Tips for Your Business Disaster Recovery Plan
Are you confident in your business’ ability to recover from a disaster? A recent study showed that 43% of businesses that experience a major data loss go out of business within five years. However, by making improvements to your business’ disaster recovery plan, you can increase your chances that critical business data and information will survive a disaster. In this blog post, we will discuss some steps you can take to evaluate and improve your disaster recovery plan.
How organizations use disaster recovery plans
Disasters come in many forms, from natural disasters like floods and earthquakes to man-made disasters like data breaches and cyberattacks. Regardless of the cause, a disaster can have a major impact on an organization, disrupting operations and leading to data loss. That’s why having a disaster recovery plan is essential for any business. A well-designed disaster recovery plan helps to ensure business continuity by outlining how to recover from a disaster and get operations back up and running. It also helps to protect data by identifying essential records and specifying how they should be backed up and recovered. As technology continues to evolve, organizations need to regularly review and update their disaster recovery plans to ensure that they are able to effectively respond to any type of incident.
Evaluate your current business disaster recovery plan
For small businesses, having a well-thought-out disaster recovery plan is essential to bouncing back after a major setback. From data breaches and natural disasters to cyberattacks and system failures, there are countless potential risks that businesses need to be prepared for. So, what steps should you take to evaluate your current disaster recovery plan?
- Assess the risks: What could happen that would impact your business? Make a list of potential disasters, both natural and man-made, that could occur in your area.
- Identify your critical data and systems: What information and processes are essential to your business? How would you function without them?
- Analyze the business impact: What would be the financial and operational impact of losing access to your data and systems? Would you be able to recover quickly, or would it take months or even years to get back on track?
- Review your backup procedures: Do you have regular backups of your critical data? Are they stored off-site in a secure location? Would you be able to retrieve them quickly in the event of a disaster?
- Test your recovery plan: When was the last time you tested your recovery plan? Did everything go according to plan? If not, what needs to be changed?
By taking these steps, you can assess the current state of your disaster recovery plan, see where the gaps are and update your plan to minimize the disruption to your business in the event of a disaster.
Tips to make your disaster recovery plan even better
When it comes to disaster recovery, businesses face unique challenges. They often lack the financial and human resources of larger organizations, making it difficult to recover from a major disruption. However, there are some simple steps that small businesses can take to improve their disaster recovery plans.
Data center
A data center is a critical component of any disaster recovery plan. In the event of a natural disaster or other major outage, data centers can provide a safe haven for data and applications. By co-locating data centers in multiple locations, businesses can ensure that data is always available and protected.
For a small business, data centers can be especially important. Many small businesses don’t have the resources to maintain their own data center, so they must rely on third-party providers. These providers can be located in different parts of the country or even around the world, so it is important to choose a provider that has multiple data center locations. This way, if one data center goes down, the others can pick up the slack and keep business running smoothly.
In today’s world, data is more important than ever before. A data center is the foundation on which a business’s data recovery plan must be built. Without a data center, organizations would be at the mercy of fate whenever a disaster strikes. With a data center, you can have peace of mind knowing that your data is always protected.
Backup procedures
Another important aspect of disaster recovery planning is the backup procedures. Your company should have a clear and concise plan for backing up critical data and applications. This plan should be tested regularly to ensure that it’s effective. Additionally, businesses should consider investing in cloud-based backup solutions to further improve their resilience.
Recovery point objectives
Small business should establish clear recovery point objectives. This will help them determine how much data they can afford to lose in the event of a disaster. Establishing clear recovery objectives can be difficult, but it’s essential for ensuring that small businesses are able to quickly and effectively recover from a disruption.
Employee communication
In the event of a disaster, employees are often the first responders. They are the ones who are on the ground, dealing with the impact of the disaster and helping to get things back to normal. Because of this, it’s critical that your staff have clear communication channels for receiving updates and information about disaster recovery plans.
Social media can be a great tool for employees to stay informed during a disaster. Companies can use social media platforms to share updates and create teams to coordinate relief efforts. In addition, teams can use social media to stay in touch with each other and share important information. However, it’s necessary to have procedures in place to ensure that only accurate information is shared.
Of course, while social media can be a helpful communication tool during a disaster, it’s not the only option. Employees also need to be aware of other communication channels, such as company intranets and hotlines. These channels can provide personnel with critical updates and instructions during a disaster. By having multiple communication channels in place, companies can ensure that their teams have the information they need to stay safe and help during recovery efforts.
Process for responding to customers
A small business should have a plan for responding to customers in the event of a data disaster. This plan should include the following information:
- Who’s responsible for customer communication
- How to contact customers, and
- What information is sharable (and/or levels of information privilege and access)
- A process for responding to customer inquiries and complaints
- A point of contact for customers who need assistance with data recovery
Tracking procedures for inventory and supplies
Small business owners should inventory their data and assets. This includes everything from customer information to website files. Once everything has been accounted for, small business owners should create procedures for backing up and storing this information. This may include keeping copies of important files off-site or investing in cloud-based storage solutions.
Storing important documents
One of the most important, yet often overlooked, aspects of creating a disaster recovery plan is deciding where to store important documents. In the event of a major disaster, it’s crucial to have quick and easy access to essential data. However, simply keeping backups onsite is not enough. If the primary location is damaged or destroyed, the backup copies will be lost as well.
For this reason, you’ll need to create an offsite storage solution that can be accessed in the event of an emergency. There are a number of options available, but the most important factor is choosing a solution that is both cost effective and fit for the specific needs of the business.
With a little planning and foresight, any business can create an effective disaster recovery plan that will help to minimize downtime and ensure continuity in the event of an unexpected setback. By following these tips, small businesses can improve their disaster recovery plans and better protect their critical data and applications.
Final Thoughts
Every business should have a disaster recovery plan in place to ensure that critical information and data can be recovered quickly after a disaster strikes. This plan should be reviewed on an annual basis to ensure that it is up-to-date and able to meet the needs of your business. There are many components necessary to create a cohesive recovery plan, but working with a Managed Service Provider (MSP) that specializes in backup and recovery solutions can help take some of the burden off of your IT staff. Contact your MSP today to see how they can help you prepare for the unexpected.
Visual Edge IT, Inc. (VEIT) specializes in managed IT services and security, cloud computing, and print/copy solutions for businesses across the U.S. including remote office locations. We offer a full line of office technology and services including 24/7 remote monitoring and administration of networks, service desk, and data backup and restore to improve business processes across a variety of industries. Plus, Visual Edge IT™ represents the industry’s leading manufacturers of office technology allowing businesses to get equipment, supplies and service from a single source. Backed by more than 20-years of technology service and a national network of expert engineers, VEIT is uniquely positioned to support business technology needs. The company is headquartered in North Canton, OH, USA. Request your no-obligation assessment today and get a free dark web analysis.
