Every business can experience a devastating event at any time: floods, explosions, accidents, computer malfunctions. Uncertainty abounds, but one thing is certain: you must prepare for disasters if you want to make it to the other side successfully. And the equation for success is a simple two-step process: Step 1: Protect your data now. Step 2: Restore operations quickly if a disaster occurs. The end result: Continue operations.

Step 1: Data Protection

Data protection is the process of safeguarding your data by copying it to a safe medium for recovery in the event of loss—and this is important, because 43 percent of companies that lose data in a disaster never reopen, and 90 percent are out of business within two years, according to one data recovery service.

There’s an easy way to prevent data loss without the hassle of staying on top of the latest technology and continually monitoring backups: Use a client-server network combined with Managed Services.

With a client-server network, security software can be installed centrally, ensuring that everyone on the network has the most up-to-date protection. At the same time, access to data that might be lost through malicious acts can be controlled, with different access levels given to different users. And it’s easy to back up data because it’s stored in a centralized location.

With Managed Services, an IT company monitors your network to ensure security is high and data is backing up regularly. If a problem occurs, it’s addressed quickly. Your support costs should be approximately the same as if you were paying to address problems as they arise—but your network’s safety will be significantly higher.

Step 2: Disaster Recovery

Disaster recovery is the process of restoring operations that are critical to your business after a disaster occurs.

Disasters, whether acts of nature or man-made mishaps, can strike unexpectedly at any organization—and recovering from a catastrophe can be very demanding, expensive, and time-consuming, especially for those who haven’t taken preventative measures and preparations.

But if your data is properly and regularly backed up, disaster recovery should be a breeze. That means having a highly skilled IT staff that is up to speed on the importance of backups and data recovery—or an IT provider who can come in and restore data almost before you even know it’s missing.

The End Result: Business Continuity

Fundamentally, business continuity refers to your business’s uninterrupted operation. Ensuring uninterrupted operation requires what’s referred to as a business continuity plan.

A business continuity plan details how your organization will recover and restore interrupted functions after a disaster—and it involves much more than a just a discussion of IT issues.

Certainly, you need to consider how you protect your IT infrastructure and data, but you also need to consider what you and your employees should do if a disaster occurs. Do your employees know where to meet in the event of a building evacuation? Do you have a way of reaching out to all employees and their emergency contacts to communicate critical information? Do you have a way of reaching out to customers to let them know when and how you’ll resume providing products or services? What will you do if one of your major suppliers experiences a disaster?

Putting It All Together

It’s hard to underestimate the importance of these three elements, but many business managers do because they simply don’t think disaster will strike. Or, they don’t consider all the possible threats, from
floods, earthquakes and fires to human-induced disasters such as disgruntled or incompetent employees who delete critical information. Or, they may have a data backup, disaster recovery and business continuity plan in place—but haven’t re-evaluated them regularly. Any plan needs to be (a) comprehensive and (b) re-evaluated from time to time to make sure it still meets all of your goals as your business grows and changes.