Investigating the ROI of DRaaS for Medium and Large Enterprises: Unlocking Cost-Efficiency and Business Continuity

Like any investment, Disaster Recovery as a Service (DRaaS), is expected to provide a suitable level of return. Calculating the ROI of DRaaS for medium and large enterprises can be a challenging undertaking. With that in mind, here is a guide to what you need to know about the DRaaS ROI for enterprises.

What is DRaaS and why is it essential for medium and large enterprises?

Disaster Recovery as a Service (DRaaS) is a cloud-based solution that replicates and hosts systems and applications in the cloud. It therefore provides businesses with a straightforward means to recover critical IT systems and data after a disaster.

There are many reasons why DRaaS is essential for medium and large enterprises. Here are five of the main ones.

Business continuity: Ensures rapid recovery of operations after an interruption. Moreover, DRaaS providers offer access to specialized recovery expertise, streamlining disaster response.
Ransomware defense: Offers immutable backups and quick restoration to minimize ransomware impacts.
Cost efficiency: Reduces capital expenses by eliminating the need for physical disaster recovery infrastructure.
Scalability: Adapts to evolving business needs, accommodating growing data and systems.
Compliance: Helps meet regulatory requirements for data protection and recovery.

Key benefits of DRaaS for large enterprises

Here is a closer look at 7 of the key benefits of DRaaS for large enterprises.

Rapid recovery: Ensures minimal downtime and fast restoration of operations during outages or disasters.
Ransomware mitigation: Protects against ransomware with immutable backups and quick system recovery, reducing downtime and financial losses.
Cost optimization: Reduces (or even eliminates) the need for upfront investment. Allows ongoing costs to be paid by subscription or on an on-demand basis. Many DRaaS providers also offer custom pricing. Additionally, using DRaaS reduces the need for in-house staff.
Scalability: Using the cloud not only reduces upfront costs but also makes it easier to accommodate evolving business needs.
Compliance: Helps meet strict regulatory requirements for data protection, recovery times, and security standards.
Global coverage: Offers geographically diverse recovery options for multi-location enterprises.
Expert support: Provides access to specialized disaster recovery teams, ensuring efficient handling of incidents.

Investigating the ROI of DRaaS for enterprises

These are the 7 key factors to consider when assessing the ROI of DRaaS for enterprises.

Downtime costs: Assess potential revenue loss, employee productivity impact, and reputational damage during downtime.
Ransomware resilience: Evaluate the cost savings from preventing extended disruptions caused by ransomware attacks.
Infrastructure savings: Compare DRaaS costs to expenses of maintaining in-house disaster recovery systems, including hardware, software, and maintenance.
Recovery speed: Quantify the financial benefit of reduced recovery time (RTO) and minimized data loss (RPO).
Operational efficiency: Consider savings from streamlining IT processes and reallocating resources to core business functions.
Scalability: Account for the ability to grow or modify the service as business needs evolve, avoiding additional investments.
Compliance costs: Factor in savings from meeting regulatory requirements without costly penalties or upgrades.

How to calculate the ROI of DRaaS for your enterprise

Following these 7 steps will provide a structured approach to calculating the ROI of DRaaS for your enterprise.

Identify downtime costs: Estimate the financial impact of downtime, including lost revenue, decreased productivity, and reputational damage.
Define RTO and RPO needs: Establish recovery time (RTO) and recovery point (RPO) objectives and determine their influence on operational continuity.
Assess DRaaS costs: Include subscription fees, implementation, training, and ongoing management expenses.
Compare in-house costs: Calculate the cost of maintaining an on-premises disaster recovery solution, including hardware, software, facilities, and IT staff.
Quantify risk reduction: Estimate savings from avoided risks, such as ransomware attacks and data breaches, through faster recovery and enhanced security.
Consider compliance savings: Factor in cost avoidance for non-compliance penalties or regulatory fines.
Evaluate intangible benefits: Incorporate value from improved customer trust and operational resilience.

Real-world examples: How DRaaS delivers ROI for enterprises

Here are three real-world examples of how DRaaS delivers ROI for enterprises.

Ransomware recovery: A global healthcare provider faced a ransomware attack that encrypted patient data. DRaaS enabled rapid recovery from immutable backups, minimizing downtime and avoiding millions in ransom payments and lost revenue.

Disaster resilience: A financial institution’s data center was impacted by a natural disaster. DRaaS ensured operations were restored within hours, preventing financial losses and preserving customer trust by meeting regulatory uptime requirements.

Cost savings: A multinational retailer replaced its expensive on-premises disaster recovery infrastructure with DRaaS, saving over 40% annually in hardware, maintenance, and IT staffing costs while ensuring scalable and efficient disaster recovery.

Conclusion

DRaaS is a cloud-based solution enabling rapid IT recovery. It is essential for medium and large enterprises to ensure business continuity, mitigate ransomware, and reduce costs. The ROI of DRaaS is based on increased resilience to disasters, meaning greater business continuity.