, on-site backup data is vulnerable to hacker attacks and viruses as well. Therefore, a true data protection and recovery strategy should incorporate an off-site storage component. This strategy makes sure that data are always accessible and up-do-date in at least two alternate locations. Utilizing an off-site facility located at a geographically distant region further ensures against widespread natural disasters.

Reduced Recovery Time Objective

In business continuity planning, the recovery time objective is defined as the maximum tolerable length of time in which business-critical data may be lost in case of a disaster. Traditionally, business continuity plans include a process for data protection in which daily backup data in the forms of magnetic tapes or disc drives are physically transported to a secure facility. This process is called physical off-site vaulting. The recovery process in physical off-site vaulting lasts hours or even days and includes some risks such as damage and loss of data during transportation.

Unlike physical off-site vaulting, electronic vaulting can transfer large batches of data off-site at high speeds and instantly retrieve them in the event of a disaster. Internet-based recovery service provided by electronic vaulting enables organizations to have their systems running in minutes. Therefore, electronic vaulting eliminates the cost, time, and labor required for the multi-day process of transporting backup disks and tapes off-site and bringing them back in the event of a disaster.

Reduced Recovery Point Objective

Recovery point objective refers to the point in time from which the system can restart after a disruption. Depending on the criticality of the data to be preserved, electronic vaulting enables companies to back up data more frequently, which ensures a more current and up-to-date archive off-site. As a result, electronic vaulting significantly reduces recovery point objective and ensures real-time recovery in case of a disaster.

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