Is your business ready for unexpected disasters?

Are you ready for the unexpected? Your disaster recovery is only as good as the plan you have in place ahead of time.  

Picture this: Your small to mid-size business is operating at full capacity. You’re getting new customers every day, your suppliers are meeting their orders, and you’re experiencing rapid growth. Everything is running smoothly. 

Then, disaster strikes.  

It can take the form of natural disasters such as floods, fires and storms, cyberattacks, data breaches, human errors or hardware failure. All of these can lead to significant data loss and operational downtime, and many of them are simply beyond your control. When faced with these uncertainties, planning ahead can be the best prevention against data loss and business disruptions. 

Having a comprehensive backup and disaster recovery plan in place before disaster strikes is not only an IT priority but also an essential part of your business plan.  

Here are some steps you can take today:  

 

Define risks and recovery objectives 

Start by determining your biggest threats – whether from internal human errors or hardware failure or external causes. Which systems are most critical to your business operations and what will happen if they go down?  

Your plan should also include details about where data is stored and how it is accessed. Discuss and prepare a written disaster recovery plan that documents important processes, contact information and assets in the event of an emergency. Define the things that keep your business running and how fast you need to recover post-disaster.  

 

Choose the right backup strategy 

There are many options when it comes to backup and recovery tools and storage solutions. Look for options that can automate your backups, offer encryption and secure access and support both on-site and cloud environments.  

At least one copy of your backup should be kept off-site or in the cloud. Having both an on-location and off-site set of backups is key to ensure that you will have access to a recent instance of your business’ IT systems no matter what. If you are struggling to choose the best option for your business, get help from a managed service provider for advice.  

 

Test your plan and update regularly 

Be sure to test your disaster recovery plan at least once annually. Your plan should be well-documented and set up to evolve with you. Simulate different disaster scenarios from simple power outages to complete system recoveries. 

Make sure the team responsible for regularly updating the plan accounts for any significant changes to your systems, policies, and personnel.  

 

Train employees  

Everyone on your team should know what to do in case of a system failure, and someone should be designated responsibility for executing the plan. Your staff should know who to contact in case of an emergency and how to prevent unnecessary data loss. Offer regular training to keep employees up to date and have documentation easily accessible.  

 

Work with a Managed Service Provider  

If this all seems daunting, don’t worry. Often small to mid-size businesses lack the technical personnel, budget or time to internally design and implement complex disaster recovery plan. That’s where a partnership with a managed service provider comes in, allowing you to focus on running your business without leaving your business open to vulnerabilities. An MSP can put the right server, network and storage infrastructure in place for a robust and comprehensive disaster recovery plan and keep testing your process to keep it up to date.  

At Big Fish Technology, we are dedicated to helping to protect small businesses against rising cybersecurity threats and damage from potential disasters. Get in touch with us today to start developing a plan that is personalized to your business needs.