Do you have a technology disaster plan?
Technology disasters come in all shapes and sizes. From something as simple as hard disk failure to something as significant as an emergency affecting critical community infrastructure, disasters are difficult to predict, and often catastrophic when they occur.
Some businesses don't survive, simply due to simple lack of preparedness.
Planning for almost any kind of disaster frequently boils down to a handful of steps you might already be familiar with used in ways you might not have considered. Steps that can help make sure your business large or small survives in the face of unexpected adversity.
Backup your data. This is the big and obvious one. And yet it's one that still too many individuals and businesses, particularly small business, fail to put into place. More than anything other action, simply backing up regularly can protect you against all kinds of kinds of disasters large and small. With a solution in place what might otherwise be a business-threatening disaster can often simply be an inconvenience. Backups can be online or off, hourly, daily or monthly ... whatever is appropriate for your situation. The important thing is that they happen, and happen regularly.
Backup your data off site. Backing up is a start, but only protects against certain types of catastrophes. If your building burns down taking all your computers and backups with it, you're no better off than if you had no backups at all. Every so often, depending on your business needs and ability to recover from data loss, make sure to send a copy of your backed up data to some other secure location. Across town or across the country doesn't matter nearly as much as the location simply being "somewhere else". If they're appropriate for your needs, many on-line backup solutions give you this by the very nature of their service.
Encrypt your data. In addition to helping keep those off-site backups more secure, it's important to acknowledge that laptop and portable media loss and theft are at epidemic proportions. If having your information in the hands of unauthorized strangers would be a disaster for you or your business you simply must ensure that your data is encrypted when not in use. There are many solutions available; some of the best are even free.
Have an alternate power plan. How long can your business survive without something as fundamental as electricity? Even many "low tech" brick and mortar retail stores are often brought to a complete standstill when the power required to run their point of sale and other equipment disappears. Today's booming internet economy has only served to increase our reliance on this fundamental utility. Backup power supplies, generators or perhaps the ability to operate out of an alternate location are all potential solutions to consider.
Have an alternate connectivity plan. Particularly in this wired age, many businesses are as deeply reliant on their internet connection as they are on electricity. Losing that connection for a time is not at all unheard of, and can have serious repercussions. It may be enough to have an account ready to use the local coffee house's WiFi, or you may need to consider more robust backup connectivity solutions on-site.
Choose services that match your tolerance for disaster. Disasters need not be local to affect you. Many companies skimp when it comes to the services they choose to outsource to other locations. When key services like web sites, credit card processors, and other real-time services suddenly go off-line the results are often disastrous. Make sure you understand what you can realistically expect from every service you outsource, choose providers that match your needs, and have an appropriate strategies in place for their possible failure.
Have a "I can't get there" plan. When disasters are local and involve community infrastructure, sometimes simply getting to your place of business can be an issue. The growth of information based businesses has actually made recovery somewhat easier by virtue of remote access. If you've ever considered setting up remote access to your IT infrastructure, using is as part of your disaster plan might be a little more incentive. You don't have to have a big setup - it can be as simple as remotely accessing a single computer. Even if you can't physically get to your place of business remote access, through your backup connectivity plan if needed, could allow you or your employees to continue to contribute even if unable to make it in to the office.
Exactly which of these and how much you actually need is a function of your business, of course. You may be able to simply close down for a period without disastrous ramifications, but that's not a common scenario.
But these are still critically important scenarios to consider. Do you know how your business would weather a disaster? Would any of the scenarios above be the end of your business, or only an interruption? And if only an interruption, how long an interruption could you tolerate?
Being prepared may be key to your businesses ability to survive a disaster.
Technology disasters come in all shapes and sizes. From something as simple as hard disk failure to something as significant as an emergency affecting critical community infrastructure, disasters are difficult to predict, and often catastrophic when they occur.
Some businesses don't survive, simply due to simple lack of preparedness.
Planning for almost any kind of disaster frequently boils down to a handful of steps you might already be familiar with used in ways you might not have considered. Steps that can help make sure your business large or small survives in the face of unexpected adversity.
Backup your data. This is the big and obvious one. And yet it's one that still too many individuals and businesses, particularly small business, fail to put into place. More than anything other action, simply backing up regularly can protect you against all kinds of kinds of disasters large and small. With a solution in place what might otherwise be a business-threatening disaster can often simply be an inconvenience. Backups can be online or off, hourly, daily or monthly ... whatever is appropriate for your situation. The important thing is that they happen, and happen regularly.
Backup your data off site. Backing up is a start, but only protects against certain types of catastrophes. If your building burns down taking all your computers and backups with it, you're no better off than if you had no backups at all. Every so often, depending on your business needs and ability to recover from data loss, make sure to send a copy of your backed up data to some other secure location. Across town or across the country doesn't matter nearly as much as the location simply being "somewhere else". If they're appropriate for your needs, many on-line backup solutions give you this by the very nature of their service.
Encrypt your data. In addition to helping keep those off-site backups more secure, it's important to acknowledge that laptop and portable media loss and theft are at epidemic proportions. If having your information in the hands of unauthorized strangers would be a disaster for you or your business you simply must ensure that your data is encrypted when not in use. There are many solutions available; some of the best are even free.
Have an alternate power plan. How long can your business survive without something as fundamental as electricity? Even many "low tech" brick and mortar retail stores are often brought to a complete standstill when the power required to run their point of sale and other equipment disappears. Today's booming internet economy has only served to increase our reliance on this fundamental utility. Backup power supplies, generators or perhaps the ability to operate out of an alternate location are all potential solutions to consider.
Have an alternate connectivity plan. Particularly in this wired age, many businesses are as deeply reliant on their internet connection as they are on electricity. Losing that connection for a time is not at all unheard of, and can have serious repercussions. It may be enough to have an account ready to use the local coffee house's WiFi, or you may need to consider more robust backup connectivity solutions on-site.
Choose services that match your tolerance for disaster. Disasters need not be local to affect you. Many companies skimp when it comes to the services they choose to outsource to other locations. When key services like web sites, credit card processors, and other real-time services suddenly go off-line the results are often disastrous. Make sure you understand what you can realistically expect from every service you outsource, choose providers that match your needs, and have an appropriate strategies in place for their possible failure.
Have a "I can't get there" plan. When disasters are local and involve community infrastructure, sometimes simply getting to your place of business can be an issue. The growth of information based businesses has actually made recovery somewhat easier by virtue of remote access. If you've ever considered setting up remote access to your IT infrastructure, using is as part of your disaster plan might be a little more incentive. You don't have to have a big setup - it can be as simple as remotely accessing a single computer. Even if you can't physically get to your place of business remote access, through your backup connectivity plan if needed, could allow you or your employees to continue to contribute even if unable to make it in to the office.
Exactly which of these and how much you actually need is a function of your business, of course. You may be able to simply close down for a period without disastrous ramifications, but that's not a common scenario.
But these are still critically important scenarios to consider. Do you know how your business would weather a disaster? Would any of the scenarios above be the end of your business, or only an interruption? And if only an interruption, how long an interruption could you tolerate?
Being prepared may be key to your businesses ability to survive a disaster.
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