Miguel Berniz: Yes, they are acutely aware of the importance of disaster recovery. It’s imperative that online gambling operators and suppliers can ensure it’s business as usual when disaster strikes (it’s now a case of when and not if) as even the shortest outage can do untold damage to the business – damage that goes way beyond lost revenue.
But this acute awareness doesn’t necessarily mean they have the right strategies, protocols and infrastructure in place to ensure they can ride out the storm when it hits and even for those that do, there is always more that can be done.
NEXT: What are the risks of getting disaster recovery wrong?
MB: It can mean that your business is taken offline for a prolonged period. That online gambling businesses run 24/7/365 makes them especially exposed and vulnerable to potential disaster and the negative impact this can have on the organisation – the most obvious impact is to revenue, but the shockwaves run much deeper to include the erosion of customer trust, compliance breaches and even legal implications.
For example, if an online sportsbook goes offline during a major football match and players can’t place their bets, those customers are likely to go to another betting brand and might never return.
NEXT: Why is continuous service so important in this industry?
MB: It’s not just important, it’s non-negotiable. This is certainly the case for multi-jurisdictional businesses as they will have customers engaging with their products and services around the clock.
Consumers are very quick to disengage with a product that does not work as it should and in such a competitive market, operators and suppliers can’t afford for this to happen.
Outages can also lead to issues around data loss as well as data protection and privacy which in turn can lead to non-compliance.
So operators and suppliers need continuous service to deliver the experience their players are seeking while ensuring compliance with licence and legal requirements.
NEXT: How can organisations ensure they take the right approach to disaster recovery?
MB: It requires the combination of a robust disaster recovery plan and having the right infrastructure in place. This will help prevent the issues mentioned above and ensure continuous service in several ways.
This includes operational continuity, allowing systems to recover quickly from disruptions whether that be due to hardware failures, cyberattacks or natural disasters. It also touches on data integrity – with real-time data replication and regular backups, businesses can minimise data loss while strengthening compliance.
A little less obvious, but disaster recovery also helps improve customer trust and ensure revenue protection. Ultimately, reduced downtime means that customers remain engaged with the sportsbook or casino and revenue streams are protected and keep flowing when disaster does strike.
NEXT: What does a comprehensive disaster recovery strategy include?MB: It starts with undertaking a risk assessment to identify the potential threats and vulnerabilities specific to the business and the environment it operates in.
Organisations then need to clearly define recovery time objectives and recovery point objectives to set acceptable downtime and data loss limits. Redundancy and geographic diversity need to be considered, too.
We suggest deploying multi-layered redundancy with diverse data centres to avoid single points of failure. Regular testing and updates then ensure everything is working as it should.
Cybersecurity needs to be brought into disaster recovery, and we suggest integrating strong, proactive protocols and tools to mitigate the risk of attack and ensure rapid recovery in the event something gets through.
The disaster recovery plan must allow for scalability and flexibility – this is a fast-moving industry, and operators and suppliers are always looking to expand into new markets and launch new products, solutions and experiences.
The disaster recovery plan and infrastructure need to be able to handle this as well as unexpected spikes or shifts in demand.
NEXT: Talk us through the infrastructure required for effective disaster recovery.
MB: Key aspects of disaster recovery infrastructure include automated backups and real-time replication. This ensures data is continuously mirrored to backup systems which reduces the risk of data loss should an issue occur.
This needs to be combined with secure, rapid failover mechanisms that enable quick transition to standby systems in case of a disruption. Redundant connectivity is another must-have – with multiple, convergent and diverse links like GPON, IP Transit and local/international ethernet circuits, businesses can always ensure continuous service.
Thought also needs to be given to where to locate disaster recovery infrastructure, with Gibraltar the location of choice for many.
NEXT: Does disaster recovery present an opportunity to gain a competitive advantage?
MB: Absolutely. Get disaster recovery right and operators and suppliers can gain an edge over their rivals. Enhanced reliability and near-continuous service are strong differentiators – if a rival’s site goes down and its players are looking elsewhere, you want to be able to capitalise.
Don’t underestimate how much value customers put on things like data protection, either – in an industry where trust issues still exist, it can be a powerful driver of acquisition and retention.
Combine this with rapid recovery capabilities when disaster strikes and the business can safeguard its reputation, reduce the impact and maintain momentum in the face of unexpected, negative events.
