Overshadowed by the COVID-19 Pandemic, we almost forgot that we are in the midst of the 2020 Hurricane Season. Enter Hurricane Isaias into the mix, which is forecasted to strengthen and possibly affect the Central Florida area over the weekend.
Preparation for the storm’s arrival will undoubtedly send many Central Florida business owners into a frenzy. While some may already have a hurricane preparedness plan in place, you may be surprised to learn that as many as 75% of small businesses do not have a disaster recovery plan in place to ensure they can quickly recover & restore operations after a disaster.
A disaster recovery plan is a formalized plan that takes into account different scenarios in terms of what might go wrong in a disaster, the risks associated with each, and the steps needed to quickly return your business to a “normal state of operations” in the aftermath of a disaster. It is an essential part of a business continuity plan, as it allows for the quick recovery of IT systems and the prevention of data loss.
Speaking of which, data is one of the most valuable assets of any company. We can replace hardware systems and software applications, for the most part, but a company’s data is the “bread and butter of the operation.” Unfortunately, most businesses do not fully appreciate the importance and value of their data until it is no longer available. How impactful it this? According to the US Bureau of Labor, 93% of businesses that experience a data disaster go out of business within five years! Do you want to take a stab at guessing why?
Touche & Ross further shares with us that 90% of businesses without a disaster recovery plan will fail after a disaster. You see, preparing for a disaster is one thing; planning to recover from one successfully is an entirely different beast! Unfortunately, most businesses classify Disaster Recovery Planning as “highly important, but not overly urgent,” and thus, they push it to the back burner. Let’s face it, no one likes to think about bad things happening to them, much less planning for such events. The truth is, having a proper Disaster Recovery Plan in place could very well mean the difference between your business’s survival and, ultimately, its failure!
As the Central Florida area prepares for this weekend’s arrival of Tropical Storm Isaias, we are reminded, once again, of the fact that we’re one Hurricane away from having our lives and businesses affected by a disaster. Which begs the question, what steps have you taken to ensure the recovery and survivability of your business?
Here are a few items you can put in place today to prepare your company for any natural disaster.
Update Your Employee Contact List
Has the COVID-19 pandemic led to an increase in remote working? If so, are your employees’ locations and contact information up to date?
Back Up Your Data Remotely
Everyone knows that data should be backed up daily, but many people still use in-house backup systems that will get damaged in a natural disaster or fire and can easily be stolen. We recommend backing up all data to an off-site location, and we offer this as a service to our clients.
Use A Quality Surge Protector with Uninterruptible Power Supply Battery
A high-quality surge protector combined with an uninterruptible power supply battery backup will go a long way in protecting sensitive electronic equipment from surges and other electronic irregularities that can destroy your computer’s circuitry.
Make Sure Your Servers Are Off the Floor or In the Cloud
If your office gets flooded, having your equipment off the floor will prevent it from being destroyed. Server racks can be purchased and installed very inexpensively. Alternatively, consider moving your critical server equipment to the cloud and be protected no matter the weather!
Have a Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity Plan
Every business should have some type of plan in place for continued operation after a disaster. Would people know where to go? Who to call? How to log in and access data remotely? Hopefully, you’ll never need it but having a simple plan will make you sleep a lot easier at night knowing you have a way to continue to operate when disaster strikes.
Don’t lose everything you’ve worked so hard to achieve in an instant!
Our Free Guide, “12 Disaster Planning Essentials for Business IT Networks: What You Need to Know to Avoid Losing Everything in an Instant” will be a real eye-opening for you and contains important information that can literally “save your business” in the event of a server crash, natural disaster, virus attack, or digital disaster.
Free Guide: Disaster Planning for Business IT Networks
Every business should have some type of plan in place for continued operation after a disaster. Hopefully, you’ll never need it, but having a simple plan will make you sleep a lot easier at night knowing you have a way to continue to operate when disaster strikes.
This report will reveal 12 important planning strategies you should have in place now to protect yourself from common data-erasing disasters including natural hazards, human error, cybercriminals, hardware failure, software corruption, and other IT failures.
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Roy Richardson
Managing Partner & Co-Founder
Roy Richardson is a co-founder, Managing Partner, and CTO of Aurora InfoTech LLC, a leading Cybersecurity & IT consulting firm in Orlando, Florida. He is also a co-author of the Amazon Bestselling book, "Hack Proof Your Business", a Cybersecurity guide for business owners & executive leadership.
Roy has 20+ years of executive management & engineering experience in the Cybersecurity, Information Technology, and Telecommunication industries. The vast experience he gained over the course of his career has given him a unique perspective that allows him to relate to a broad spectrum of business & technology challenges.
