Prepare for the worst, hope for the best.
It is not what business leaders ever want to think about but it is a topic they must consider – worst case scenarios of backup disasters! What do we mean by worst case scenarios? Unfortunately, there is a long list of things that could go wrong and could jeopardize your technology and data in the blink of an eye. Environmental triggers such as record snowfall, hurricanes, and floods, top the list of  storm-related fears of executive and tech experts alike. Then there is the other “storm†as such that can cause just as much fear of a worst case technology failure – human error. Most disasters in IT aren’t due to bad weather, but instead attributed to human error. Common mistakes, disgruntled employees, and malicious attacks by hackers are some of the risks that plague data centers, in addition to the storms and bad weather over which we have no control. All of these events can cause what no business owner wants to consider a back up disaster! Â
No matter the threat – humankind or Mother Nature – you need to understand your business’s risk landscape and understand how you can prevent a worst case scenario from happening at your company. The best disaster recovery plans take into account all the possibilities and look at the worst that has happened to other companies in order to learn from and prevent such occurrences in the future. What steps can you take to minimize your business’ risk and prevent the worst from happening right in your own office.
- Disaster Recovery Plan – Every company should have a plan of what to do in the case of an event that can impact your tech or physical office. This Disaster Recovery Plan should be a documented process or set of procedures to recover and protect a business IT infrastructure in the event of a disaster. Such a plan, ordinarily documented in written form, specifies procedures an organization is to follow in the event of a disaster.
- A Backup Team – Certain employees may be designated to monitor worst case scenarios in order to properly jump into action in the case of an event that stops employees from getting to work or if technology has been compromised. Some companies even have a secondary office location where work can be done, or done remotely. This group should know what the most recent backups included in order to ensure that all data and files are secure and able to be accessed.
- Insurance Safeguards – Invest in insurance to cover your hardware and devices. Computers, printers, phones, projectors and other forms of technology can cost a ton of money to replace. If you ever face an office fire or natural disaster, you don’t want to worry about spending thousands to replace your vital business equipment.
- Prepare Clients – Customers and Clients should be aware that there is a disaster recovery procedure well before an actual disaster occurs. Well crafted emails and preplanned documents can put clients at ease about what to expect from your business if a worst case scenario occurs.
Transition Planning – Planning for a worst case scenario also takes into account transitioning back to normalcy after the event. Your Disaster Recovery Team should be able to reasonably give information and timelines to employees about how quickly things will get back to normal.
Categorised in: back up, Cloud Services, data management, disaster recovery