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Disaster recovery-as-a-service (DRaaS) is a cloud computing service that’s used for restoring data of an application or hardware after a disaster.
As a service offering, the entire process is managed by third-party cloud providers that are responsible for everything from a proper backup prior to the incident to the recovery of data in adequate time.
See below to learn all about the global DRaaS market:
The global DRaaS market
The DRaaS market was estimated to be valued at $3.1 billion in 2020. It’s expected to maintain a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 35.8% from 2020 to 2027, reaching $26.5 billion by the end of it.
The backup and recovery segment of the market is expected to reach $9.3 billion by 2027, with a CAGR of 33.9% throughout the analysis period. The real-time data replication segment is forecast to maintain a CAGR of 30.9% over the same period.
Regionally, the global DRaaS market is segmented as follows:
- The U.S. market was estimated at $938.4 million in 2020
- The Chinese market is forecast for a CAGR of 33.9%, reaching $4.3 billion by 2027
- Japan and Canada are forecast to grow at a CAGR of 32.2% and 30.6%
- Within Europe, Germany is projected to maintain one of the highest CAGRs at 24.4%
- The Asia-Pacific segment, led by India, Australia, and South Korea, is set to reach $3.3 billion by 2027
By industry, the DRaaS market is driven by wide-scale adoption in the banking, financial services, and insurance (BFSI) sector.
Other notable industries in the global market include:
- Media and entertainment
- Retail and consumer goods
- Health care
- Manufacturing
- Government
- IT
- Telecommunications
Recovery usage
Regardless of industry, data backup and recovery plans — in case of emergencies due to human error, malicious individuals, or natural disasters — are essential for business longevity. However, only around 25% of small businesses reported having a disaster recovery plan in place.
Cyber attacks aren’t the only reason behind investing in DR, as hardware failure is the leading reason behind data loss, being responsible for 45% of all unplanned downtime, according to Dynamic Technologies. Furthermore, over half of small businesses that lose access to data and operational systems without DR close shortly afterward.
“When your business experiences downtime, there is a cost associated with that event. This dollar amount can be pretty tough to pin down, as it includes direct expenses, such as recovery labor and equipment replacement,” says PhoenixNAP Global IT Services in a post.
“Backing up and securing your data and systems and having the capability to maintain business as usual in the face of a disaster is no longer a luxury, it is a necessity.”
DRaaS features
DRaaS solutions are ready-for-you services offered by third-party providers. Available in several types, they offer different levels of control and customization, depending on the involvement of the service provider:
Self-managed DRaaS
Self-managed DRaaS, also known as self-service DRaaS, allows for the most control and freedom. While the provider is responsible for providing the necessary tools, knowledge, and advice regarding successful backup and DR, the actual processes are entirely up to the customer.
Self-managed options require the active participation of a customer IT team, and they may need to set up the data duplication, replication, and recovery scripts from scratch.
Assisted DRaaS
Assisted DRaaS offers a middle ground between a customer managing their own backup and DR operations and entirely outsourcing them. With assisted DRaaS, the provider directly assists you with the implementation and execution processes of backup and DR, offering advice when needed.
The service provider offers assistance and guidance to the customer IT team, even if they’re not actively participating in the data recovery process.
Managed DRaaS
Managed DRaaS allocates all the responsibilities regarding the backup and DR processes to the provider. Beyond granting system and data access to the provider, there isn’t much required on the customer end.
This option entirely frees up the customer IT team for other work, as the provider takes care of everything from the cloud storage to performing regular DR testing and conducting the DR process when needed.
Benefits of DRaaS
There are numerous benefits to opting for a DRaaS solution rather than implementing all necessary tools and processes in-house, such as:
- Eliminate backup and recovery system redundancies
- Minimize in-house IT involvement
- Cost-effective DR
- Ensure backup and DR reliability
- Improve DR times
- Enable system flexibility and scalability
“DRaaS outshines traditional DR approaches, like retrieving physical tape backups from a vault somewhere, because the recovery time is much faster,” says InterVision in a post.
“The cornerstone of any data protection strategy demands both a plan to ensure the security of data as well as a plan to restore that data back to the business for normal operations.”
DRaaS use cases
The following few case studies highlight the DRaaS solutions used by organizations in different industries:
Tyler Technologies
Tyler Technologies is a provider of software services for the public sector. It primarily helps government organizations optimize operations and allow for more transparency between them and their constituents.
Handling massive amounts of critical data for their clients, Tyler Technologies’ previous in-house DR solutions had issues keeping up with their service-level agreements.
Looking to minimize downtime and data loss through the reliable recovery of cloud and on-premises data, Tyler Technologies implemented AWS Elastic Disaster Recovery.
“When — not if — disaster strikes, it will be a non-event for us,” says Christopher Armstrong, director of information security at Tyler Technologies.
“We’ll just push a button and move on. We tested it and really kicked the tires, so we are confident in our recoverability. Using AWS Elastic Disaster Recovery helps us to sleep better at night.”
With AWS, Tyler Technologies was able to protect more than 4,300 virtual machines (VMs), minimize the recovery time of mission-critical data by 1,200%, and flexibly scale their DR infrastructure footprint.
PathMotion
With offices in London and Paris, PathMotion is an online discussion platform dedicated to job candidates and prospective employers.
Planning to expand operations into a new market, PathMotion was looking to migrate its monolithic application to a microservices architecture in the cloud, including the implementation of Google Cloud’s DR solution.
“A microservices architecture isn’t just great for scaling, it is also an easy way to migrate to the cloud, one service at a time,” says Raphaël Antonmattei, CTO, PathMotion.
“For engineers who are new to the technology, this step-by-step approach is a great way to get to know the cloud and what it can do.”
Working with Google Cloud, PathMotion was able to guarantee near-instant data recovery after outages, speed up the development speeds of their microservices, and replicate their databases to minimize the impact on loading performance.
Leipziger Messe
Leipziger Messe is one of Germany’s top trade fairs for companies and event services provider.
Leipziger Messe was facing issues with long and complex backup processes and integrating properly with their applications and systems.
Working with Commvault Systems, Leipziger Messe adopted the Commvault Complete Data Protection for DR and backup for all their systems and applications.
“Data management is so much easier with Commvault. We now spend less than two hours per week, compared to 10 hours per week before,” says Sebastian Kober, department manager, IT infrastructure and event services, Leipziger Messe.
“We considered other solutions, … but Commvault is the only solution that could reliably support a wide range of technologies.”
With Commvault and their implementation partner, Leipziger Messe saved 80% less time managing backups for DR, performed backups 50% faster, and was able to ensure constant data availability after disasters and incidents.
DRaaS providers
Some of the leading providers of DRaaS in the market include:
- Iland
- Windstream
- Verizon
- Rackspace
- AWS
- Microsoft
- Broadcom
- Commvault
- Google Cloud
- Acxiom Corporation
