The last few years have been difficult for utilities, as they reacted to the challenges of changing weather patterns, higher fuel prices, and legacy equipment. As we move through the aftermath of the pandemic, customers and policymakers alike are taking a keen interest in utility operations. For utility owners and management, this scrutiny should encourage them to look toward creating actionable strategies aimed at increasing resiliency and reliability as well as customer trust.
Aging infrastructure is a series weaknesses for utilities, and it extends far beyond the grid itself. Legacy computer systems make energy facilities a prime target for hackers looking to cause disruption. But other events such as severe weather, human error, and even malfunctions in the equipment itself can cause a power outage that would keep your utility from accessing critical data and serving your customers.
The solution? A robust data backup and recovery plan that allows you to save an updated copy of all data in a separate location from working data.
Why Data Backup for Utilities is Essential
Data backup for utilities is a necessary strategy to ensure both agility and customer trust. In a nutshell, data backup can help your utility recover data and files that have been lost or damaged, allowing you to continue to provide service to customers, even when disaster strikes. Three things that can impact your utility’s ability to do business include:
Cyberattack
Hackers are always developing new ways to access your network, steal or corrupt your data, and disrupt your ability to provide service. They are not only targeting customer information, but also critical systems that can disrupt service.
Human Error
Your data — and your customers’ information — is handled by a number of employees on your staff, from IT teams to human resources and customer service representatives. Sometimes, data can be corrupted or lost through mishandling or even wiped out completely by human error. Additionally, cybercriminals use human psychology to entice employees to reveal passwords allowing them to gain access to your network.
Legacy Technology
Many utilities are moving from filling out forms to digitizing communications with customers and partners. However, many struggle with outdated legacy systems that are overburdened and prone to failure. When equipment fails, downtime can be costly, impacting not only productivity but damaging your reputation as customers experience outages.
Leveraging the Cloud for Business Continuity
Choosing to move your data to the cloud is an important step toward business continuity and data protection. Many utilities are using the power of cloud computing to enhance both operations and grid planning. Your primary mission — providing a grid that is affordable, safe, and reliable — can be enhanced through the application of a robust cloud computing environment.
The cloud can help you increase (or decrease) data storage and processing power at a touch — important for those times when increased resources are required to manage outages and deal with environmental disasters. In addition, backing up to the cloud can provide enhanced latency, increased performance, and exceptional security to keep data at your fingertips in the event of theft or loss.
Cloud services can also help foster a secure hybrid work environment where utility employees can work safely in-house or from remote locations. Cloud services can help protect infrastructure, devices, and data by both blocking suspicious devices and providing a secure central location for data.
Blue Technologies Has Your Cloud Backup Storage Solution
You can use cloud computing to take your utility to the next level and provide safe, secure, and reliable service to your customer base. Cloud computing solutions have a lot to offer, from cloud-based email storage that can protect your data while allowing employees to access necessary information from any geographic location to automated cloud backups that take the pressure off in-house IT teams.
At Blue Technologies, we provide comprehensive cloud computing solutions that include managed cloud backup storage. Using our cloud storage options, you can gain access to scalable, secure, compliant data storage and protection without the need to invest in hardware, software, or increased technological expertise.