In Malaysia and the Southeast Asia region, the impact of IT disruptions can be particularly significant due to the region's rapidly growing digital economy. According to a report by the World Bank, Malaysia's digital economy is expected to contribute 22.6% to the GDP by 2025. The pandemic has further underscored the importance of digital resilience, with many local businesses accelerating their digital transformation efforts.

The High Cost of IT Failures

Supply chain disruptions and operational downtime can be devastating. A 2023 study by Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) highlighted that Malaysian companies could suffer losses of up to RM 5 million per week due to IT system failures. This makes business continuity planning not just a best practice, but a necessity. “Anyone thinking about business continuity often needs to reassess the issue with regard to their own IT landscape,” says Dr. Christoph Dietzel, Head of Global Products & Research at Internet Exchange operator DE-CIX. Although the most sophisticated measures and plans are no guarantee against outages, they are the only means of maintaining operations and keeping business models productive. So, what do you need to consider in your own cloud backup strategy? Dietzel offers 5 tips:

Tip 1: Assess Your IT Ecosystem and Identify Key Dependencies

Today, managed computing, storage, and application resources are central to business continuity. On the one hand, these keep applications productive in the cloud if the worst comes to the worst. On the other hand, they also allow you to quickly outsource complete workloads if systems in your own server room come to a standstill. “Anyone defining their backup strategy should evaluate which data, applications, and workloads are crucial for smooth business operations,” says Dietzel. “It is important to examine the entire IT ecosystem and also identify the extent to which services, information, and infrastructures are interdependent.” 

Tip 2: Integrate Classic Backup Methods with Hybrid Cloud Solutions

“Whether hot, warm, or cold data, classic backup strategies can usually be combined very easily with cloud solutions, also when it comes to hybrid scenarios and on-premise landscapes,” says Dietzel. Once you are in the cloud, you not only benefit from maximum availability, but also from maximum protection. Providers reduce risks by, for example, operating services redundantly, mirrored at different locations, and in a stable and secure manner.“ In addition, public clouds in particular often offer the latest and quite sophisticated technologies to fend off cyber invaders,” Dietzel adds.

Tip 3: Diversify IT landscapes and make them redundant

What is also crucial in this context is “building IT landscapes in a redundant and diversified manner,” says Dietzel. “Companies that distribute their back-up workloads across different systems and providers are also protecting themselves.” The same applies to the type of connection. In order to exchange and synchronize information and workloads at all times, it is advisable to redundantly interconnect your own and managed IT.

Tip 4: Plan Your Connectivity for More Than Just Backups

From malfunctions and downtime to technical problems – to keep machines available and offices productive, it is important to plan the connectivity between the company and the cloud in diversified IT landscapes in an equally diversified way. “Cloud routing services are ideal for processing information and operating applications at any time,” says Dietzel. For example, the DE-CIX Cloud ROUTER allows the exchange of data between different cloud environments, separated from the public Internet. “Software-based routing services ensure interoperability at the network level in order to seamlessly merge in-house and managed infrastructure,” says Dietzel. An advantage with regard to hybrid IT landscapes – and not just in the case of backups.

Tip 5: Leverage IT Service Providers for Comprehensive Support 

IT service providers play a vital role in supporting backup strategies. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Malaysia, which form the backbone of the economy, particularly benefit from such support. "It's crucial to look at the entire ecosystem, from the server room to the cloud and the network connection," Dietzel emphasizes. DE-CIX's partner program, which includes managed service providers and IT consultancies, offers comprehensive support with price advantages and incentives for premium partners.

Ensuring business continuity requires more than just data backup. In Malaysia, where the digital economy is rapidly expanding, a holistic approach to IT resilience is essential. Regular testing of measures is also critical to ensure their effectiveness. By following these tips, Malaysian businesses can better prepare for unforeseen disruptions and maintain operational stability in a digital-first world.

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