What would you do if tomorrow you experienced a major, business interrupting event? Fire, flood, break in; what would you do to get your business up and running again? Would you have all the information you need? Where would you move to? How long would your business be interrupted?
If you have answers to these questions, great! You have likely spent some time thinking about a disaster recovery plan for your business. However, if these questions left you feeling semi-anxious and ill prepared, don’t worry. The 3 steps below will get you on your way to being disaster ready:
Write a One Page Plan
Develop a one page disaster recovery plan. In this plan outline what you will do in the days following a disaster. Go through what information you need to keep your business intact. Secure vendor lists, pertinent contact information, and any other relevant details you would need to reboot your business. Keep this plan in the cloud, so that you are able to spring into action should your business be halted by an unforeseen event.
Discuss Your IT Solutions
Do you work with an IT provider? Have you discussed disaster recovery plans with them? If not, we recommend having this conversation with them as soon as possible. Find out if they are prepared to assist you should something occur. Find out how long it would take them to restore your backup to new hardware, in the event of hardware theft or destruction. Having this discussion with your provider means you are both on the same page and have the same expectations regarding what they will do to help, and the timeline of events.
Secure a Temporary Workspace
If your physical workspace is destroyed, do you have options so that you are able to keep working? Discuss temporary office space with fellow business owners and come to an agreement that you can each provide temporary workspace in the event of a major disaster. This kind of arrangement is mutually beneficial and gives peace of mind. Another option is to restore your files to a new piece of hardware and work from home. How quickly could you make space in your home to work there? If home is not an option, then securing emergency work space in other office is a great alternative.
Hopefully after reading this article, you already have answers to some of the questions asked at the beginning. Writing your plan, discussing your IT needs, and securing a temporary workspace are 3 ways to ensure your business is able to become fully operational soon after a business interrupting disaster. By being disaster ready, and having relevant conversations with colleagues, there will be no question as to the plan of action in the event of an emergency. Your business will be up and running, barely skipping a beat.
