No one likes to talk about disaster recovery and what would happen if a situation arose where your network or business is shut down due to a disaster. It’s like creating your will before you pass away. No one wants to think about it, but it is a necessary step to prepare for the future. The fact of the matter is, Ransomware attacks are up 600% and natural disasters have increased by 10 times since the 1960’s. This is not a topic that can be overlooked and needs to be made top priority by every company. According to FEMA, 1 in 5 businesses do not have a disaster recovery plan in place and an even more startling fact is that 40% – 60% of small businesses that do get hit with a disaster, fail to reopen. What these facts tell us is that this is a topic that clearly needs to be discussed more to make business owners and executives understand not only its importance, but some of the ramifications if a plan is not in place and a disaster does strike.
Let’s start with the basics, what is a disaster recovery plan? “A disaster recovery plan is a recorded policy and/or process that is designed to assist an organization in executing recovery processes in response to a disaster to protect businesses IT infrastructure and more generally promote recovery.” (TRG) The main purpose of this document is to get your business back up and running as quickly as possible with as little downtime as possible. Other than trying to minimize interruptions to the business, a solid disaster recovery plan can also help with the following:
-Lessen financial impacts caused by the network or business downtime
-It will help train your employees on what safety protocols are in the event of an emergency
-Help you to be proactive and have operational alternatives in place
Some of you may be thinking, “I’m a small organization, this isn’t something I need to worry about.” Or “I have a lot more pressing issues to deal with then this.” Well, a natural disaster can affect anyone at any time, and no one is immune to cyber-attacks. In fact, according to Symantec’s “Internet Security Threat Report”, 43% of all cyber attacks target small businesses. It is very clear that a disaster recovery plan should be a mandatory policy every business has.
Unsure of where to start on creating your own customized plan? That is where we can help! Here at Biz Tech, we have a checklist that will help guide you through the process of creating your own customized disaster recovery plan. If you are interested in receiving a COMPLENTARY copy of this checklist, click the link below and our Client Relations Liaison will reach out to you!
https://info.biztechnologysolutions.com/disaster-recovery-plan
Resources
19 Small Business Cyber Attack Statistics That Need to Know in 2022 – Renolon
What Is a Disaster Recovery Plan and Why Is It Important? (trginternational.com)
Are Natural Disasters Increasing? (emergencyassistancefdn.org)