Disasters can come in all shapes and sizes. No matter what happens, your business can be prepared by creating a Business Continuity Plan (BCP). It’s important for your BCP to address the roles of your staff members, so that they are able to assist in keeping the company running during these stressful occasions. Make sure […]
Read MoreWhether you’re a small business owner or managing a medium-sized company, you must have a business continuity plan (BCP) to safeguard your business against disasters. But developing a BCP that’s capable of putting your company back on its feet fast is equally as important as having one in the first place. Let’s take a look […]
Read MoreDevising your business continuity plan can be complex. The whole process of discovering which are your business’s critical assets may feel like unravelling a knotted ball of yarn. In other words, it can be a tricky and time consuming process. But what if there was a way to speed up the ordeal? If you know […]
Read MoreDisasters can happen at any time, which is why it is important for your company to have a business continuity plan. In the event your business gets hit with an unforeseen disaster, you’ll be able to minimize damage, downtime, and impact to your business operations. If you don’t have a contingency plan to protect valuable […]
Read MoreAre you prepared for when the unexpected strikes? According to the Institute for Business and Home Safety, approximately 25 percent of businesses don’t reopen following a major disaster. The truth is that disasters happen every day, regardless of location or business size – simply switch on the news for proof. So obviously, it’s wise to […]
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It’s vital for companies to have a backup plan for disaster, as no one can really predict when they will strike. The most common plan businesses integrate is a business continuity plan or BCP which will ensure that your business can continuously operate and deliver products or services even when catastrophe occurs. If you don’t […]
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Each year there seems to be an increasingly large number of disasters that affect an ever growing population. It would therefore make sense to take action to prepare your business for disasters, whatever they may be. To prepare, most business owners or managers will adopt a Business Continuity Plan. While this is a good idea, […]
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One issue that’s gaining steam, especially with SMEs, is business continuity planning. Many companies are starting to develop plans so that they can continue to operate through both problems large and small. If you’re one such company, and are stuck at the point where you need to choose between software and templates, we have some […]
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Small to medium-sized businesses are not safe from data loss or major system failure. Despite this fact, around 50% of these businesses are ill-prepared for such an occurrence because they have no Business Continuity Plan (BCP). You’ve probably heard news about companies that have experienced data loss. You may think that these losses can only happen to larger companies because of the huge databases they have. However, small to medium-sized businesses are not safe from data loss, either. Unfortunately, according to recently conducted studies, around 50% of small to midsized businesses are at risk, because they have no Business Continuity Plan (BCP) in place. What is a Business Continuity Plan? It’s a comprehensive plan that enables your business to resume normal operations after a significant data loss or network downtime due to natural disasters, sabotage or theft, or equipment failure. Maybe you already have a Business Continuity Plan for your company. Even so, you need to make sure that your plan is flexible and scalable, and can adapt to the natural changes that your business undergoes. Software and hardware installations, updates, and modifications are an important part of business continuity planning. Your data should be properly and regularly backed up, and you need storage and recovery systems and procedures that are continually updated with changes that constantly occur in your IT. If your computer software and hardware are not properly maintained and procedures are not updated, this may lead to backup errors that will result to costly data losses. Unfortunately, companies routinely suffer significant data loss because they discovered the errors too late – usually while trying to recover the data. In addition to having a flexible and scalable BCP, you also need a highly skilled IT staff that is up to speed on the importance of backup and recovery of data. It’s important that this staff is properly trained to implement your BCP in the event that your business experiences a major data loss. Your business is important to you – and to us, too. We’re here to help you create or fine-tune a Business Continuity Plan that is best suited to your unique business needs, as well as prepare and assist your staff in implementing the plan should it become necessary. Contact us for more details.
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When disasters occur, unprepared companies suffer consequences ranging from prolonged system downtime to considerable revenue loss – and even going out of business. On the other hand, those who are disaster-ready can easily handle any type of crisis and survive, without much loss of productivity. Small to medium-sized businesses usually think that disaster plans are only important for large enterprises. However, these days even small businesses can’t afford to operate without a disaster plan. Plus, recent technology innovations make disaster planning reasonably priced for virtually every business, regardless of size. For any business owner, three objectives exist for disaster planning: 1) the assurance of never losing critical information, 2) reducing downtime when emergencies happen, and 3) quick recovery after a loss of data. These three objectives translate into three IT services: Backups The process of protecting your data by copying it to a secure device so that it can be easily and and quickly recovered in case of loss. Disaster recovery The process of reinstating crucial business data and procedures after a disaster happens. Business Continuity A carefully constructed plan that specifies exactly how your company will recover and re-establish disrupted functions after disaster strikes. Of these three tasks, Business Continuity is the most comprehensive since it entails much more than a simple discussion of IT matters—it’s a thorough, systematic action plan. And though you definitely need to consider protecting your IT infrastructure and data, you must also consider what you and your staff should do if a disaster occurs. Is there a meeting place where your staff could gather in the event of a building evacuation? Do you have a plan to get in touch with all your staff and their emergency contacts to relay important information? Is there a way for you to communicate with customers to advise when you’ll resume operations? What will you do if one of your main dealers experiences a disaster? The significance of these three services should never be taken lightly, but unfortunately many small and medium-sized businesses ignore them. Why? Simply because when people think about disaster, the first things that pop in their minds are earthquakes, floods, and fires, and they figure there’s a low chance of those happening. But remember that there are also human-induced disasters such as hackers, unhappy employees who sabotage, and employees who thoughtlessly erase important data. Any of these could easily happen to you. You may already have a backup system in place, and perhaps, you have all three—backup, disaster recovery, and a business continuity plan. However, since business goals and technical environments constantly change, your plan requires regular assessment to ensure it’s still accomplishing all your needs. We can assist you in evaluating your existing disaster preparedness or suggest options if you don’t have plans yet. Contact us now for more details on how we can help you.
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