Why. Your business. Needs. a Disaster RecoveryPlan.

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1 Why Your business Needs a Disaster RecoveryPlan

2 1 Disaster recovery is something that every business must plan for, but not many think about. A Disaster Preparedness Survey among 900 SMEs in the Asia-Pacific conducted by Symantec in 2011 discovered that about a quarter of small and mid-sized businesses do a daily back up of their data, and alarmingly, 15% do not do any back up at all. The survey also found that 59 per cent of businesses only developed a disaster recovery plan after experiencing a serious incident that caused downtime or loss of data, and that downtime costs averaged US$12,000 a day for each SME. Research analysts The Gartner Group also found that 40 per cent of businesses do not survive beyond five years following a disaster. Not many businesses realize the importance of disaster recovery, but proper disaster ning may make a critical difference to your business being able to continue operating after a catastrophic strike, such as a hacker attack or natural disaster. Along with the financial implications, disaster recovery and business continuity planning are also important requirements from both a customer service and regulatory perspective. Recent laws enacted across many countries require that sensitive data be stored safely, where it is correctly maintained and can be retrieved immediately. How to develop a disaster recovery plan Developing a disaster recovery plan will take time, effort and a financial investment. There is no one standard disaster recovery solution, as not all businesses need the same disaster. Consider the cost of your disaster and determine where your business is most vulnerable to a disaster or disruption by identifying risks that are specific to your company and then quantify their potential impact on your business.

3 2 When faced with a data disaster, you need to identify which part of your operations and IT systems have to be up and running first. For example, your company s website and would have to be reactivated first so as to ensure smooth running of your business. Keep your computers and software virus-free and malware-free by installing anti-virus software, make sure your software is always kept up-to-date so that it is able to defend and prevent newer viruses from attacking your systems. Virus attacks can cause file corruption, leaks of important company information or a complete shutdown of your network. Questions to consider There are also other ways to prepare for a data disaster and disaster recovery. You may need to speak with your customers to find out what kind of services they would like recovered first and most importantly, fast. Look at a disaster as a roadmap for returning your business to partial or normal operation. Questions you should consider when developing your disaster includes: How will you backup your data?; How will you recover them? ; and How much time will it take before access to your IT system is restored? You also need to include into your plan information such as your hardware and software requirements, backup procedures and locations of backups, as well as a list of critical employees and vendor contacts. If you have a disaster in place, it doesn t mean you are fully protected. Do develop a contingency plan to prepare for a disaster and test it out. This will allow you to gauge how prepared your business will be during a real emergency and allow you to fine tune your contingency plans. Preferably, you should also set up another location that is well equipped with network,

4 3 telecoms infrastructure and IT so as to ensure employees are able to continue working and continue your day-to-day business when faced with a real disaster. Understand that your data is the company s most vital asset, and the loss can have detrimental consequences. In order to prevent the loss or minimize the damage done, data can be automatically updated regularly and stored in a separate location. For example, this can be stored in a cloud that is managed by a cloud service provider. Cloud storage offers a less expensive way for your business to replicate and store backup data. The cloud system can ensure that your company s data is stored in a safe place and is accessible to you and your staff at any place and at any time of the day. This convenience enables you to keep your business running or get your business back on track within the least amount of time. This can significantly cut down financial losses and retain customer loyalty. What to look for in a cloud service provider There are a few things you can look out for when choosing your cloud service provider. A reliable cloud service provider should have little to no downtime and should also be located in a place where it is not prone to natural disasters. The cloud service provider should also provide anti-virus and antimalware protection for your data. This will ensure a peace of mind

5 4 for you and your business. Your cloud service provider should also have a 24-hour helpline, in order to provide you with the IT services you require at any point of time to assist you and your company with their cloud storage system. By having a good disaster, it can save your company from suffering great losses. It is critical to develop a plan that can mitigate all the problems that you may face during a data disaster. There are many companies that had the foresight to do proper data disaster ning and have survived data disasters. Many are still running till this day. A good plan will ensure that problems arising from a data disaster will not develop into a critical stage ICONZ-Webvisions All rights reserved. This writeup is for informational purposes only. ICONZ-Webvisions MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY All trademarks and service marks are the property of their respective owners.