What are the benefits to you of cloud storage? This can make a big difference, as all HIPAA compliant businesses need to store data.
All businesses need to store digital data.
This includes small HIPAA-compliant businesses, which are subject to particular (and stringent) regulatory requirements regarding the safety and integrity of the protected health information (PHI) of the patients in their care.
For these businesses, cloud data backup and storage is the preferred method for storing data. Why? Because it not only gives them the ability to access key business and patient data securely from anywhere with an internet connection, but also to comply with HIPAA requirements – provided, of course, they select a HIPAA-compliant cloud storage service provider.
Let’s consider the key benefits of cloud backup and storage for HIPAA-compliant businesses.
All HIPAA-compliant businesses need a robust and reliable data backup and recovery solution. This is not optional.
Indeed, businesses are not complying with HIPAA unless they “establish and implement procedures to create and maintain retrievable exact copies of electronic protected health information [ePHI]” (CFR 164.308(7)(ii)(A)) and are able to “restore any loss of data” (CFR 164.308(7)(ii)(B)) in the event of a breach or other disaster that causes damage to computers or servers where PHI is stored.
This simply isn’t possible when relying on local, on-site storage only. Computers crash, systems fail, anyone can accidentally delete a file and cyberattacks targeting the healthcare industry are on the rise.
Should any one of these disasters strike your office, any PHI stored on your internal machines may be lost forever.
As such, one of the key benefits of cloud storage is that digital copies of your information are created and stored offsite in a secure location. This means that no matter what happens at your office – fire, flood, theft, ransomware attack – “retrievable exact copies of [your patients’] electronic protected health information” always exist somewhere else.
And since they always exist somewhere else, you are always able to “restore any loss of data” should the unthinkable happen – in full compliance with HIPAA requirements.
Two more key benefits of cloud storage are scalability and security.
First, the cloud provides practically limitless storage capacity. This means if your business experiences growth, your cloud service provider can easily accommodate your additional storage needs – and you will only ever pay for what you use.
Similarly, if there comes a point where you’re using less storage, your costs will come down in kind.
No matter how much storage you need, working with a trusted cloud provider means that you are relying on an expert team of professionals with specialized knowledge and expertise, keeping a reliable and secure platform on which to store your critical business data.
Cloud storage providers have top-level security applications in place – much more robust and reliable than you will in a typical office environment. What’s more, the data is always encrypted – both in transit and at rest in the cloud – so no unauthorized individuals can ever get their hands on it.
Remaining HIPAA compliant not only means backing up your data – it means backing it up regularly. After all, a disaster can strike at any time – so it’s no good if you forget to perform your backups.
A good cloud storage solution will do this automatically, running backups every 15 minutes, every hour, or however frequently you need them to remain compliant and ensure business continuity.
Not only are automated backups convenient – they also help you reduce costs. For of course, if machines aren’t performing your backups, you’ll either need to do it yourself or pay an employee to do it.
And this isn’t the only cost benefit of cloud storage.
Cloud storage is much more affordable than on-site storage for the simple reason that you don’t have to shoulder the expense of purchasing and maintaining a physical, local hard drive or server – or the salary of an in-house IT professional to manage the system.
Cost savings, security, convenience, disaster recovery, scalability, compliance – the benefits of cloud storage are many and varied. You can start reaping them all right now with Central Data Storage.
Is our solution HIPAA-compliant? Yes, it is.
Our cutting-edge data backup and recovery solution, UnisonBDR, is specifically designed to comply with HIPAA requirements. In fact, we’re HIPAA specialists.
Is it secure? You bet – our 448-bit end-to-end encryption exceeds military grade standards to ensure your data stays protected from outside threats, both en route to and at rest, in our private cloud.
Does it automate backups? Absolutely – our solution is built for convenience. Simply tell us how frequently you need your data backed up, and we’ll configure the system to automatically perform your backups so you never need to lift a finger.
Is storage unlimited? It is – and at competitive prices too. Put simply, Central Data Storage is the cloud storage solution you’ve been looking for. You don’t even pay until your first backup.
Want to learn more about the benefits of cloud storage through UnisonBDR with CDS? We want to hear from you. Call 1-888-907-1227 or email info@centraldatastorage.com.
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