Businesses large and small alike have to be prepared for the unexpected in today's climate. Natural disasters can threaten the physical infrastructure of a business and the workplace, while hackers and malware can easily compromise and cripple a company's digital holdings. In both cases, the consequences range everywhere from loss of service to the leaking of private company or customer information amidst the chaos.
Disasters are extremely unlikely, but enterprises should always be cognizant of the fact that eventually, they will take place, and usually at the least convenient time possible. This is especially true for small businesses. Many small businesses think that they simply don't have the resources to commit to a full disaster recovery plan, and that it is a luxury only affordable by big businesses.
The truth is, some of the same tools that help save money are also the best tools for disaster recovery. All businesses need a disaster recovery plan because disasters will always cost more money than is saved by not preparing for them. It's also not a question of if, but when. According to Matthew Sarrel of ITportal.com, maintaining communication and instructing staff on how to handle the disaster is the key priority.
For starters, cloud computing is used by several companies to store data without having to own or manage physical storage space. Yet in the event of a disaster, like a flood or a fire, the data will still be safe because it was all located off-site. Even if the databank that stores the data were destroyed, most professional cloud storage companies will have backup servers that have copies of the data. They will also use state-of-the-art encryption techniques to secure the data from hackers better.
Another often overlooked disaster recovery option is Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephony. With VoIP, subscribing companies can use hosted PBX phone networks that will keep phone lines connected between offices through redundant Internet servers. That way, even if the phone lines are knocked out, calls can keep right on going as if nothing happened. As an added bonus, most VoIP providers allow for free call forwarding to employee's personal phone numbers, allowing them to quickly convert their cell phone into a desk phone if the office is out of commission – for any reason.