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A Disaster Doesn’t Have to Put Your Company Out of Business

Posted Jul 23, 2019

In today’s always-open, 24/7/365 business environment, data is critical to a company’s success. 

In today’s always-open, 24/7/365 business environment, data is critical to a company’s success. From email and files to mobile devices and databases, business data is spread out and vulnerable. That’s why it’s more important than ever to have a plan for when disaster strikes. FEMA reports that most businesses struck by disaster fail within two years. But, natural or man-made disasters don’t have to mean the end of your business. Don’t be a statistic—be ready. Here’s how: 

Not “If” but “When” — No one is immune to the threat of a disaster. Consider wildfires in the west and southeast, hurricanes sweeping up the east or Gulf Coast, or flooding and tornadoes in any of our 50 states. Mundane events like power outages, computer viruses, ransomware, and human error pose serious—and costly—risks, too. Disasters will happen. The only question is precisely when they will strike and whether or not you are prepared. 

Disaster Recovery is More Than Backup — Disaster Recovery (DR) is the ability to get your business up and running again after an interruption, which generally refers to data, hardware, software, and manpower. A robust DR solution includes multiple systems, such as offsite data centers, physical and virtual servers, cloud-based backup, and alternative work locations. These multiple solutions work in conjunction to provide fail-safe redundancy. More than a rudimentary backup, recovery is about the ability to resume critical operations. Regular testing is important to ensure your system will work after the worst happens.

Business Continuity Planning — While DR gets your operations functional again, business continuity (BC) planning ensures that over the longer term, your company will recover and survive. While DR focuses on hardware and operations, BC’s focus is management systems, strategic choices, leadership, and an overarching survival strategy. An impact analysis helps you understand the unique risks your company faces and the best ways to prepare for them.

Keys to a Robust Recovery — Automated backup is the first and most commonly recognized element of disaster planning and recovery, but it’s only one among many. A healthy recovery solution needs planning, testing, and staff training. Staff buy-in is also critical, to ensure that your recovery proceeds as planned. Moreover, disaster planning isn’t a one-off activity; it’s ensuring that systems evolve and adapt to accommodate your business’s risks and available technology.

A disaster may seem like a catastrophic event for your business, but it doesn’t have to mean the end of everything you’ve built. Understand your risks. Work with a partner to develop recovery solutions. Test, adapt, and evolve. You can be ready when disaster strikes.