The 10 Disaster Planning Essentials for a Business Network

June 9, 2020 // News From the Edge backups, disaster plan, documentation

If your data is important to your business, you cannot afford to have your operations halted for days – even weeks – due to data loss or corruption. A disaster can happen at any time, and most occur at the most inconvenient moments. If you aren’t already prepared, you run the risk of having a disaster come before you have in place a plan to handle it. Here, we will outline 10 things you should have in place to make sure your business can get back up and running again in the event of a disaster.

Have a written plan. As simple as it may sound, thinking through disaster preparedness in advance of a crisis will go a long way in getting your network back online quickly. At a minimum, the plan should contain details on the nature of possible disasters and step-by-step processes detailing what needs to get done, who should do it and how. Also include contact information for your providers and username and password information for any key web sites. Writing this plan will also allow you to think about what you need to budget for backup, maintenance and disaster recovery. Once written, print out a copy and store it in a fireproof safe. Also ensure you have an offsite copy at home and a copy with your IT consultant.
Hire a trusted professional to help you. Trying to recover your data after a disaster without professional help can cause even more disastrous results; one misstep during the recovery process can mean permanent data loss or weeks-long downtime. Make sure you work with someone who has experience in both setting up business contingency plans and data recovery.
Have a communications plan. If an event happens during which employees can’t access your office, your work email or your phones, how should they communicate with you? Make sure your plan includes multiple communication methods.
Automate your backups. If backing up your data depends on a human being doing something, it’s flawed. The #1 cause of data loss is human error (people not swapping out tapes properly, someone not setting up the backup to run properly, etc.). Always automate your backups so that they run like clockwork.
Have an offsite backup of your data. Always maintain a recent copy of your data offsite, on a different server or on a storage device. Onsite backups are good, but they won’t help you if they get stolen, flooded, burned or hacked along with your server.
Have remote access and management of your network. Not only will this allow you and your staff to keep working if you can’t go into your office, but you’ll love the convenience it offers. Plus, your IT partner should be able to access your network remotely in the event of an emergency and for routine maintenance. Make sure they can.
Image your server. Having a copy of your data offsite is good, but keep in mind that all that information has to be restored someplace to be of any use. If you don’t have all the software disks and licenses, it could take days to reinstate your applications (like Microsoft Office, your database, accounting software, etc.) even though your data may be readily available. Imaging your server is similar to making an exact replica; that replica can then be directly copied to another server. This saves an enormous amount of time and money in getting your network back. Best of all, you don’t have to worry about losing your preferences, configurations or favorites. To find out more about this type of backup, ask your IT partner.
Network documentation. Network documentation is simply a blueprint of the software, data, systems and hardware you have in your company’s network. Your IT partner should put this together for you. This will make the job of restoring your network faster and easier. It also speeds up the process of everyday repairs on your network since the technicians don’t have to spend time figuring out where things are located and how they are configured. And finally, should disaster strike, you have documentation of exactly what you lost for insurance claims. Again, have your IT partner document this and keep a printed copy with your disaster recovery plan.
Maintain your system. One of the most important ways to avoid disaster is by maintaining the security of your network. While fires, floods, theft and natural disasters are certainly a threat, you are much more likely to experience downtime and data loss due to a virus, worm or hacker attack. That’s why it’s critical to keep your network patched, secure and up-to-date. Additionally, monitor hardware for deterioration and software for corruption. This is another overlooked threat that can wipe you out. Make sure you replace or repair aging software/hardware to avoid this problem.
Test, test, test! A study conducted in by Forrester Research and the Disaster Recovery Journal found that 50 percent of companies test their disaster recovery plan just once a year, while 14 percent never test. If you are going to go to the trouble of setting up a plan, then at least have your IT partner run a test once a month to make sure your backups are working and your system is secure.

Luckily, you don’t have to tackle all of this alone. Dynamic Edge has 20+ years of experience helping businesses like yours ensure their data is safe. Contact us by email today to discuss solutions or call us at 734.404.8046 / 615.274.8547.