Disaster recovery: 4 tips to recover faster
We all hope it never happens to us, but what if it did? If something were to happen to your business, how quickly could you recover? It sounds like a morbid topic, but ensuring that your business has a disaster recovery plan in place will make your life a lot easier if something should happen. It could be a fire, it could be a flood, it could be many things, but whatever it is, having a plan of how to get your business working again should be a priority for any business owner. If you’ve not got a plan or it’s been a while since you updated, here are four handy tips for you to follow:
1. Make sure it’s stored safely
Start with the basics – if the plan is on the CEO’s desktop, that won’t be much help if there has been a fire. It’s best to keep at least one copy of the plan somewhere else – either in the cloud or even as a copy in another place.
2. Designate responsibilities
Designate key roles to people to make sure a more efficient response. Who is in charge, who communicates with utility companies and tradespeople, and who is in charge of office infrastructure? If everyone knows the role they are meant to do – and have been suitably trained to do so – then you will find that recovery is a much faster process.
3. Identify the key business functions
What are the key functions of the business? You may say ‘everything’, but be realistic – in order for the business to keep going, what functions are necessary and which are the ‘nice to haves’? This will help you to prioritise your recovery efforts; perhaps new sales can wait a few days if you cannot deliver on your current orders.
4. Use cloud computing
Most of us use computers and save important documents on them. If those computers are gone, how will you cope? Using cloud computing to back up important files (or even all your files) will mean you can get access to them anywhere, so team members can work from home or a temporary office.
The key to good disaster recovery plans is being prepared; it might never be needed, but if it is, you will be ready.
