Live recovery generates a new “recovery VM” that operates as an ongoing “live” production platform. A previously created non-cloud-native backup copy is the data source for the recovery VM. Live recovery restores data blocks from the backup copy on backup media directly to cloud-based virtual disk(s) assigned to the recovery VM. As a result, the cloud-based recovery VM can become fully operational in the cloud computing environment on a going-forward basis. The advantage of live recovery over a traditional restore is that live recovery provides a cloud-based VM that begins operating well before the backup copy is fully restored. This is accomplished by temporarily mounting a “temp-mounted VM” in the cloud while the backup copy is methodically restored in the background. VM reads and writes begin issuing from the temp-mounted VM and writes are retained on completion. Downtime is minimized when switching from the temp-mounted VM to the recovery VM.