Make Sure Your Start-Up Can Stand Up to Any Disaster



cloud computing businessHow cloud computing solutions can help back-up data and eliminate downtime for your business

When hurricane Sandy made landfall in New York and New Jersey in 2012, it wasn’t just the homeowners and residents who were in trouble; businesses and their data centers were drowning in the storm as well.

While Gawker’s datacenter, Datagram, claimed that their clients’ information was secure in Datagram’s cloud network, they were scrambling to restore power in the basements that were quickly becoming damaged by excessive flooding. Huffington Post attempted to move their data from the flooding New York City data center to another center in Newark, only to find that the Newark center was experiencing complications, due to the storm, as well. Buzzfeed and Huffington Post both scrambled to get their data and website back online and running through the Amazon Web Services cloud network.

A start-up that has a sound recovery plan, in situations of natural disaster, has a better chance of surviving and moving forward. Down time, for a start-up, can mean lost hours, lost clients and of course a loss in revenue; that’s why the key element for any back-up plan is to make sure all of your data is backed up to several cloud computing systems. If one data center is experiencing issues, your business doesn’t have to experience days to weeks of down time.

Here are a few other reasons why start-ups are beginning to value the many benefits of cloud computing.

Business as Usual

In 2011 Pitney Bowes launched a new application, pbSmartPostage, that would allow businesses to send packages via Pitney Bowes postage online anytime, from anywhere. This means that even if your business isn’t able to make it to the post office to send out mail or other packages, you can still send out all of your mail on time and meet deadlines for projects.

Other cloud computing solutions like DropBox and Google Drive allows you to upload and share documents, images and large files for free. So if you need to send a document right away and your fax or email servers are down, you can still send and receive files via these cloud-based solutions.

Say It With VOIP

Voice over Internet Protocol or VOIP is another cloud-based system that allows users to communicate over the phone through an Internet connection and a VOIP networking router. One type of VOIP service that provides a router for this type of cloud technology is Vonage. Businesses that use Vonage can enjoy unlimited calling and voicemail transcription sent via text and email in the U.S., Puerto Rico and Canada and have the ability to do so with several phone lines for a small price.

Keep in Touch

The first priority for any start-up is to keep in contact with clients and to not lose business to competitors during a period of down time. Salesforce.com has a wonderful Customer Relations Management (CRM) software system that can be accessed from anywhere at anytime and can assure your customers that even if your main office is lacking electricity, their emails will be answered and communication will continue seamlessly.

After using these cloud-based solutions, you may think to yourself, “why do I need a main office at all?” Especially when you realize that many of these solutions are affordable, easy to use and can allow you to run your start up from the convenience of your own home.



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