Disaster recovery systems and planning are like dental hygiene. Yeah, we brush our teeth and maybe we floss, but do we do everything the dentist told us on our last visit? Do we even make regular visits?
Sometimes we need a little wake-up call to take important maintenance practices more seriously. Here is some data to get your attention.
12% of US small businesses are affected by natural disasters each year.
82% of ransomware attacks target small businesses.
40% of small businesses never reopen after a disaster.
Hmm. Perhaps, it’s time to think about how well your disaster recovery and business continuity systems and processes protect your business.
Fifteen Keys to an Effective Disaster Recovery Plan
The following may seem like a lot of work, but it’s work that saves you time, money, and ultimately your business.
Disaster Recovery Plan. An effective disaster recovery plan dramatically minimizes your business risk in the event of unplanned downtime.
Supply Chain. Getting business done today often depends on third-party vendors. Make a list of suppliers and vendors essential to your day-to-day business operations.
Financial Assessment. Determining the full financial impact of downtime for your business is instrumental in evaluating your disaster recovery plan expenses.
Backup Strategy. Backup strategies vary, and options include on-premises, direct-to-cloud, and cloud-to-cloud. Some organizations choose backup only, and others subscribe to disaster recovery as a service.
RPO (Recovery Point Objective). This is the maximum amount of data you can afford to lose before causing your business serious harm. The amount dictates how often you need to back up.
Business Functions & Processes. One critical step in drafting your disaster recovery plan includes identifying mission-critical business processes, applications, and documents.
Required IT Infrastructure. It’s imperative to evaluate and prioritize your IT infrastructure so you can document all your critical applications, systems, and networks.
Business Impact Assessment. Have you thought about the potential repercussions of a business disruption? Understanding probable impacts is key to a successful DR strategy.
RTO (Recovery Time Objective). This is the maximum amount of downtime your business can afford. Your RTO considers how much time you can lose and the potential impact on your bottom line.
Risk Assessment. Building an effective recovery strategy demands understanding your unique risks. Have you identified potential natural disasters and technology-related incidents?
Insurance. With more frequent ransomware attacks and their costly payouts, many companies are turning to cybersecurity insurance. Does your insurer offer premium discounts for DR planning?
Disaster Recovery Team (DRT). Your DRT is responsible for coordinating and implementing your disaster recovery plan in the event of a crisis. If you need help deciding who from your organization should be on this dream team, we can help.
Communication & Roles. Is every member of your staff informed on your disaster recovery plan and their individual roles? Does your plan include notification alerts to your emergency response team (ERT) and disaster recovery team (DRT)?
Regular Testing. This can uncover hidden gaps and keep your disaster recovery plan up to date. How often is your plan tested? How often your backups are verified?
You can download this checklist below to see how your business is prepared.
Disaster Recovery & Business Continuity Is Our Core Competency
Designing and implementing cost-effective DR/BC infrastructure and processes for our clients is one of our primary focuses. A basic level of recovery is built into our IT Sentinel™ Managed Service portfolio. For customers who need to go beyond our basic offering, we implement solutions with faster recovery time objectives or address unique requirements. Planned correctly with your business needs in mind, our solutions can be tested regularly, require minimal maintenance, and fit your budget.
Protect Your Data. Protect Your Business.
The checklist below is a quick way for you to assess the readiness of your business. See if you can you check all the boxes. If not, give us a call to schedule your complimentary assessment today.
