If your business experienced a disastrous event, how would you navigate moving forward?
Backup and disaster recovery are essential components for business continuity. Data backup is the process of copying files and storing them in different locations, and disaster recovery is the overarching strategy to bounce back from catastrophe.
A thorough backup and disaster recovery plan separates the businesses that recover after a catastrophic incident and those that don’t. The University of Texas found that 94% of companies that suffer significant data loss don’t bounce back. 43% of them never reopen, and 51% close within two years. It’s likely that these businesses were never taught how to back up business software and create a plan for the worst case possible. So, these are the key points to consider when creating a small business backup and disaster recovery plan.
Know your risks
Risks come in all forms, so spotting them may be tricky without the proper knowledge. It starts with preventative measures – acknowledging that your business needs a disaster recovery plan (DRP) is the first step to protecting your data, personnel, and resources. These are common threats and events that force companies to use their backup and recovery plans:
- Equipment failure
- Cyber attacks
- Natural disasters
- Human error
- Power outages
- Internal sabotage
Understand your systems
Because technology is unique to each company, having visibility of all the servers, networks, software, and devices gives you better insight into how to protect it. IT documentation is vital not only for backup and disaster recovery but also for understanding your systems to keep them healthy and problem-free. For example, a company with strict on-site backup regulations will plan differently than an entirely cloud-based company. Knowing how to care for your IT infrastructure protects your business in the long term.
Set up RTO and RPO
Say your business comes across an unexpected event and cannot function until your recovery kicks in. When can your employees, business partners, and customers expect you to resume regular operating hours? One hiccup can make it difficult to serve people who rely on you. So, setting metrics to meet is essential when creating a disaster recovery plan (DRP).
Recovery Time Objective (RTO) and Recovery Point Objective (RPO) are two parameters that will set your business up for success when creating a disaster recovery or data protection plan.
- Recovery Time Objective: RTO is how long a business has to restore its processes while having adequate service after a catastrophe without facing significant consequences. RTO is essentially the amount of “tolerable downtime” a system or application can have.
- Recovery Point Objective: RPO is the amount of data loss your business can ensue while still operating normally as if nothing happened. By differentiating critical data from excess data, businesses can prioritize their system reparations in the event of a disaster.
Back up your data
A plan is nothing without taking action. Backing up data makes recovering a breeze and gives you peace of mind knowing that your business can fully recover from any disaster or cyber-attack. These are two easy-to-implement software businesses often use to back up important data.
Carbonite
Carbonite is a powerful solution for small businesses that want a simple solution for securing their data. Whether your company runs on Windows or Mac, you’ll have peace of mind knowing that your data is secure and compliant in the case of a catastrophe.
Spanning
As the #1 Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) Backup Solution, many businesses are backed by Spanning because it’s secure and easy to use. Whether your business uses Microsoft 365, Salesforce, or Google Workspace, your software data is protected. While there are many backup solutions for small businesses, it’s important to choose a solution that best fits your business needs, so you’re prepared when disaster strikes.
Test Your Plan
Sometimes, technology falls through, and we lose out on exciting opportunities. Unfortunately, having a plan isn’t enough. Making sure your agenda works as planned is the next step for a successful backup and disaster recovery. According to a cloud computing company, Sherweb found that 75% of IT managers who had a backup system for the company couldn’t restore all the data that was lost. To ensure your small business backup solutions work, we recommend testing them periodically, especially when there are substantial changes in the business or IT infrastructure.
Don’t wait for disaster
As cliché as it might be, success doesn’t happen overnight. Unfortunately, the opposite is often true, and we’ve seen too many businesses decline from one disastrous incident because of a lack of backup and disaster recovery planning. Operating your business daily is a challenge, so we understand how difficult it can be to tend to your technology needs. At Parried, we ensure your business technology, IT infrastructure, and IT strategy are taken care of, so you have peace of mind. What do your current backup and disaster recovery plans look like? Schedule a free IT consultation with our experts for a customized business continuity plan and DRP to protect your business.
