Star Wars Weapons Can Help You Find the Best Backup and Restore Plan

You can create the best cybersecurity, cloud, and help desk solutions, but in the event that a disaster strikes your business, none of that will matter if you are not operational. Estimates of the cost of downtime range from $8,600 for small businesses to $100,000 for larger businesses. To avoid these astronomical costs, many businesses turn to an alternate site to backup and restore business operations.

Smooth operation of your business depends on a consistently reliable physical location for your employees and your equipment. To understand the three primary forms of backup sites – cold, hot, and warm – we’re going to examine three of the famous weapons from The Star Wars Saga.

Wondering what weapons have to do with a backup site? Allow me to explain.

Here’s the scenario:

You are a young Jedi Padawan during the Clone Wars. Your name is (First Name=take your real first name and add a hyphen somewhere at random, Last Name=the first syllable in your mom’s maiden name), and you have been on the trail of bounty hunter Cyb Rattack on the planet Datalos. Unfortunately, you have lost your lightsaber. What’s a Jedi to do?

The Blaster: the Cold Site Weapon

If you’re going to have any chance of stopping your enemy, you’re going to need a new weapon. If you’re limited on funds, you’ll probably want to opt for a good old-fashioned blaster.

A blaster is nothing like the graceful lightsaber, but at the very bare minimum it will get the job done. With a few extra credits and some elbow grease, it can easily be modified to meet your specific needs.

This is the same concept as a cold recovery site. If your office is hit with a disaster, you can choose a cold site to get back to business, but this is definitely the bare bones approach.

A cold site will most likely have only space, power, and utilities. You’re starting from scratch here. A cold site, like a blaster, is perfect for those who need something affordable that will do the trick – albeit sans all bells, whistles.

The Lightsaber: the Hot Site Weapon

When Anakin Skywalker loses a lightsaber, he doesn’t settle for a blaster pistol, he immediately finds or procures a brand new lightsaber. In fact, most young Jedi have to construct their own lightsabers as a ritualistic rite of passage.

The Lightsaber is not a cheap weapon. The construction of this beautiful laser sword requires a lot of effort, and even on the open market, it will cost quite a bit. If you have the credits and the time, it is the number-one best option for your next weapon. The same goes for a hot recovery site.

When you opt for a hot recovery site, you are getting all of the top-notch recovery services available. Your recovery site will be specifically designed to mirror the infrastructure of your original business, allowing for a seamless transition and eliminating expensive downtime.

The hot site will already have all of your data transferred, and will require no time delay in resuming network functions.

The hot recovery site, while the most costly of options, is the closest you will get to operating out of your original business location. This may not be a viable option for all businesses, but it is definitely the premium option, and best when seamless restoration is a necessity.

The Vibrosword: the Warm Site Weapon

If you’ve seen the newest Star Wars movie, The Last Jedi, you’ve seen the red-clad Praetorian Guard fight a wicked battle using vibroswords. These weapons, which utilize an electrically charged blade, are the only swords that can stand up against a lightsaber.

If you happen to have a decent amount of credits, but not enough for the real thing, you could purchase a vibrosword. This weapon is capable of superior movement, though it will involve less grace than a lightsaber and more of the chaos of nature. It is a perfect hybrid of the minimalism of a blaster and the power of a lightsaber.

You were most comfortable with a lightsaber, and it will take some effort getting to know your new weapon.

A warm recovery site is very similar. With this option, you’ll find an internet connection and available servers for network transfer, but there will be a brief delay while you move over network functions. Where the cold site was basically an empty room, the warm site will often include workspaces for key staff who may be displaced.

The warm recovery site won’t break the bank and you’ll end up getting more functionality, response and productivity with your space.

Use the Force

Unfortunately, backup and data recovery is something 3 of 4 businesses aren’t planning for.

Becoming familiar with the available weapons in your backup recovery arsenal will help you choose the best option for your business when the time comes.

Please give us a call or send us a message and we’ll share some more information about how a backup site would work for your business.

You’re also invited to check out our recent whitepaper on the best business continuity plans. We’re happy to help, no strings attached.