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Disaster Recovery and Disaster Planning
Disaster recovery may be the single most important emergency planning a company can do to ensure its business's long term success. Backup tapes are just a small part of disaster recovery (and those only serve their purpose when they are stored off site-consider that backup tapes sitting next to the server will be useless if the building catches fire or is knocked down in a hurricane).
It's not uncommon, however, for businesses to skimp on disaster recovery. The mindset is that "nothing will happen to us." And that's always true-until it does. Research shows that 93 percent of businesses that lose data for 10 or more days file for bankruptcy. The alarming truth is that a disaster, whether caused by a power failure, weather or anything else, can disable your business. So, being prepared is essential.
And it's not always as complicated or as expensive a process as you might think. For example, one of the best kept secrets is the Microsoft backup that comes free with most PC purchases. It's one of the best backup programs available, but many people simply don't know about it. Learning more about what the tools you already have can do for your business is a first step in disaster recovery.
The next step is finding the right IT consultant to help you implement a "big picture" approach to your recovery plan. Backup tapes and disks are but a small part in the larger recovery plan. For example, managing a client's power and asking "what if?" questions are just a couple of the steps JSC takes when evaluating and proposing any disaster recovery plan.
Power surges and failures are the number one cause of data loss, according to American Power Conversion (APC)*. Therefore, it makes sense to protect your outlets with the highest quality protectors available, not the $6 one you grab at your local box retail store on your trip back to the battery aisle. Managing your power is easy to do, so there's no reason not to have this step of the recovery plan already in place.
*This information provided by data from APC, INC.
Disaster Recovery is defined by:
- • Prevention and Testing-Preventing power outages, security threats and hardware glitches are easier to control than a hurricane or a national emergency. JSC can monitor and test our clients' backup plans. We cannot emphasize enough the value in testing, testing and more testing of a recovery plan. It's during the testing process that procedures can be corrected so that in the event of a real emergency, the recovery plan is ready and the best results-minimal or no lost data-are likely.
Better yet is the business that has multiple backups in place. JSC always prefers for clients to have not just backup tapes, but also disks. We also encourage businesses to invest in a spare backup server if their budgets can allow.
• Recovery- As we previously stated, staying ahead of a potential disaster is far easier than trying to gain your footing in the aftermath. And recovering data is never a joyous task, but it can be easier and result in no or little lost information when a recovery plan is in place. At JSC, we want you to be ready to address any disaster without your business ever missing a beat. So, we place high importance on working with you to establish a clear and easily executable recovery plan.
• Defining Critical Applications-JSC can help you define the most critical applications that keep your business moving forward. In most cases, we can even simplify your business processes by eliminating redundant or unnecessary applications and/or procedures. Those applications that are deemed critical should be backed up first and the first that are addressed when recovery is necessary.
• Evolving Knowledge-There is always something new to learn when it comes to disaster recovery. At JSC, we are current with the latest industry news regarding disaster recovery. Our knowledge base is constantly evolving and changing as more and better backup options become available.
We routinely speak with clients about their emergency backup plans and urge anyone who is thinking of upgrading their backup implementation to move forward-it's an investment that pays for itself with even one minor disaster like a short power outage or an accident.
