Business continuity and disaster planning go hand in hand. When preparing for disasters, business owners often think about emergency numbers, evacuation plans, and insurance issues. But what about the technology in your offices? Do you have a plan to preserve important printed and structural materials? Do you know the technological risk of your company?
Technological risk assessment
The first step in assessing a company’s technology risk is to create inventories of computers, software, and other electronic items that may require programming. After a disaster, applications and hardware may need to be reinstalled and replaced. Having a list of hardware, legal licenses, applications, and software can help a business create recovery budgets.
Your inventory spreadsheet may include information such as: name/type of electronic equipment; who uses it (for example: the CEO’s desktop); computer location, RAM; processor speed; the operating system (for example: Linux, Windows, Apple, etc.); disk size; server information; date and place the item was purchased; and the accompanying hardware.
Risk Assessment of Printed and Structural Materials
Evaluate what can be done to prevent a disaster in your offices. Many business owners plan for major natural disasters, but fail to prevent more common mishaps like fires, water leaks, and mold damage.
Think about what printed materials would devastate your business if they were lost. These documents may include deeds, client files, architectural plans, models, tax documents, x-rays, photographs, etc. Put these documents in a safe place (perhaps off site).
Also, identify the hazards in your workplace. Are candles allowed? Are the fire extinguishers in sight? Are there leaky windows or puddles of water outside the building? Is the office weather-proofed for winter so that water pipes running overhead don’t burst due to sub-zero temperatures?
Backups
All companies should back up data at regular intervals. There are many ways to do it: on CD or DVD, on an external hard drive, or even online. Many companies even keep backup storage off-site in case of an office fire.
When planning data backups, think about: What information is the most important to save? How often will this information need to be backed up? How long will you keep electronic files? If any file is lost, can it be quickly recovered?
Don’t Forget Disaster Recovery Planning
No matter how well prepared you are, disasters do happen. Designate a backup workplace in case the office becomes uninhabitable. Disaster planning should also include plans to recover. How long will it take to be operational again? Where will all the equipment, new or old, be installed after a disaster?
Have the contact information for a disaster restoration specialist on your list of important business numbers. These professionals will help ensure the repair job is done right the first time so that secondary problems (such as mold from water damage) don’t show up later. Document restoration specialists can help companies get back in business quickly. Specialists can restore items such as photographs, books or documents, and even X-rays.
It is not pleasant to think about worst case scenarios when it comes to planning the future of a business. However, when it comes to business continuity, not thinking about planning for the worst is foolish. Protect your business assets – prepare for technological disasters.
~Flora Richards-Gustafson, 2009