Business Continuity in Hybrid Models

On July 19, 2024, CrowdStrike experienced a significant outage due to a bad update, leading to a global disruption. Major entities, from banks to airlines, found themselves at a standstill, illustrating the critical risks of reliance on centralized cloud services. The incident exposed a significant blind spot: the lack of preparedness for disconnected operations. In an era where digital transformation is the bedrock of business operations, the recent outage caused by CrowdStrike underscored a critical vulnerability in our increasingly interconnected world. As the incident unfolded, businesses reliant on cloud services for critical operations grappled with downtime, lost productivity, and a stark reminder of the risks inherent in our current dependence on always-on connectivity. The Case for Resilience: Rather than focusing solely on disconnected operations, the broader concept of resilience encompasses maintaining functionality amidst disruptions. Here are key strategies to bolster resilience: Hybrid Cloud Solutions: Combining public and private clouds with on-premises resources can provide greater flexibility and control, ensuring critical functions continue during outages. Edge Computing: By processing data closer to the source, edge computing reduces dependency on central cloud services, improving latency and performance and ensuring operations can continue even if connectivity is lost. Modular Data Centers (MDCs): MDCs offer a scalable and flexible solution that can operate independently or alongside traditional data centers, providing local fallback options during central cloud failures. Robust Disaster Recovery Plans: Comprehensive plans that include scenarios for cloud outages are essential for maintaining business continuity and restoring services swiftly. Moving Forward: The CrowdStrike outage is a critical reminder of the need for resilient infrastructure. Businesses must prioritize strategies that enable them to withstand and quickly recover from disruptions. By investing in hybrid cloud solutions, edge computing, modular data centers, and robust disaster recovery plans, organizations can better prepare for future incidents. In a world where digital is the default, resilience is not just a luxury but a necessity. Now is the time to build this resilience, ensuring businesses can weather any storm and thrive in an increasingly digital landscape. What do you think? The picture below is how I think we are handling hybrid/mulit-cloud. Infrastructure Masons #multicloud #hybridcloud

☁️🛡️ The Rise of Business Continuity as a Service (BCaaS): What You Need to Know 🛡️☁️ Now with real-world adoption examples Business Continuity is no longer just a plan — it’s a service. As disruptions become more frequent and complex, Business Continuity as a Service (BCaaS) is emerging as a scalable, cloud-based solution that helps organizations stay resilient without building everything in-house. 🔍 What Is BCaaS? BCaaS delivers continuity planning, disaster recovery, and crisis response capabilities through managed services — often cloud-based and supported by expert providers. It includes: ✅ Risk assessments ✅ Automated recovery workflows ✅ Real-time monitoring ✅ Compliance support ✅ Testing and simulation environments 📊 Why It’s Gaining Momentum * 70% of organizations are increasing investment in continuity services post-pandemic (Gartner). * BCaaS reduces the burden on internal IT teams while improving recovery speed and reliability. * It’s especially valuable for SMBs and mid-market firms that lack dedicated BCP/DR staff. 🧪 Real-World BCaaS Adoption Examples 🔹 Case Study: IBM Resiliency Services IBM offers BCaaS to clients across industries, integrating AI-driven analytics and hybrid cloud recovery. One global bank used IBM’s BCaaS to reduce recovery time from 48 hours to under 4 — while maintaining compliance with financial regulations. 🔹 Case Study: Sungard Availability Services Sungard helped a healthcare provider implement BCaaS across multiple locations, enabling real-time failover and HIPAA-compliant data protection. Their continuity posture improved significantly, with zero downtime during a regional power outage. 🔹 Case Study: Microsoft Azure Site Recovery Azure’s BCaaS model supports automated replication and recovery for hybrid environments. A mid-sized logistics company used it to scale DR across 5 new locations during expansion — without hiring additional IT staff. 💡 Takeaway BCaaS is changing the continuity landscape — making resilience more accessible, more agile, and more intelligent. Is your organization still relying on static plans — or are you ready to explore continuity as a service? 👇 Let’s talk about how BCaaS could fit into your strategy. #BusinessContinuity #CloudServices #DisasterRecovery

“Researchers: Work from home is key to business continuity” (TechTarget) Summary As natural disasters like Hurricane Milton become more frequent, businesses are being urged to make remote work readiness a cornerstone of their continuity strategies. A study titled "Digital Resilience: How Work-from-Home Readiness Affects Firm Performance" found that companies prepared for remote operations before COVID-19 significantly outperformed those without such capabilities, especially in sales and net income. Researchers Sebastian Steffen, Wang Jin, and Erik Brynjolfsson stress that remote work infrastructure, such as cloud-based systems and secure collaboration tools, is vital for sustaining operations during crises. They recommend hybrid work models to balance flexibility and on-site needs, especially in disaster-prone areas like Florida. Further suggestions include assessing remote feasibility by role, prioritizing employee safety through flexible policies, and investing in digital tools despite upfront costs. The key takeaway: businesses with WFH readiness are more resilient in crises and better equipped to protect both employees and operations. Dr. Gleb’s Take The research makes it clear: remote work readiness isn’t just a nice-to-have — it’s a critical part of business survival. Companies that treat remote work as a contingency instead of a core strategy are setting themselves up for failure when disaster strikes. The benefits of WFH aren’t just about productivity; they’re about keeping operations running when the unexpected happens. It’s short-sighted to skimp on digital infrastructure, especially with climate risks increasing. Forward-thinking businesses should invest in remote capabilities now, rather than scrambling when a crisis hits. This isn’t just about weathering storms — it’s about building a resilient, adaptable workforce for the future.