Does your business have a network disaster recovery plan in place? In the event of a disaster, your plan can help restore your area network, computers, servers, and other network devices your company needs to continue operations.
Unfortunately, many business owners don’t realize how a natural disaster can or will affect them until it’s too late. We’re going to tell you why you need a network disaster recovery plan and how we can help you create an effective disaster recovery plan for your business!
Keep reading for more information!
Budgeting for a Network Disaster Recovery Plan
Preparing for a network disaster takes time and effort; maintaining that recovery plan will cost money. No, this isn’t what you want to hear, but there’s plenty of things you pay for in hope that you’ll never use—think about your car insurance.
Because every business is different, the costs of your disaster recovery plan will vary. However, if you consider what a network disaster will cost your business, you’ll have a decent idea of how much to budget for your plan.
Determining the cost of a network disaster can be difficult but it’s not impossible. You’ll need to look at any impacts of the disaster and the amount of time it would likely take to recover. The goal is to minimize recovery time, the amount of data lost, and return to business operations as quickly as possible.
Reasons to Outsource Your Disaster Recovery Plan
Creating a comprehensive disaster recovery plan is difficult—many would deem it near impossible. Opting to use an experienced team to create and test your plan means that it’ll be built objectively with all possible scenarios accounted for.
You’ll have help identifying potential threats, safeguarding against them, learn what to do in the event of a network disaster, and have access to the knowledge base you need should one strike.
Choosing to outsource the creation of your disaster recovery plan also means having access to a recovery plan checklist that you can use to jumpstart business services. This limits the amount of downtime and impact that a disaster will have on your customers.
Having an IT disaster recovery plan isn’t enough. Testing the plan is essential to ensure full functionality in the event of a disaster; without testing, there’s no guarantee your plan will work.
When you outsource the creation of your network disaster recovery plan, it will be periodically tested and updated if needed. You’ll be kept abreast of all results and consulted before any adjustments are made.
Having a devoted network disaster recovery team in place will help your business regain major functions regardless of the type of disaster or event that occurs.
Not Having a Recovery Plan Can Have Major Consequences
Are you still not convinced that you need to create a network disaster recovery plan?
Network disasters can happen because of major external events like hurricanes or blizzards. They can also occur because of a power outage, human error, or technology failure.
Unfortunately, the results of a network disaster are often the same.
When you’re unable to access area network or have a major data breach, your customers will be affected. If your business has to pause operations, many customers will be understanding; some will choose to shop elsewhere. If the issue is a data breach, customers may lose trust and ultimately stop using your services.
Regardless of the initial event that causes your customers to leave, it ultimately affects your ability to generate revenue. You may lose profitability and earning ability short-term but it’s also entirely possible for the effects to be lasting, potentially causing complete business failure.
Aside from these issues, disaster events can lead to lulls in employee productivity. If your business faces a network disaster that causes the loss of important files, employees may not be able to complete their jobs in a timely manner (or at all.)
The loss of these records could also impact how your business operates as a whole for years to come.
No matter how you view the situation, not having a network disaster recovery plan is bad for business!
The Cloud Should Be Part of Any Business Continuity Plan
You probably already use a cloud service to store programs, documents, and other files. This is an excellent place to start your disaster checklist because it’s something you’re probably already familiar with.
If you’re not sure what we’re talking about, the cloud is a paid service that allows you to save important information from your computer, giving authorized users access when they need it, regardless of location.
Opting to store important files and programs to the cloud also allows you to quickly recover and access anything that would otherwise be lost during a manmade or a natural disaster. While it doesn’t promise the continuity of network services, it does ensure your ability to proceed with business operations after your network access has been restored.
Cloud backups won’t be the only component of your network disaster recovery plan but will play a huge role in the success of any recovery efforts.
The Disaster Recovery Team You Need
In order to create a successful network disaster recovery plan, you’ll need to consider a wide range of issues and disaster events. You’ll need to test your plan regularly to ensure every aspect of your business is protected from natural/manmade disasters, human error, and technological failure.
These tasks are overwhelming and can have catastrophic results if ignored.
At Bastionpoint, we offer a full range of services that pertain to network disaster recovery. Our team has years of experience to help you plan for the worst while getting the best results. We can help your business avoid major events and create a customized disaster checklist should an emergency occur.
If you’d like to learn how we can help your business prevent or recover from network disasters, give us a call. We’d be happy to discuss costs and begin building the disaster recovery plan you need to ensure success after any disruptive event.
Chief Information Officer / vCIO
I provide CIO and IT Support Services alongside a mid-sized technical support team of engineers for business. Bastionpoint Technology is a managed service provider for businesses ranging from 1-500 users! We specialize in Legal, Medical, and Professional services, but support so much more. Retail, Finance, Healthcare, Manufacturing, Non-Profits, and you’ve certainly heard of our clients. We offer unlimited on-demand services, with an on-demand price point to meet every client’s needs. Just call on us – we put your business first!
