Disaster Recovery Quite the buzz word today. But what does disaster recovery really mean? Disaster Recovery is only one part of your Business Continuity plan. A disaster can be anything - a building collapse, earthquake, flood, fire, server crash, loss of internet access, loss of telephones, even not having keys to get into the building. The Business Continuity Plan is what allows your company to overcome these obstacles and allows the business to go on.

A Disaster Recovery plan is like an insurance plan in that it only pays off following a disaster that you hope will never happen. Well, disasters do happen and they are far from expected. Data related disasters are not normally quite as dramatic as an earthquake or a tidal wave, but the result is the same, loss of data. The question is, will it be permanent loss of data? Simple human error, a plumbing failure, virus, or power surge can render all your computer data useless in an instant. There are only two possible outcomes of a data related disaster, major inconvenience, or permanent loss of data. If you would rather go through the major inconvenience of restoring all your data from backup rather than suffer a permanent loss of data, a Disaster Recovery plan is something you should seriously consider creating. Again, a data disaster recovery plan is only part of a Business Continuity Plan.

What would happen to your company if you experienced a disaster like flooding, fire or employee theft? The statistics may astound you:

  • 50% of companies that lose all of their critical data go out of business immediately (90% within one year).
  • Fewer than 40 percent of US companies have any type of recovery plan.
  • Less than 10 percent of US companies have an I.T. disaster prevention/recovery plan.
  • 70% of malicious and/or damaging activity to a company’s data occurs from within.
  • Unscheduled downtime (network failure, disasters, etc.) costs, on average $200.00 per hour per employee!

A well-designed, customized plan for I.T. preparedness and recovery will help you significantly reduce the damage a disaster can cause. The good news is that many network and data-related disasters can be avoided. By planning and being proactive with network issues Sterling Networks can help keep your network downtime to a minimum. We offer ongoing monitoring and support for your network at a fixed monthly cost. No more having to worry about ‘how much it’s going to cost to fix the problem”. Server down issues, workstation issues, network issues, router issues, it does not matter. It’s all covered by our managed services agreements. Give us a call today to see how Sterling Networks can help you.

So what can you do to ensure your company is ready? Here are some general guidelines on preparing for a disaster in the workplace:

CREATE A PLAN - Organize a Disaster Preparedness team to create, communicate, and practice the plan.

COMMUNICATE & LEARN THE PLAN - Everyone in the company should be informed on what or what not to do in the event of a disaster. This should be communicated when someone is hired, and at least twice a year thereafter.

PRACTICE THE PLAN - At least once a year, everyone in the company should participate in a mock disaster. Going through the steps will help employees learn what to do and better cope with a real disaster.

UPDATE THE PLAN - It’s important to schedule regular updates to the plan. Change is a constant in any company, and a disaster preparedness document should periodically be updated. Sterling Networks can help you create, implement and test your plan today. Don’t keep putting it off. Every hour of downtime costs you $200.00 per employee! Don’t have a plan yet? Give us a call, we will be happy to help put one together. An old Chinese proverb says “The longest journey begins with the first step.” Start today!