The Arpio team just returned from AWS re:Invent 2024, and what an incredible week it was! We had the pleasure of meeting our customers in person, forging new connections, and staying on top of the latest AWS innovations. After countless conversations at our booth and sessions throughout the conference, we came away with some key insights that we had to pass along.
1. Lots of Folks Are “Kind of” Doing DR
One theme above all others emerged from our conversations: many organizations believe they’re “kind of” doing disaster recovery. Here’s the hard truth – when disaster strikes, whether it’s a natural catastrophe or a cyber attack, you’re either prepared or you’re not. There’s no middle ground. It’s like having a parachute that “kind of” works – not something you want to discover mid-flight.
2. Backup Providers Still Don’t Get the Cloud
Let’s clear up a common misconception: while backup is crucial, it’s not sufficient for recovery after a disaster or cyber event. Think of backup as storing blueprints and an inventory of your house, while disaster recovery is having a second home ready to move into at a moment’s notice. Both are important, but they serve different purposes in your cyber resilience strategy.
3. AI Resilience is Cloud Resilience
With AI and machine learning workloads becoming increasingly central to business operations, their resilience is more critical than ever. As you expand your AI capabilities, you need to think beyond just protecting data – consider what it would take to recover your entire environment, including complex AI/ML infrastructures.
For more on this, we recommend watching AWS Sr. Resilience Specialist SA Jennifer Moran and Sr. Principal Solutions Architect Randy Defauw’s re:Invent talk on the subject!
4. DR Automation Is Real (Yes, Really!)
One of the most common reactions at our booth? Surprise that DR automation actually exists. Many visitors were stuck in the mindset of DR as a manual, complex process. We loved seeing their faces light up when we demonstrated how Arpio automates and streamlines disaster recovery, making it accessible and manageable for teams of any size.
5. Your AWS SA Worries That You Aren’t Resilient
Speaking with AWS Solutions Architects at the conference revealed a consistent message: there’s a significant knowledge gap around the AWS shared responsibility model. Too many companies assume that because they’re in the cloud they’re automatically resilient.
Check out Arpio Principal Resilience Architect Seth Eliot’s “Four Things Everyone Should Know About Resilience” for more about this.
As we look ahead to 2025, one thing is crystal clear: the importance of comprehensive cloud resilience will only grow as AWS workloads become more complex and cyber threats more sophisticated. The time to act is now.
Ready to make your AWS cloud workloads truly resilient against disasters and attacks? Get in touch with us today, and we’ll show you how Arpio makes disaster recovery simple, automated, and reliable.
PS: We loved seeing our community, learning from our peers, and getting inspired by new customers. If you stopped by our booth, you might have tried your luck with our “Wheel of Misfortune.” We hope you landed on the coveted blue “clear day” space (and if you did, don’t forget to check your email for your Amazon gift card!).
