Intelligent CIO Middle East Issue 29 | Page 47

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// FEATURE: BUSINESS CONTINUITY continuity solution for example allows employees to continue accessing Microsoft Outlook or G-Suite by Google Cloud, without disruption. If PCs or the broader network are affected, Mimecast’s continuity solution provides alternative email access points through the web and our robust mobile continuity apps. The absence of a continuity solution means there’s no access to company email, which often leads to employees using their personal email, which likely doesn’t meet compliance requirements. Such personal email usage by employees could be a significant risk. Mimecast Mailbox Continuity is engineered to ensure always-on email and archive access even when on-premises or cloud email systems like Microsoft Office 365 are down. Security and archive policies a cloud service then you can benefit from regular updates. Cloud providers are always having to make improvements to their systems, to keep up with constant changes and developments. This is particularly true when considering the evolving cyberthreat landscape, which is something that has a huge impact on business continuity. Therefore, it’s worth considering a subscription-based model so you don’t have to worry about huge upfront investments in on-premises solutions or worry about additional spend when your company grows. CLOUD PROVIDERS ARE ALWAYS HAVING TO MAKE IMPROVEMENTS TO THEIR SYSTEMS, TO KEEP UP WITH CONSTANT CHANGES AND DEVELOPMENTS. What are the potential risks to enterprises that do not have effective BC platforms? reputation damage (44%), financial loss (44%) and customer dissatisfaction or loss (41%). Not having a continuity solution in place could result in all three of these becoming a reality. Organisations need to be prepared to quickly and seamlessly switch to an available service, should downtime, due to breach, human error or technical failure, occur. Downtime leaves employees unable to access every day tools, like Microsoft Outlook or G-Suite by Google Cloud. Organisations could be down for hours or even days, meaning productivity ceases entirely, which results in financial losses and significant damage to customer confidence and corporate reputation. When there is a compromise, one of the critical questions is how quickly you can get the business back up and operating properly again. Because in the end, it’s what you do after a breach that determines how much it will affect your business. Having a cyber resilience strategy in place that focuses not just on combating attacks, but on ensuring continuity during an attack and fast recovery after a threat is neutralised, is what enterprises should look at adopting. Cyberattacks are increasingly becoming one of the primary causes of downtime. In a recent report by Vanson Bourne it was revealed that, in the UAE, three of the greatest concerns that organisations had when considering the possibility of a ransomware attack included brand How important is it that BC platforms satisfy compliance requirements? www.intelligentcio.com Continuity enables organisations to avoid disruption while providing email availability in the event of an outage. Mimecast’s are maintained and protected, helping to ensure consistent GDPR compliance even in a disaster situation. How can speed of recovery be ensured? When an email system goes down it’s important to be able to immediately switchover to a continuity service. Mimecast Mailbox continuity, for example, immediately re-routes all email to the cloud to keep users happy and productive. Users need access to live and historic email and attachments during service outages and planned downtime, so they can continue with business as usual. Furthermore, disasters such as cyberattacks or technical failure often lead to data loss and you need to be able to recover this information instantly. Data is essential to the running of any organisation and it’s important to host your data in an independent and fully encrypted cloud archive solution, which allows you to restore email on demand. n INTELLIGENTCIO 47