As hurricane Irene initially threatened the Florida coast earlier this week, I felt that dreaded sense of helplessness about the unforgiving wrath of Mother Nature. Fortunately, at least for us Floridians, the storm veered off shore, sparing us certain disaster. Unforunately, this may not be the case for our friends and colleagues up North.
We here in South Florida know all too well the disastrous affects of storms like Irene ? days, if not weeks, without power. Massive destruction to personal property. ?And, business often coming to a screeching halt.
Again, it ties in directly to my last few posts. ?The importance of having a plan before disaster strikes. ?Fortunately,?with the right people, processes and technologies in place, companies can withstand and recover from even the biggest threats.
Are you prepared? Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity
How fast your business recovers after a disaster, and how you keep business operations going while you?re recovering, is referred to as Business Continuity. It goes far beyond building redundancy and having backup systems. Disaster Recovery is not just about fixing equipment, hardware, systems and technology, but having strategies, a plan and people ?in place to maintain business continuity.
If your business is in a geographic area prone to natural disasters, like hurricanes, earthquakes or fierce storms, you are certainly more aware of and prepared for the constant threats. You most likely have a solid Disaster Recovery plan in place. ?For less threatened geographic areas, however, the focus on Disaster Recovery often comes immediately prior to any imminent threat or, even worse, only following a natural disaster.?Unfortunately, with this reactive approach, the damage is already done, and the solutions come far too late.
Even if your business is safe from severe weather, other equally damaging threats loom. Extended power outages, on-site accidents, viruses and technology failures can be even more damaging than natural disasters. ?That?s why every business must taking a proactive approach to Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity planning.
Best Practices for Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity
- Be proactive.?If there is a local disaster, it? s usually very difficult to get staff on site to solve the problems that arise from a disaster.?Work with state agencies now to determine necessary credentials and processes to get people?back into damaged areas quickly.
- Prioritize ? identify which functions are most critical to your business and address those challenges first. Have a plan based on what needs to happen first to recover.
- Remember your suppliers. Outsourcing allows businesses to?still meet customer needs while they recover. Make sure you know the?vendors and partners that support your business during times of crisis. Most importantly, confirm that your suppliers can do what they say they?re going to do in case of disaster.
- Revisit, update and communicate your plan internally with employees. As threats change and technologies change, revisit your plan. At minimum, Disaster Recovery strategies should be evaluated on an annual basis. ?Also, be sure to familiarize all staff regularly of all Disaster Recovery plans.
- Communicate. Communicate. Communicate. ?During a disaster, people may scatter and become difficult to locate. You need to be able to find the people responsbile for executing your Disaster Recovery plan. Have in place a simple, effective way to get in touch with key employees. ?Maintain up-to-date contact lists and have a number staff can call for updates and ?information. Consider more basic as well as alternative forms of communication technology, such as text messaging, to communicate critical information.
Granted, we certainly can?t control Mother Nature. But, we can certainly do our best to contend with her.
Source: http://www.telcorebates.com/2011/08/hurricanes-disaster-recover-and-business-continuity/
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