Disasters always seem to come when you least expect them. That is part of what a tragedy is, after all, something unexpected and overwhelming that can completely change the landscape of not only the world around you but your business and livelihood as well.  

A cloud-based backup and disaster recovery solution should be the first step in any business’ disaster recovery plan. It should be customized to the individual company’s size, data storage requirements, and user count. This means that all critical data will be saved on various on- and off-premise servers, allowing easy retrieval quickly after a disaster.

Do I Need a Backup and Disaster Recovery Plan For My Business?

The answer, both the long and short of it, is yes. Even a single data breach or loss can completely devastate your company, so having a comprehensive backup plan is essential. Backup and disaster recovery systems automatically make several versions of your data and transport them to safe, off-site storage for optimal availability, whether your data is at risk of being harmed by virus infections, system failures, natural causes, or irresponsible personnel.

Backup and disaster recovery (or BDR) planning encompasses both the practice of backing up vital data and the steps to restore data that has been lost. That means that BDR is an essential aspect of a company’s total business continuity plan, just like a firm insurance policy. Without it, a company faces a significant chance of suffering a catastrophic loss.

What Are The Risks My Business Can Face?

When protecting their technology, too many business owners adopt the mindset of “it won’t happen to me.” They hear about these potential tragedies but refuse to believe they may happen to their company. When these catastrophes do occur, these businesses usually suffer a large amount of harm.

But what are the actual risks you might face?

  • Revenue Loss: You are losing more and more income as you spend your downtime scrambling to find a solution to downtime caused by an IT or natural disaster. After all, you can’t run a business properly if you or your staff can’t get the information they need to do their tasks correctly.
  • Loss of Data and Business Operation Disruption: Your company relies on data. When you lose business data, you lose the information you need to run your company efficiently and for your staff to execute their duties.
  • Client Loss: As you’ve run your business, you’ve most likely earned the trust of your customers. They’re loyal to your products or services, but only if you operate efficiently. When you experience downtime, they’ll begin to wonder when you’ll be able to deliver the product or service they anticipate. On the other hand, if you are retaining customer information about the product or service they are purchasing from you, losing this information for an extended period or permanently would not sit well with your consumer base.
  • Business Loss: Businesses may suffer setbacks that are too difficult and financially costly to recover from in the most extreme circumstances of disasters. Without a plan in place, the problem could spiral out of control, resulting in more data loss, downtime, and customer departures. Eventually, the expense of resolving the issue becomes too great for a company to bear, and the company goes out of business.

So What Should I Do To Create a Backup and Disaster Recovery Plan?

  • First, understand that the Midwest states are no strangers to disaster. They’ve been affected by torrential flooding rains, devastating tornadoes, bomb cyclones, overwhelming snowfall, and more. Any of these can easily and quickly wipe out places of business, easily taking out their data. Assume that calamity can come at any moment while understanding and addressing the dangers of not having a quick disaster recovery plan.
  • The next step is to figure out what your plan’s main components are, as well as what you wish to safeguard. Consider all business components, including assets, staff, systems, data, and other resources, as well as what is required to keep everyday operations functioning. You will want to make sure the recovery plan covers all of these factors to ensure that you get back to work as quickly and safely as possible after the tragedy.
  • Now that you know what you need to protect, it’s essential to assess your Recovery Time Objective (the amount of time your organization can withstand a downtime) and Recovery Point Objective (the maximum quantity of data you can afford to lose before it becomes unacceptable). Knowing these data metrics can help you create a solid BDR strategy tailored to your company’s needs.
  • After that, it’s time to put in place dependable backup tools. Remember that all solutions should be tailored to your company’s specific demands and regulations. You’ll want to invest more in these products if you have more data, staff, or a shorter RTO/RPO. Data should be encrypted and backed up at least once daily; however, more frequent backups are strongly suggested. One of the best places to store your data is in a secure Cloud, though you should have multiple backups, not just one.
  • Finally, it would help if you established clear policies and procedures so everyone knows exactly how to react in times of crisis. Document and share your emergency response processes with your staff. Every employee should understand their role in the recovery process so that they can respond quickly and efficiently in the case of a disaster. Continuous testing and frequent reviews of your rules and backups should be part of these policies and processes.

You work hard to keep your business running smoothly, and the last thing you want is an unexpected calamity to derail everything. That is where BSuite Cyber comes in.

We’ll work with you to break down your cybersecurity and disaster preparedness strategies and ensure you’ve considered all options. 

Do you need more advanced cyber security to protect you and your business against online threats? Whether it is data breach prevention, secure cloud services, password security, or otherwise related to cyber security, BSuite Cyber covers it all. Contact us today at (312) 600-5610 or through email at [email protected] to learn more.