Every day, your business relies on documents, applications, and existing data to function. What would happen if you suddenly lost access to these things? For many businesses, it would be a significant problem, leading to a loss in profits and possibly the closure of a business. You buy insurance to protect your business financially against losses, but insurance can’t replace valuable data and the key applications that make your business work. To protect these items, you must plan ahead, creating a plan to restore your data when it is lost. With a DR plan, you can reduce your downtime and get your business operating straight away.
Why your organisation should have a Back-Up and Disaster Recovery Plan.
1. Natural Disasters – Storms, fires, and floods can all do irreparable damage to your business. Without a DR plan in place, you may find it extremely difficult to resume operations. 80% of companies that close for more than 5 days never reopen, so getting back on your feet is crucial in the event of a natural disaster.
2. Hardware Failure – If your hardware fails it can take all your data with it. While you can take steps to protect your hardware, it is essential to regularly back-up your data. Using a cloud-based or off-site storage can add additional protections, as it is unlikely both locations will be struck at the same time.
3. Human Errors – No one is perfect, and that includes you and your employees. Forgetting to save changes, accidentally deleting an important document, or flipping the wrong switch could lead to a significant loss for your company. Training programs are essential to help reduce human error. BUT, the only way to cover your organisation from human error is to have a DR plan in place.
4. Cyber Crimes – Cyber crimes are on the rise and most businesses are affected at some point. A virus or ransomware attack could hold your data hostage, grinding your business to a halt and causing massive profit losses. In fact 91% of all data breaches are caused by a phishing email. Your DR plan should include steps to recover from a hacking attempt, keeping your data safe and accessible.
5. Customer Service – Ultimately, you need a disaster recovery plan to provide your customers the service they have come to expect from you. If your business has a prolonged service interruption, you could lose valuable customers to a competitor. The faster you can get back on your feet, the better for you and your customers.
