Data loss can happen to any business and can destroy a firm quickly. The Small Business Administration estimates that nearly 75% of business owners do not have a disaster recovery plan, and more than 80% are not prepared with natural disaster insurance, or even have access to a generator in case power is lost. If data is lost, the majority of firms go out of business within a couple of years. A business survey was taken and over 90% of personal computers are not backed up either.
Most people assume that misfortune will not happen to them. That is not the case. All businesses need to be prepared in case of an unforeseen negative occurrence. Here are a few things you can do to prepare your business for an unfortunate event:
- 1) Back up your computer often. Check your backups frequently and keep them off-site in a safe, secure location. That way if a fire, flood, or other event occurs, your backups will not be destroyed.
- 2) Have a survival plan that takes into account data loss or business interruption. Have a comprehensive disaster plan in place so that your business can recover quickly. Know how long it will take to recover your data to keep your business going.
- 3) Develop a continuity plan for your business. A lot of entrepreneurs think that they will have a short recovery period if a disaster happens. This is not realistic, and if something catastrophic happens like Hurricane Katrina did in 2005, it could put an owner permanently out of business. The companies that survived after such bad times were the ones who had mobile phones or laptops.
- 4) Test out your disaster preparedness before a major event happens. You should know how long it takes to recover your information. If you don’t know the process of recovery it could impede your business a great deal.
These are just a few pointers on what to do before disaster strikes. For more tips on how to weather the storm, visit cmitsolutions.com/disasterpreparedness.
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