In hybrid cloud environments, what does 'disaster recovery as a service' (DRaaS) provide?

'Disaster recovery as a service' (DRaaS) provides a cloud service model that focuses on the backup and recovery of critical data and applications. This service ensures that in the event of a disaster—such as a system failure, network outage, or natural disaster—organizations can quickly restore their operations by accessing their backup data stored in the cloud.

DRaaS is particularly advantageous because it allows businesses to maintain continuity without the need to invest heavily in physical infrastructure for recovery. Instead, they leverage cloud resources that are designed for such contingencies. This model is scalable and flexible, accommodating the varying needs of businesses, which can vary in size and operational complexity.

While it is true that businesses aim to minimize downtime, DRaaS cannot entirely eliminate it; rather, it focuses on reducing it significantly and enabling swift recovery. Moreover, DRaaS is not tailored exclusively for cloud-based applications; it can also support on-premises applications that are critical to an organization's operations. Therefore, the essence of DRaaS lies in its provision for robust backup and recovery strategies, making option B the correct answer.