 Plan for disaster recovery
Disasters come in all shapes and sizes. A virus attack can bring down your network as easily as a power outage can, and an electrical fire or flood can be as devastating as high-profile disasters like Hurricane Katrina. Worse, there’s no way to predict where and how the next catastrophe will strike.
Disasters are far less devastating when you have the right equipment, including uninterruptible power supply (UPS) systems, off-site backup media and top-notch network hardware. Smart strategizing now can save time and money — if not your entire business — when the time comes.
Create a disaster plan that covers hardware, software, records and employee procedures
A comprehensive disaster plan starts with a thorough analysis of your business needs and a cost analysis of each preparedness measure. Make a thorough analysis of what may go wrong, what has to be saved and how to implement a recovery strategy that encompasses people, processes and equipment.
Protect your hardware with UPS systems
Electrical power should figure prominently in your plan. Your company’s server and PC hardware resources are susceptible to power fluctuations from many different sources. To protect critical corporate and customer data, a continuity plan should include surge protection and UPS systems.
UPS systems ensure that equipment can be properly shut down, databases opened and files saved in time so no data is lost. Combining this type of protection with secure off-site servers and storage is essential for proper backup and recovery to all your critical data.
Keep software updated
Make sure you have the appropriate safeguards (firewalls and antivirus scanning) to verify your data’s quality, and then set up a storage plan that protects critical information securely. Key storage software, together with backup management and data recovery software, enable you to fine-tune the security to your company’s needs.
Perform regular data backups
Regular backups are a crucial element to your backup and recovery plan. Backup software simplifies this task by managing your system with automatic scheduling and intelligent routing of information to disk- or tape-based storage media. The best-in-class solutions let you virtually “set and forget” backup activities, requiring intervention only once a week (or less frequently) when it’s time to revolve the media. Many solutions include a Web-based management interface that lets you recover files from any browser.
Store copies of data offsite
A business continuity plan must also include strategies for secure off-site storage of critical company data. This includes customer databases, company e-mail, financial records, and order and inventory databases. Executives and IT staffers have to work together here to set policies for the whole organization.
Most businesses have their recovery sites less than 50 miles from their production sites, and a disaster like Katrina may disable both sites. If you are located in a high-risk area, you should keep a third copy of your most critical unique records at a site outside the region.
Create a plan for employee safety
You must also be ready in case an emergency threatens employee safety. Employee safety programs outline the roles and responsibilities of managers and employees during an event. Decide how you will you inform your employees about the emergency and about what they should do. And determine how your business will communicate with suppliers, customers and investors after a disaster.
By ensuring that critical data, system configurations and even up-to-date inventory lists are stored securely away from the main office, you can recover quickly from an event that would prove devastating otherwise.
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The U.S. Small Business Administration offers the following recovery tips:
• Keep a backup copy of your computer operating system, boot files and critical software offsite
• Store an up-to-date copy of network log-on accounts offsite
• Keep system configuration lists offsite, so you can order replacement equipment quickly
• Compile a list of phone numbers and develop a telephone tree to contact employees in an emergency
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