CEO Article by Larry Johnson
At the risk of repeating myself...data is everything to a small business in this day and age. If you lose access or control of your data, you lose everything. October is the spooky time of year, so it is appropriate that it is also Security Awareness Month. You definitely want to be on the "treat" end of security instead of the "trick?" Here are some scary statistics.
According to several sources, 93% of companies, no matter how big they are, are out of business within one year if they suffer a major data disaster without first formulating a strategy for combating it. And since 68% of companies don't have any plan for a worst-case scenario, losing data would be a death knell for most businesses in the country.
Fortunately, your business does not have to be one of them. By taking the following steps, you can ensure a rock-solid disaster recovery plan in place.
Step 1: Know How a Disaster Recovery Plan is Different from a Business Continuity Plan
The main difference between these two types of plans is that while business continuity plans are proactive, disaster recovery plans are reactive. More specifically, a business continuity plan is a strategy that ensures no matter what disaster occurs, it can continue to operate and provide products and services to its customers. On the flip side, a disaster recovery plan is a strategy by which businesses can back up and recover critical data should it get lost or held for ransom.
So, now that we understand what constitutes a disaster recovery plan, we can dive into the steps necessary to create one.
Step 2: Gather Information and Support
To get the ball rolling on your disaster recovery plan, start with executive buy-in. This means that everyone, from the CEO to the entry-level employees, needs to be brought in on executing the plan in case your company suffers a data disaster. When everyone is aware of a possible disaster, it allows for cross-functional collaboration in the creation process - a necessary step if you want to prevent breaches in all parts of your systems.
You need to account for all elements in your tech systems when you're putting together your disaster recovery plan, including your systems, applications, and data. Be sure to account for any issues involving the physical security of your servers as well as physical access to your systems. You'll need a plan in case those are compromised.
In the end, you'll need to figure out which processes are necessary to keep up and running during a worst-case scenario when your capability is limited.
Step 3: Create Your Strategy
When everyone is on board with the disaster recovery plan and understands which systems need to stay up and running, it's time to put together the game plan for a worst-case scenario. To do that, you'll need to have a good grip on your budget, resources, tools, and partners.
If you're a small business, you might want to consider your budget and the timeline for the recovery process. These are good starting points for putting together your plan, and doing so will also give you an idea of what you can tell your customers to expect while you get your business back up to full operating capacity.
Step 4: Test the Plan
Even if you complete the first two steps, you'll never know that you're prepared until you test out your disaster recovery plan. Running through all the steps with your employees helps them familiarize themselves with the steps they'll need to take in the event of an actual emergency, and it will help you detect any areas of your plan that need improvement. When a real data disaster befalls your business, your systems and employees will know how to spring into action.
So, to review, these are the quick actions that you and your employees will need to take to make a successful, robust disaster recovery plan:
- Get executive buy-in for the plan.
- Research and analyze the different systems in your business to understand how they could be impacted.
- Prioritize systems that are absolutely necessary to the functioning of your business.
- Test your disaster recovery plan to evaluate its effectiveness.
Complete these steps, and you can ensure that your business will survive any data disaster that comes your way. Adept Solutions, can help you with this process, so give us a call at 530-751-5100. Have a great October!
