Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity: Preparing for the Unexpected
How to prepare for data loss, disaster recovery, and business continuity today. All Covered provides disaster recovery consulting and services for small business nationwide.
A Disaster Can Occur Anywhere, Anytime
When the subject of natural or man-made disasters comes up, a common and very human reaction is to assume, “It won’t happen to me.”
Unfortunately for many small business owners and IT managers, this is an assumption they’ve lived to regret. Each year, according to the Business Continuity Institute, about one in every five businesses faces a major disruption – from data loss as a consequence of a power outage to a natural disaster that destroys an office.
Yes, the consequences can be devastating. And, at a time when IT systems and networks have become indispensable to nearly every small business, a major IT disruption can result in a crippling revenue loss, an array of additional expenses, a major productivity drop, delayed collections, and even a damaged reputation that weakens vital relationships with customers, suppliers, partners, creditors, and others.
The solution, most IT managers would agree, is proper planning: a disaster preparedness and recovery strategy and implementation plan that ensures that the business survives and recovers from even the most severe occurrence. While there are many key issues to consider when developing such a plan, there are four that deserve special attention.
Performing a Business Impact Analysis
A business impact analysis is a procedure that allows you to identify both tangible and intangible effects on business processes, functions, or departments over time. Not only does it provide management with the information necessary to identify recovery priorities and develop an effective recovery strategy, but it also supplies the data that helps define an appropriate disaster recovery program budget.
For IT systems and networks in particular, a business impact analysis is invaluable in two ways. First, it identifies business-critical applications and the systems they run on. Second, it finds areas of vulnerability within the environment that can then be addressed.
Never Underestimating the Importance of Backup
It doesn’t take an earthquake, hurricane, or fire to destroy data critical to your business’ success; a single virus, water leak, or employee error can do the job. This is why a comprehensive strategy for backing up critical data is indispensable for today’s small businesses.
And the most effective strategies are the ones that squarely tackle such issues as:
- Data Prioritization: identifying and deciding which data cannot be lost under any circumstances
- Testing: checking regularly to validate
the effectiveness of backup and restoration
capabilities
- Off-site Storage: storing tapes off-site and taking other steps to minimize disaster before it happens
Seeing the Plan as a “Living Document”
Once a disaster preparedness and recovery plan has been researched, designed, developed, implemented, and tested there is an irresistible desire to declare the job done. However, as your business evolves, your IT environment must also evolve; and your IT team should continue to develop new ways to improve your disaster recovery plan.
Rather than a completed work, it’s imperative to see this plan as a living document that’s constantly being reviewed, revised, and revamped. That is the only way it will remain effective if a disaster strikes.
Seeking Outside Help
There are a number of reasons why it makes sense for small businesses to turn to outside IT service firms to help them address their disaster recovery requirements. First, most small businesses don’t have the in-house staff to conduct a thorough assessment, select the right solutions or continuously upgrade them to keep pace with their business requirements. Second, an outside firm can provide an objective evaluation and recommend more effective solutions based on their extensive experience.
To help increase your chances of selecting the best possible partner, we suggest looking for an organization with:
- A strategic perspective that considers your company’s key business goals before developing a disaster preparedness plan
- A comprehensive assessment and solution development methodology
- Sufficient experience working both with small businesses and companies in your industry
- The ability to provide remote managed services
- Proven expertise not only in disaster preparedness but also in disaster recovery
How All Covered Can Help
If this is an issue for your business, All Covered provides backup consulting and services for small businesses nationwide.
- Call us: For a personal consultation, call our friendly sales team at 866-446-1133
- Email us: Use our contact form and we'll contact you within one business day.
- Free Newsletters: Use our Free IT Newsletters about IT issues facing small business
- Our services: All Covered Care
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