There’s no doubt that a good disaster recovery plan (DRP) can be extremely useful in a crisis. Indeed, it’s one of the things that very often determines whether or not a business will survive a catastrophic event such as a fire, flood, or ransomware attack.
In fact, the difference it can make is huge. One report noted that up to 40% of businesses with no plan in place were unable to recover quickly or fully from a ransomware attack. With a plan in place, just 7% of businesses suffered the same fate.
With both malicious attacks and natural disasters on the rise (2017 was the most expensive year on record in terms of natural disasters), it’s clear that having a robust DRP in place is more important than ever before. But the value of a disaster recovery plan during a catastrophic disaster isn’t the only reason to spend some time creating one. A good DRP can also make your business more productive.
Here are four ways in which a solid Disaster Recovery Plan can help your business, even during non-crisis times.
1. It allows you to retain access to data
Secure, off-site backup of key data is an important part of any solid DRP – but having essential resources backed up in the cloud can be immensely useful in a range of ways. First and foremost it enables your employees to be more flexible. Should a device break, for example, work can still continue on another device, with cloud-based files and software still available. Plus employees are empowered to work as normal even when traveling or working from home.
2. It ensures robust communications
Multiple, robust means of communication should be a part of your DRP, as the ability to communicate will be vital during any disaster that threatens your business. But having several functional, reliable channels of communication can also make your office more productive in general. Sometimes one means of communication is more suited to a particular task than another, and having options allows employees to pick the most appropriate one.
It also helps deal with small disasters. Inclement weather or a network outage can cause chaos. That chaos is significantly reduced if your company still has at least one functioning means of communication.
3. It helps you know your assets
A detailed inventory of key assets should be a part of any DRP. This is extremely useful when it comes to making an insurance claim, or replacing lost or damaged equipment. Consider also, however, that a detailed and up-to-date hardware inventory could have a range of other uses, from ensuring that devices are maintained and kept up-to-date, to repurposing old equipment rather than letting it go to waste.
4. It keeps your prepared
A good DRP isn’t something you can set up and forget. It requires routine testing, maintenance, and regular training of employees. This is an opportunity not only to instill a sense of preparedness, but also to introduce employees to emergency contacts and procedures, and help them learn more about the structure of the company.
Training staff to support the implementation of a disaster recovery plan, for example, may involve familiarizing them with the IT helpdesk options available to them. This will obviously be useful in the event of a disaster but is also pretty handy for helping them resolve more everyday concerns.
Conclusion
A disaster recovery plan might be crucial to your business during a crisis… but it can also make a significant difference when everything is working as normal. Just one more reason to be prepared.
Contact your managed IT services provider today for help creating and implementing a disaster recovery plan to keep your business safe.
