Data privacy regulations are becoming more prevalent and stringent in many parts of the world. Led by the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), nations and other jurisdictions such as U.S. states have developed and implemented standards regarding the use of their citizens’ personal information. Organizations risk substantial financial penalties and the loss of customer confidence if they fail to comply with data privacy standards.

One of the fundamental benefits of using the services of public cloud providers is the flexibility and scalability they offer. Using the vast resources of a cloud vendor, a customer can increase and diminish their computing, network bandwidth, and storage capacity much more easily than with an on-premises data center. Instead of the capital expense involved in procuring more hardware that may only be needed for a short time, organizations can scale up to address seasonal or unexpected demand spikes. When the demand on their systems returns to normal levels, they can scale back down to avoid paying for unnecessary capacity.

As another hurricane season becomes a harrowing memory, the specter of blizzards and ice storms begin to appear just over the horizon. Power outages can happen at the most inopportune time, and the incidence of ransomware attacks continues to increase at an alarming rate. There is an ever-present potential for an event that could be classified as a disaster impacting your business’s IT infrastructure. If your organization is not prepared, there can be long-lasting ramifications that affect your business in multiple ways.