Does Your Business Have a Disaster Recovery Strategy?
No business owner likes to think of the possibility that their business may be brought to its knees by a disaster, either man-made or natural. However, this is not a good enough reason to remain blind to this very real possibility. A business disaster recovery strategy is much like your life insurance policy. You don’t want to think about your death, but you still plan for the contingency and this is exactly what you should do with your business too- prepare and plan ahead for the worst. A disaster recovery strategy is your best move to ensure that your business can remain as sustainably on course towards its goals as possible despite disruptions to operations. Take a look at some of the advantages of having an effective plan for your business.
Understand the limitations of your present system
Working on a disaster recovery plan for your business forces you to analyze what could happen if a major event happens. In many businesses, there are weaknesses that remain concealed while normal operations are being carried out. These lapses become glaringly obvious when disaster strikes and they could become the reason why the business folds up. For example, a business that cannot recover customer contact information loses its ability to market its products effectively. When you setup a disaster recovery plan, you are forced to analyze every aspect of the business and this brings to your notice the issues that you may remain unaware about until it is too late.
Minimize the disruption to your business operations
Imagine this scenario- an unprecedented snow storm has frozen the city, shut down roads and none of your staff can reach the office. You have client needs to be fulfilled within strict deadlines. If you had planned ahead for an event that could keep your staff out of the office, you may have setup a cloud based system that can give your staff access to everything they need to complete the most critical deliveries, right out of their homes. There are many such ways in which disaster recovery planning can help you minimize the disruption to your business operations and enable you to at least get the most critical jobs done even when your business is in shut down mode.
Keep customers informed and happy
One critical requirement for any business is to keep its customers informed of why it is unable to cater to them. This is especially important if the disaster is not a statewide one or nationwide one and it only affects your business (like a virus attack on your systems). You could potentially lose hundreds of customers and erode the trust and goodwill you have built-up in the marketplace if you keep everyone in the dark about what is happening and when you will be back in business. Keeping your customers informed, explaining the steps you are taking to protect their privacy and giving them a clear picture of the entire situation is possible if you have planned ahead for such a contingency with your disaster recovery plan.
