My Take on DRaaS Service Providers

So, while you were all dreaming of turkey plumbs, as you slaved away in your server room in November, I decided to put myself to work for you. If you are in the market for DRaaS (Cloud Disaster Recovery), you’ll like what I did.

I thought it would be interesting to reach out to a lot of the DRaaS providers that are listed on AeroComInc.com and have them give me the key differentiators that their product brings to the table. This seems to be a product that is rising in popularity and one that is being offered by many cloud service providers, yet still fairly new and unexplored, in the minds of many IT professionals.

Although I nearly lost my voice talking to all of these companies, I ended up getting great information for you and I thought you’d be interested to hear “my take” on each of these.

*Disclaimer: This is not officially perfect information. I’m sure I could have misunderstood a provider or too, so don’t use this as the “final word.” Instead, use this as a starting point to begin to narrow your search of the right service provider. I also have not spoken to every single DRaaS provider on the planet… I stuck to only reaching out to (most of) the providers on AeroComInc.com. If you look on our site and see a provider that is not listed, make sure you let us know ASAP!

So here we go with “My Take”:

Broadview
Great fit if your company is a relatively small business, you have relatively non-complex DRaaS requirements, you are a current customer of Broadview and running all VMware.

CenturyLink
This provider is a neat option if you are running all VMware and have a limited budget. Their proprietary DR software (Safe Haven), allows them to spin up your DR environment within seconds yet not charge any licensing fees and not charge for the Compute & RAM of your DR servers when not in use.

Evolve IP
Good DRaaS provider that offers anything you’d ever need, with 7 different flavors of DRaaS. No matter if you have cloud, virtual or physical servers or if you’re using VMware or any other type of virtualization software… they have a flavor of DRaaS for you. Their portal, however, is their pride and joy, putting their customers in control of their own environment and even letting them run their own DR tests.

Green Cloud
A pure cloud provider that is a great fit for a company that is ready use DRaaS as step one of eventually moving everything into the cloud. They have a strong engineering team and are capable of handling custom cloud environments, whether your servers are physical or virtual, VMware or other, or a mixture of all of the above.

Internap
This DRaaS provider is a great fit for a company that has all of their servers colo‘d in one of Internap’s 15 domestic or international data centers or any other provider’s data center facility. They also have a long history of working well with businesses that have strict PCI and HIPAA requirements.

Matrix
Priding themselves on their “White Glove” customer service, Matrix is a fit if your company needs a cloud provider that will help with every aspect of their DR environment, every step of the way, whether VM or physical, no matter how complex or what software you’re running. They have been selling cloud services for over 15 years and specialize in mid-market companies who need a high level of customer service.

NaviSite
Another provider that has been selling cloud services for 15 years, Navisite is a great fit for custom, complex VMware-only solutions. Backed by the deep pockets of Spectrum Business, their equipment is top notch and their team is made up of countless veterans who can provide deep insights, no matter what you’re running.

NewCloud Networks
NewCloud is a pure cloud provider that can approach basic to complex DRaaS needs, whether you have VMware or any other virtualization software. They can also handle complex servers and can even deploy (and manage), an appliance on-site for quick file recovery, if that is what you desire.

QTS
Great provider for your large, custom DRaaS solutions… especially if you have large colo needs. With 13 US and 12 International Data centers, QTS is everywhere you need to be and has the ability to provide DR to VMware, non-VMware and even physical servers. The only bad fit would be an AS400, IBM, Solaris Machine, etc.

Rapidscale
This is a great DRaaS provider if you are looking for just DRaaS or moving your whole company over to the cloud. They run high-end Net App storage, can handle any type of virtualization software, any type of server and have competitive pricing. Although colocation is not one of their core services, they can colocate a piece of equipment or two if it makes sense.

ServerCentral
Their DRaaS strengths are their processes & procedures, which means they have an exact plan (and explain their plan), regarding how your DRaaS service will be initiated, tested and retested. They are a provider that knows “the devil is in the details” and thus, they plan accordingly. They can also handle all types of virtualization software and can also handle physical servers. If you are looking to have colo as part of your company’s DRaaS solution, they have 4 domestic data centers, 1 in Amsterdam and 1 in Japan.

SingleHop
As a member of Gartner’s Magic Quadrant, SingleHop, has a fantastic, analyst-approved DRaaS solution for both VMware as well as other virtualization software. SingleHop has invested heavily into automation, which makes for great pricing, fast deployment and fast on-going resource management. They cannot currently provide a DRaaS solution for physical servers.

UnitedLayer
Priding themselves on Hybrid Cloud solutions, an extremely knowledgeable engineering staff and top-of-the-line colo facilities on the West Coast, UnitedLayer’s DRaaS solution is well positioned for the sometimes complex, hybrid needs of mid-market companies. They can work with both physical and virtual servers, running any type of virtualization software.

ViaWest
With 29 world class data center facilities in 8 geographically diverse regions, ViaWest is a great choice for a company wanting to implement a DRaaS solution for their VMware environment, who is also possibly considering an international hybrid cloud solution. They perform 2 DR tests within year one, with all new customers and have a particular sweet spot for clients with strict compliance standards.

WOW
WOW is currently in several Southeast and Midwest states and if you have them for Internet service, you should absolutely consider using them for your DRaaS solution. If you are using their Internet, they have a patented routing technology that (in the case of a disaster), can reroute your IP addresses to your DR environment within minutes. This will prevent the Internet IP address re-population delays that would typically come from moving your production to a different set of IP’s. To top it off, they also do not charge you for the RAM portion of your duplicate servers while not in use and they NEVER charge you for computing power.

Zayo Group
If your servers are 100% VMware and you are looking for a DRaaS provider with great colo facilities for some additional hybrid needs, Zayo Group should be on your list of providers to investigate. With 45 colo facilities in 31 markets, their ability to create a custom, international hybrid environment is a big differentiator.

Your Turn

So there it is. As always, I must also point out that you, the customer has the final word on these providers. If you have used any of these DRaaS providers (or any others), please go to aerocominc.com and post a review on how you rate your experience. Trust me when I say that other IT buyers will thank you for helping them make a more informed decision.

About the Author
Mike Smith is the Founder and President of AeroCom and has been helping companies with telecom and cloud services since 1999. He has been the recipient of numerous business telecommunications industry awards and in 2011, he was honored as one of the top 40 business people in Orange County, CA., under 40 years old. Follow Mike on LinkedIn, Twitter or SpiceWorks.

Want to have some free help shopping all of these DRaaS providers and more? Click the button below!

MY TOP 3