Soho Disaster Recovery Plan
A Backup Article Contributed by A.J. Vasaris
Small Office - Small Disaster Recovery Plan
What would you do if your small or home office has a fire or a flood? Would you be prepared for business the next day? Probably not. Many businesses and most small businesses do not have a disaster recovery plan. Such a plan would not only save you money, but most probably save your company.
After a disaster you would not be in any frame of mind to really think through all that you would need to accomplish. That's where a disaster recovery plan comes into play. A checklist of all the tasks and an outline of all the procedures would free your mind to concentrate on saving your company.
Why a Disaster Recovery Plan?
Creating a disaster recovery plan is time consuming and costly. But before you start complaining, or worse, making excuses, just think about the impact of a fire or flood -- the time and cost to recover. Most businesses without a disaster recovery plan are out of business within a year of a disaster striking.
Just think if your accounting information were destroyed. While losing your accounts payable doesn't seem like a disaster, losing your accounts receivable will impact cash flow tremendously. Losing accounting records makes recovery almost impossible.
If your business relies on technology there are even more ways disaster can strike, as in viruses, hacker attacks and disgruntled employees. You are backing up your computers aren't you? Are you also restoring your backups to make sure they're working? Are you taking backup tapes off site with you so that you always have your information somewhere else...just in case? What else can happen?
Planning Your Disaster Recovery Plan
Finding out what can happen is the first step. Explore the possibilities relevant to your business location. If you're in Florida, a blizzard is out of the question, but a hurricane is very probable. In Ohio, the opposite is true. No matter where you're located a computer virus has high probability of infecting and destroying your data, as does a fire or flood. Review the types of disasters that are possible and what is the probability of each scenario.
Now you need a list of who to contact -- your employees, clients, insurance agent, suppliers, post office, phone company, and other vendors -- the list can be extensive, yes very extensive, but it assures that nothing and no one is missed. Also list numbers and information of what you might need -- temporary staffing agencies, real estate agents, hospitals, doctors, cleaners and more.
You have a plethora of information in your file cabinets and in your computer. Protect it always, but remember that the unexpected can happen anytime, anywhere. Your disaster recovery plan is another form of insurance. You may never need it or use it, but if disaster should strike without it, you may never recover. Taking preparatory action can reassure you, your employees, clients and vendors that you can exert a measure of control even in the face of disaster.
