By now, you’ve probably heard about the importance of business continuity and disaster recovery planning for small businesses. More businesses have continuity plans than ever before, according to FEMA. With so many SMBs looking to secure their future, there are a few aspects of business continuity planning that today’s businesses must comprehend. After all, there is more to it than just data backup. Disaster recovery is something that needs to be planned, practiced, and updated.
Make Sure Every Department is Represented: Many times, business continuity planning responsibilities fall to a single individual. One person driving the plan forward is fine, but he or she must be certain that every department is represented. As your company grows, the author of the plan may not be aware of the important technology needs for every department. Once the mission-critical information, processes, and three points of contact for each department are identified, then the business continuity plan can be properly prioritized for efficiency.
Practice Makes Perfect: Just like with any plan, it’s always a good idea to test it out before it’s put into use. Think of practicing your business continuity plan like a ‘fire drill’ for your business. Your practice might be as simple as reading over the plan to ensure that your team is familiar with business continuity. Do all know their role in the plan? Are your employees aware of a chain of command and to whom they should report, in the case of a disaster? Do you have a way to reach everyone involved? Additionally, practicing regularly will help keep your business continuity plan updated, identifying anything that is missing or obsolete. Hopefully, you’ll never be in a position where you’ll have to put your plan into action.
The 3-2-1 Rule for Data Recovery: One of the most critical components of business continuity planning is backing up your data. When it comes to manually backing up your data, making a single copy is not sufficient for data recovery. What if the only copy was destroyed or damaged in some way? What if you could not locate it when you need it? IT experts have found that the 3-2-1 Rule is a process that takes the appropriate measures.
Always take three backups of your data, two stored on different types of media (on a server, external drive, USB drive, etc.), and one stored offsite (in the Cloud, for example). This will help you to be prepared, in the event that one backup is destroyed or damaged.
Of course, working with a partner like CTN Solutions means that you no longer have to worry about manual backups or storage locations. A disaster recovery solution will give you peace of mind knowing your data is safe and you’re free to focus on your core business. Our team is available to help you select the best data recovery solution for your business. Reach us at (610) 828-5500.