Using the Cloud? Have you got a backup Internet connection?

As organizations become more dependent on their Internet connection for business continuity, the importance of a second "fail-over" connection must be considered.  Loss of access to Cloud applications, e-mails, instant messaging and Internet resources can cripple a business if their primary Internet provider interrupts their service.

What do you do if your Internet line fails for whatever reason?  My company, ACT Network Solutions, supports Senior Living Centers, medical facilities and other organizations that are now taking advantage of services provided in the cloud.  In the "good old days" of on-site server-based programs, services could continue, albeit with some inconvenience. Maybe e-mail stopped flowing for a little while and that was tolerable (hopefully).  Now, critical services such as treatment plans, charting and medication records are frequently in the cloud.  How do you handle immediate issues when you've put your data out of the physical reach of your staff.

It's time to start thinking long and hard about a second Internet connection to take over if your primary line drops off-line. 

The second line is referred to as a "fail-over" line because it can take over if the primary line fails.  It keeps your access to your critical operational data up and running now matter what.  Properly configured, the fail-over line or "shadow line" just assumes the flow of traffic without any loss of productivity. 

Your second line doesn't even necessarily have to be as fast as your primary circuit because, after all, it's only used in emergencies. It should be able to keep you and your cloud connections going until service to your primary connection is restored.   BUT . . . it must be able to handle your processes in a reasonably timely fashion.

Never trust both lines to the same vendor or the same media either.   If you're using a cable Internet provider for your primary Internet line, consider a provider using a different media for the second line.  For example, one of our senior living centers uses a cable provider for their primary broadband connection and a slower AT&T service for their backup.

This type of connection issue is often overlooked in organizational Disaster Planning maybe because it's such a simple thing.  Maybe you're so focused on "major" disasters that we overlook "the little ones".  It's the less obvious things that can get us into trouble more often than we'd like to admit.

For those of you who are thinking to yourself  "Aw, that will never cause US a problem!  Our line is up 99% of the time.  We can live with a little downtime."  Really?  If your organization rules a 24 hour operations, 99% means you're off-line over 3.6 days per year.  Can you really live with that?

Jeff Hoffman is president of ACT Network Solutions, for more information on how to protect your business from IT network interruptions or business continuity issues call ACT at (847) 639-7000 or e-mail jhoffman@actnetworks.com.