09/25/2018

High Availability within Small Businesses

The need for high availability has become increasingly more necessary for smaller businesses. As technology advances further, and the means for security grow stronger, having high availability at your business will prepare you for disaster recovery.

What is High Availability?

High availability refers to having more than one server or network device to perform a single role. Having server redundancy, or multiple systems that do the same thing, is helpful for smaller businesses in the event that one or the other fails.

Predicting an oncoming disaster is nearly impossible, so it is imperative to prepare accordingly. Problems are all too common when small businesses have only one server sustaining their entire business network. Should a disaster occur to your single server, your entire business is put in jeopardy.

HA is like a simple drawbridge; they always have at least two lift chains, because if one were to break, you would still need the drawbridge to work.

What are the Benefits of High Availability?

Having multiple servers, or high availability, at your small business can prepare you against any potential disasters. The opportunity to have redundant systems is often overlooked, though not having a backup puts your business on the line.

It is important to consider that, if a server fails or is damaged, everything attached to your server will no longer be accessible. For example if your business e-mail is connected to the network, you, along with any of the users across the network as well as your customers will lose access it.

Ask yourself:

What risks are involved by not having a backup server?

How would your business function if a server or application was lost?

What will happen if all of your essential business information is lost in a disaster?

It is a necessity to have a form of backup to ensure the livelihood of your business, or maintain business continuity. Implementing a cloud-based server will give your business the protection it needs to succeed and defy the odds.

The top benefits of having high availability include:

Data Backup
Real Time System Monitoring
Cost Effective
Peace of Mind

Having redundant servers can offer you peace of mind in knowing that you have a cost-effective backup for accessing critical business data, should your original server fail. Redundant servers also come along with real-time system monitoring where you can consistently scan for deficits, always knowing the health of your server.

Migrating to the Cloud

Ensure that your business systems can keep up with modern technological demands. Moving to a hybrid or cloud-based server is an affordable solution for smaller businesses to increase the availability of their business.

At Brave River Solutions, our professional IT Technicians can implement, install, and migrate your local server to a Microsoft Cloud-based solution. With the monitoring management and migration services at Brave River, your business information will be backed up upon a redundant server while also having real-time monitoring for potential inefficiencies.