Do you have a disaster recovery plan for your business?

Picture the scene; you’re a small business owner who has worked hard to build your business.   One morning you arrive at work to discover that the building you work in is on fire, has been flooded or you’ve been the victim of a cyber-attack – what would you do?   Panic is probably the first emotion but then what?

This is where your Disaster Recovery plan comes into play.  In simple terms this document sets out the policies and procedures that your business will follow should the normal day to day running of your company be interrupted.  The aim is to bring the affected business processes back on line as quickly as possible or implement your contingency plan should it be required.

 What Areas Should Your Disaster Recovery Plan Cover?

  • IT Services – What systems do you use? What are the risks to your business? What areas of the business are covered by which system? What security measures do you have in place? How often do you back up the system? Where are your backups kept and how do you access them should you need to?
  • People ­– Do you have an up to date list of contact details for your employees? Do you have a list of people you could call upon in an emergency – Landlord, IT Support, Insurance Company, Staff next of kin.  Who has this document, are there any backups held off site?  Are there key personnel you will need to call upon during this time? Who are they and what are their roles?
  • Suppliers – Who are your suppliers, IT Support Company, Data Back Up provider, Telephone Provider? If you can’t access the building and therefore your computer system what steps do you have in place to contact these suppliers?
  • Locations – Where will you relocate to if you are unable to access your business premises? Working from home might be an option, but does your staff have laptops they can work from?  Are they working with up to date data?
  • Inventory – Having an up to date inventory will help you if you need to replace furniture and IT systems. It will also make it easier for you to deal with any resulting insurance claim.
  • Testing – How are you going to test to see if your disaster recovery plan will work?
  • Back Up – Keeping copies of your disaster recovery plan off site is vital. It’s also worth considering backing up your systems regularly to an offsite location to help reduce the risk of a data loss.

Educate – It is vital that your senior management team and staff are well briefed on what to do should the plan need to be implemented.