Once the severe weather has passed most businesses begin to take stock of physical damages, but what about the data damage?
Once the severe weather has passed most businesses begin to take stock of physical damages, but what about the data damage? Power losses, flooding, and electrical damage can all affect your businesses IT, creating a devastating loss of information that can be just as detrimental as physical damage. Having a well researched and developed IT plan for severe weather can be a lifesaver in case of disaster.
Develop A Recovery Plan
Start by working with your IT team to develop strategies to recover data, connectivity, software, and hardware. These plans should all be separate so that you have a method for retrieving each component as necessary. As you begin your plans keep thorough documentation as to the steps and procedures so that everything that must be done before and after a disaster is documented. Each person’s roles and the order of restoration should be recorded to allow for a smooth recovery.
Practice Your Recovery Plan
This is a particularly good example of ‘practice makes perfect.’ Running drills and practice events is essential as any missteps can lead to lost data. Making sure your crisis plan runs smoothly, that there are no gaps, and that all critical information is appropriately stored can make a huge difference if there is an actual disaster. Performing frequent drills will also ensure that your employees are fully aware of the process and less likely to panic.
Compile Contact Lists
Along with lists of customers, suppliers, vendors, business partners, and any preferred repair or maintenance, lists of employee contacts and roles should be made easily accessible. These lists should be left on site and in a few secure offsite locations to allow for easy access in case of emergency.
Create A Battle Box
A battle box is one of the most critical steps for full IT recovery. A good battle box will include physical lists of contacts, equipment, and documents that your company will need in the event of a disaster. This can consist of a lot of different things but should usually have your IT disaster recovery plan, any information about key infrastructure, as well as general emergency gear like flashlights, a cell phone and laptop, and first aid kit.
Disaster Recovery Services
For a streamlined approach, especially for small businesses without a large IT group, a disaster recovery service might be worthwhile. This involves using cloud resources to protect data and applications, as well as help creating implementing a recovery plan.
En-Net Services Can Help Today
Experience a superior method of getting the public sector technology solutions you need through forming a partnership with En-Net Services. Our seasoned team members are familiar with the distinct purchasing and procurement cycles of state and local governments, as well as Federal, K-12 education, and higher education entities. En-Net is a certified Maryland Small Business Reserve with contract vehicles and sub-contracting partnerships to meet all contracting requirements.
To find out more about our hardware services, printing, and imaging services, or to hear more about how a dynamic team can help meet your information technology needs, send us an email or give us a call at 301)-846-9901 today!