It can be easy to push disaster recovery to the end of a long ‘to do’ list. You’re careful online and you store your data securely, so it’s fair to assume you’re relatively protected?
However, even with the best defences your business can still be susceptible to a ‘disaster’ – and these come in many forms. Whether that’s accidentally downloading ransomware, a devastating cyber-attack or even something as simple as a lost laptop or fire in the office.
If you’re not prepared in the event that something bad happens, you could find that ‘bad’ quickly turns to ‘worse’.
Without a solid disaster recovery or back up plan in place your business could lose a lot of money, staff time and customer confidence.
Like carrying an umbrella on a sunny day (just in case!), your disaster recovery preparations provide the reassurance that you’ll be okay, even if things do turn bad!
Here are 4 ways that you can be prepared before disaster strikes, to minimise losses and make sure your business keeps running as normal
Is your infrastructure up to scratch?
It’s easy to see investing in your infrastructure as a potentially costly task, however, it’s vital to ask yourself how much you could stand to lose if the technology you are using fails you?
If you are using out-dated technology, methods of running your business and data storage, you could be missing out on the overall improved functionality of these systems, but also the increased security they provide. Although newer systems such as the cloud may take time in migrating over your data and practices, they could save you a lot of money on hardware, storage capacity and overheads.
Back it up now
One of the easiest ways to keep your business working as normal is to host it in the cloud. With the increasing amount of data businesses hold, it can be costly and inconvenient to hold it in-house or in a data centre, running traditional backups onto an external drive. Plus what do you do if there’s a natural disaster or it gets stolen? It’s likely that it’s gone forever.
Backing up your business to the cloud can not only save you money (thanks to the availability of lots of low cost options) but it couldn’t be easier to manage – with information saved automatically, in real time. You scale up and down, as your needs change, and you can access it remotely, wherever you are.
If you are hit by a disaster which deletes your important files, the process of recovery to get your business back up and running is simple as you don’t need to wait to recover data from an off-site location or for a drive to be reconnected, you can just click to restore your files back to their previous location.
Still think about security
Whatever system you are using, you still need to be aware of potential threats and keep up-to-date with security news to make sure you’re following best practices online and aware of new trends or tools.
Many people are concerned about a lack of control when it comes to moving into the cloud, as they can’t see where this data is held. However, there are plenty of things you can do to ensure you have a secure cloud back up. Research potential suppliers and get industry recommendations. Look at encrypting the data that is stored and when you’re transferring it. Consider using two-factor authentication to increase the log-in security.
Have an accessible plan in place
Once you have decided on the best route to take for your business in terms of infrastructure, back up and review of systems, it’s time to have a clear plan in place should disaster strike. This plan should be clear and accessible for all members of staff, as you never know how or when a disaster will hit. All staff should be prepared to take the best course of action to minimise impact.
You should think about what the immediate steps should be once a threat, attack or issue has been identified. This could include who needs to know about it, how you share information about the event, how to contain the breach, how you plan to recover from it and how to protect your reputation.
We have a handy blog with 7 steps to consider when preparing your business ahead of a disaster, particularly a cyber-attack. Get more advice here.