How a Disaster Recovery Plan Can Benefit Your Business During a Natural Disaster
Business continuity planning is a company’s framework for responding to natural and manmade disasters. Because the scope of business continuity planning includes natural disasters, it’s vital to consider the benefits of planning for these types of disasters with a disaster recovery plan. This is especially true in the face of increasing numbers of major weather events and other types of natural disasters occurring more frequently today than in the past.
What is a Disaster Recovery Plan?
An IT disaster recovery plan is designed to assist a company in recovery and response to a disaster and to protect IT assets. It should also work towards the recovery of the business, getting operations back up as quickly as possible. To achieve these aims, a disaster recovery plan should include information related to the specific steps that must be taken before, during, and after a disaster so that the entire team can carry out their duties.
Measures that are commonly included in disaster recovery plans include:
- Preventative measures can be taken to avoid a disaster from occurring. An example of this may include security measures that reduce the likelihood of a terrorist attack or cybercrime. Additionally, adding equipment, such as surge protectors, can protect your business data from power interruptions that destroy computers and hard drives. Preventative measures are generally aimed at manmade disasters that can impact business continuity, as few preventive measures can be taken to prevent a natural disaster. However, you can look for ways to minimize the impact of these types of disasters.
- Mitigation measures limit the scope of the disaster. For instance, if the disaster breaks equipment or makes it inaccessible, ensuring data is backed-up offsite is a great way to limit the impact of the disaster.
- Detective measures can pick up on unwanted events, such as using surveillance equipment, fire detectors, and antivirus software.
- Corrective measures can work toward restoring business processes, systems, and data recovery after a disaster occurs. This part of the plan identifies the steps to business recovery.
Disaster recovery plans should include a wide range of events that could severely impact your ability to conduct business. Consideration should be given to natural disasters that are most common in the area where the business is located. However, in an increasingly global workplace, many companies must also consider areas far from a physical office.
How Can a Disaster Recovery Plan Benefit A Business During a Natural Disaster?
Natural disasters can occur anywhere in the world, often with little or no warning. Depending upon the type of natural disaster that occurs, the surrounding region may also be impacted to a greater or lesser extent. And, as with any major emergency, it is easy for those involved to panic rather than think clearly. Planning for the potential of a natural disaster can often provide a roadmap that is easy to follow and gets everyone moving toward a common goal of restoring business.
Natural disasters that can interrupt business operations include:
- Floods
- Fires/Wildfires
- Winter storms/blizzards
- Tropical storms
- Tornadoes
- Wind storms
- Geological incidents, such as earthquakes, landslides, and subsidence
The benefits of disaster recovery during a natural disaster include:
- Clarity in action: During a natural disaster, feelings of fear and panic can often get in the way of making sound decisions. Having a disaster recovery plan can ensure that your entire team has a clear guide to help them move through the actions of mitigating the impact of the disaster at a time when focusing may be difficult. As a result, they can be confident in their actions and that no step is overlooked while making the right steps towards recovery.
- Safety: Disaster recovery plans often take safety considerations into account. With a plan, your business has the benefit of knowing how to ensure personnel is safe and will remain safe throughout the recovery process.
- Security: A disaster recovery plan may include actions that protect data in the event of a natural disaster. This data is often critical to continued operations and ensuring your customers’ information remains secure.
- Restoration: A disaster recovery plan can help your IT operations be restored quicker than they would be otherwise. And getting back to business minimizes financial losses and customer dissatisfaction.
- Reduced expenses: Many natural disasters often result in major financial losses. But disaster recovery plans work to limit the extent of the damage, often saving expensive pieces of technology and minimizing the need to replace these items.
Planning for a natural disaster is difficult. But these events are often unavoidable, which means planning is the best way to minimize their impact on your business. To learn more about the benefits of having a disaster recovery plan, contact Sagacent Technologies today.
Sagacent Technologies offers technology management and support, including proactive/preventative maintenance, onsite and offsite data back-ups, network and security audits, mobility solutions, disaster planning, and emergency business resumption services. The company serves clients of 10 to 150 employees within the Silicon Valley region.
