Each year, up to 20 percent of businesses experience some type of failure due to disasters like power outages, floods and fires. The sad news is that approximately 80 percent of these affected businesses end up going under during the next 12-month period. Tech disasters also occur regularly, with businesses in the U.S. losing more than $12 billion every year due to data loss.
Unfortunately, issues related to disasters aren’t always predictable. In 2016, for example, a monkey was responsible for a power outage that extended across the nation in Kenya.
Due to the unpredictable nature of disasters, it is imperative that businesses of all sizes have a disaster plan in place. Here are five tips to help create this disaster plan for your company.
1. Inventory Your Software and Hardware
Part of your disaster recovery plan needs to include a complete inventory of your hardware and other applications – in order of priority – to ensure that each component you use is accounted for. In addition, you need to ensure that those in charge of disaster recovery know where to find information related to vendor technical support and contact numbers. This is the best way to keep everything backed up and running as efficiently as possible.
2. Define the Tolerance Your Business Has for Data Loss and Downtime
Once you complete the inventory, you need to determine how much downtime and data loss your company can withstand. For example, plumbers can likely do without servers and technology for much longer than an online retailer. Determining where you stand on this spectrum will help you figure out what type of solution you need in place to overcome and recover from a disaster.
3. Determine Who Is Responsible, and for What
In addition to making sure you know your company’s tolerance for a disaster, you must also define the key responsibilities and roles of individuals in your organization during the disaster recovery situation. Included in this personnel list needs to be someone who declares that you are in a disaster situation. Having clearly identified roles ensures a universal understanding of what needs to be done and who is responsible for each step or part of the process. This is especially important if you are working with any third-party providers or vendors. When everyone knows their role, you will find the entire disaster recovery process is much more efficient.
4. Create a Plan for Communication
One of the most overlooked parts of a disaster recovery plan is communication. If a disaster strikes, do you know how you will communicate with your employees? Do your workers know how they can access the systems required to properly perform their job duties when disaster strikes? In many cases, email and phone communication will be impacted during a disaster; this means you need to have a backup communication plan in place to ensure everyone can remain connected and informed.
5. Establish a Backup Worksite
A common misconception among companies is that a disaster recovery plan is just for your technology components. However, you also need to ensure your employees have a plan in place. Make sure you have a different location in mind if your main office is unavailable. Also, ensure your workers know where they should go and how to access vital systems from the temporary location.
Being prepared for a disaster is imperative in today’s world. If you need help with creating this vital plan, just reach out to Monster Technology. They can help you create an effective disaster recovery plan that takes all of the above factors into consideration.