Many business owners don’t have a disaster recovery plan. Or have a plan they put in place years ago and haven’t looked at it since. Today, every business is at risk and proactively developing and maintaining a plan is critical in our increasingly connected world. For businesses who are considering a plan, but aren’t sure where to start, here are five steps to get you going!
- Get Management to Buy In – Sometimes it’s easy to get so wrapped up in day-to-day revenue generating activities that disaster recovery planning gets put on the back burner. It’s important to understand the risks associated with not having a plan and getting the decision makers in your organization up to speed on these risks and on-board with a solution.
- Be Proactive When Planning – You never know when disaster may strike, whether it’s a fire, flood or a data breach – any of which can shut you down. While unexpected events can’t be predicted, taking a proactive approach to recovery can mitigate risks. A Managed IT Services provider can conduct a risk assessment to identify gaps in your planning. Next, conduct a business impact analysis and determine the best course of action.
- Protect Your Investment – The time to plan is before disaster strikes. Consider how dependent your business is on your systems and how it relies on the data stored and processed on your IT equipment. List IT assets, classify applications and data according to need and how much downtime is affordable. Plan a data backup and recovery protocol. Include frequency of backups and note where data is stored offsite.
- Update Your Plan – Technology and business situations evolve. Your disaster recovery plan is a living, breathing document. It should be documented and communicated to your team. Update your plan annually, or when major changes occur.
- Regularly Test Your Plan – You needs will change, and new processes, fluctuations in your business, and equipment changes need to be reflected in your plan. Routinely test your disaster recovery plan to make sure it still works!
While you hope you’ll never need it, you don’t want to be without a disaster recovery plan. According to some studies, up to 90% of businesses without a plan ultimately fail. Ready to learn more? Contact us to learn about the additional steps you can take to protect your business and data.
