To effectively back up critical data, government IT leaders should first assess their current continuity and reliability posture. It's important to identify potential challenges and opportunities that can be addressed using cloud solutions. This situational awareness will help ensure that essential digital assets and records remain protected and accessible during a disaster.

When planning to migrate services to the cloud, agencies should identify which services need to be migrated or recovered quickly. Having a clear plan and procedures in place for service migration and recovery can significantly reduce downtime, especially when resources are limited during a crisis.

Active cloud standby allows agencies to designate essential services, such as emergency response and public safety, in a way that facilitates a smooth transition between on-premises operations and the cloud. This approach ensures that critical functions can continue without interruption, providing peace of mind that operations can resume quickly when needed.