Disaster Recovery Without a Plan
A Backup Article Contributed by Melissa Larose
Disaster Recovery Without a Plan
Sometimes the need for disaster recovery just happens. It wasn't a planned incident. They never are planned incidents. They just happen. And that is what disaster recovery is all about, planning. But many people don't plan at all.
No Plan Disaster Recovery
So what would the scenario look like? A flood in business park that houses technology manufacturers? One of these manufacturers builds computers. Ever submerge computer parts in water? Water on electronics produces fairly disastrous affects.
They have just lost all of their inventory. Their insurance will only replace at present market value a portion of their inventory. Their insurance has not been updated in five years. All of their paperwork has been destroyed and their own business computers are a total loss. Everything has sat in a two feet of water for five days. It was a holiday weekend and everyone had taken a four day weekend, many were out of town. No one knew there had been a flood because the flood came in through the back entry used for deliveries. It was not noticeable from the street.
Employees are now without work and income. Any profits for the year will need to be used to recover inventory and cleanup the disaster. No disaster plan was ever created for this particular business. Why not?
Disaster Recovery Without Tears
A simple disaster recovery plan could have avoided the need for such a great loss. Planning for typical natural threats, business risks, and disastrous scenarios is a valuable business tool.
Assessing potential disruptions along with assigning a probability to each threat is the beginning of a di sasterrecoveryplan.Potential loss of data, inventory, and equipment can ruin a business. The start of an assessment should begin with a review of what the company has, does, and will need to continue if there is a disaster.
A disaster recovery plan should include a list of who is in charge of what part of the plan including daytime phone numbers and emergency numbers. The plan should include directions on where to go and what to do and what not to do if the event takes place during work hours. It should also include what to do and who to call if the disaster takes place during off hours.
Disaster Recovery Drills
An employee should always know what their part in a company disaster recovery plan is. They should be able to repeat it back to anyone who asks. Drills are an important part of planning and employees should be walked through drills.
Training should take place throughout the work year, especially in the technology field. The handling of technology in the face of an impending disaster takes special care. Making sure all equipment is properly protected and data has been backed up on a routine basis is vitally important to surviving a disaster.
A disaster recovery plan should originate high up in the company structure. It should be taken seriously and with great care in order to assure the safety of the business, its employees and its customers.
