With data loss, cyber security attacks and now coronavirus infection increasing on a daily basis, many small and medium sized businesses are yet to implement disaster recovery measures to protect themselves against unexpected threats that could cripple an organisation's operations.

Infact, very few companies have formal plans in place for restoring system functionality and ensuring business continuity with the least possible downtime.

Small business IT support in london is extermely important for those companies who need ongoing IT help to maintain productivity.

Having systems that can become vulnerable to generic failures, looming threats and malicious attacks is one of the key reasons why a disaster recovery (DR) plan is essential in this new technology driven era and why your business cannot be lagging behind.

In some cases when disaster strikes - in whatever shape or form - there are no second chances and regardless of all the hard efforts put in to build a successful brand, your business could go under quickly.

So how do you plan for “what ifs”  disaster recovery scenarios that could  harm your business?

In this blog, we will explore common aspects of disaster recovery for business as well as steps you can take to be on the bright side should an unfortunate incident occur.

What is an IT disaster recovery plan?

A disaster recovery plan is a structured document that describe how your business can quickly resume operation should an unplanned incident occur. Bearing in mind that incidents can result from natural disasters, unexpected system failures or deliberate / accidental human errors, there are numerous factors your business must contend with.

Having a disaster recovery plan can help your business to resolve data loss issues quickly and become functionally operational, even at a minimal level following an incident. Outsourced IT support london paves the way for enabling an organisation's ability to operate effectively in uncertain taimes. 

What should be in your disaster recovery plan?

Your disaster recovery plan should be created after taking a comprehensive look at the critical elements that can be prioritised to resume business operation. This means an effective disaster recovery plan should look well beyond IT systems, application and data.

Your disaster recovery strategy should also consider human, technology and financial factors that will enable your business to bounce back quickly and resume effective operation. That said, your IT infrastructure and contingency place of work are also paramount.

Given the above, having an IT disaster recovery plan that is consistent with the priorities of your business functions and processes should align with your business impact analysis.

What are some of the key factors you think could help your business to recover in the event of a disaster?

Let’s dive into the core ingredients of your business disaster recovery (DR) plan checklist:

• Objectives – what’s is the purpose for your disaster recovery plan?
• Scope – the services and locations covered by your plan?
• Internal contacts – who are the key personnel to contact within your business?
• External contacts – which suppliers, employees or customers do you need to communicate with?
• Incident response – which type of incidents or events will trigger your DR plan into action?
• DR procedures – what’s your plan of action for each type of incident?
• Alternative work location – what is your alternate place of work should the official business location becomes a disaster recovery challenge?
• Communication strategy – what will be said to the outside world to protect your business integrity and brand reputation?
• DR plan test and review – when and how often will you check if your DR plan works?

What IT aspects should be included in your disaster recovery plan?

In addition to an IT inventory. your plan should also include strategies which ensure that critical business information is backed up. If it is not already obvious, your disaster recovery plan is actually part of the business continuity plan.

Assets are the most important resources for smooth business operation and through effective forward planning and identifying critical IT infrastructure hardware, software and data resources this will help to keep your business operational and running smoothly.

Who needs a disaster recovery plan?

Disaster recovery plans are not only useful for large enterprises, every small business need to have one too. There are severe consequences for not having a disaster recovery plan. Some businesses learnt this truth the hard way with serious regrets of a disastrous experience, while others never made it past the incident to tell the tale. Which of these two casualties would you like your business to become?

Protect your data – your business depends on it

Nearly one in every business utilise resources that exposes aspects of their functionality online via intgration layers or web apps. Online exposure may exist in the form of email communications, web browsing, cloud storage or integration interfaces for processing business logic. Interface exposures via the internet introduces risk for human errors and cyber-attacks that could result in data loss or system compromise. Both recoverable and irrecoverable data loss scenarios put business at risk and in some cases can attract hefty costs to put things right.

Here are our top tips for improving data security and boost disaster recovery success.

• Identify essential data

Phones, laptop, PC, and tablet can have locally stored data sets which could get lost in the event of an unforeseen disaster. Mac Support in London is also top the list of requirements for many small and medium-sized businesses.

• Back up your data

Having regular data backup can preserve the existence of successful information recovery should a disaster strike. This could be complemented by IT support in London where staffs are expected to operate like they are still in the office or their place work.

Large capacity USB drives, portable hard drives, a separate computer and cloud storage are common storage options that could be used for data backup, depending on content volume and data security criteria. In some cases, a backup software would be required to ensure that the correct information is frequently backed up and carried out properly. Corrupted systems or data compromise can have significant cost implications - and the same can be said about data recovery services. 

For effective business continuity it essential that both onsite and off-site storage capabilities are addressed in your disaster recovery plan. Your data backup should be stored with the same level of security as the original information.

The human aspects of your disaster recovery plan

With recent outbreaks of the Coronavirus, many businesses are taking precautions to protect their workforce and daily operations by allowing staff to work from home. By adopting this business continuity strategy, it means they can remain operational without compromising their most valuable commodity - employed staffs.

The risk of Corona virus escalating within the workplace is real and driven primarily by the need for possible interactions between staff members and visitors alike. By recognising this risk and acting promptly to contain unexpected incidents, businesses can gain competitive advantage by opting for remote working and embracing team collaboration via new technology functionalities such as Microsoft Teams, Trello, Slack, WhatsApp, Skype. cloud storage... and the list goes on. Having an experienced IT Support company in london to help with your technology solution will help to ease the pain of staff transitioning from an office environment to working from home.

How can cloud technology help with disaster recovery?

Cloud storage is where an independent technology provider store your data on their systems, with access to that data via the internet. Cloud solution is a cost-effective and efficient way to keep your data secure without being responsible for infrastructure provision, security or maintenance as these are all managed by the technology provider.

Common cloud storage platforms include DropBox, Google Drive, and iCloud, with each provider offering different scale and services for online data storage. One of the major pain points to consider is, would having a cloud solution provider London help to increase business operational effectiveness?

You should consider the following cloud platform features as crucial elements which could influence the outcome of your disaster recovery planning strategy:

• Cloud provider cost
• Data volume and backup capacity allowed by the provided
• The cloud provider physical location
• how quickly can you get access to your data stored in the cloud during critical moments

Cloud solution benefits

Cloud storage lets you back up data automatically thereby eliminating the need for manual intervention and human errors. This means data can be up to date in near real time, minimal business down time scenarios, reduced data integrity concerns and the provision of an effective disaster recovery solution for your business.

In concluding...

Disaster can strike at anytime and being prepared is one of the best methods for ensuring business continuity in an era where resource availability is crucial for ongoing operation. With deliberate decisions and actions to put business operation and continuity at the forefront of your technology roadmap, the likelihood of data loss and system downtime could be significantly reduced.

Solid Rock IT is a reputable IT Support company in London offering outsourced IT services, technology solutions and IT consultancy across business industry niches, including small and medium sized organisations. We have actively partnerships with numerous cloud solution providers and help our clients with proactive disaster recovery solutions, data backup strategies and business continuity consultancy for many years.

If you operate a business and is yet to implement a disaster recovery strategy, we would love to help you get started. Simply send us your business disaster recovery requirements today and one of our technology solutions expert will respond to your enquiry shortly.