Natural disasters affect communities and businesses in a profound way, with small businesses being the biggest casualty of natural disasters. The reason for this vulnerability of SMEs is a lack of business continuity plan (BCP) that will help the organization to recover from its loss, and get on with its business.
When SMEs have such a BCP, it is possible to re-open quickly for business, even within days after the disaster. This reopening is critical for the future of the business as it reflects its strength and resilience. Its brand image will be more positive in the eyes of its customers, and it may even give a community something to cheer about after a natural disaster. Besides protecting a company from the possible losses, a good business continuity plan also makes the company more attractive to future clients and partners. For these reasons, it is essential for every SME to have a sound BCP in place, irrespective of its location.
One way to provide business continuity is to use the services of a Managed Service Provider (MSP). These providers guarantee a certain set of options such as network services, applications and servers, or equipment maintenance to small businesses all the time, even during the occurrence of natural disasters. Many MSPs also offer cloud storage that protect the critical data of the business, and reduces the recovery time for the business. The advent of cloud-based recovery-as-a-service has further improved the quality of disaster recovery, according to Eric Webster of Channel Partners. Moreover, good MSPs work with the business to have a business continuity plan in place, and this plan is tested frequently to ensure that it works.
As a result, the SMEs do not have to worry about the IT aspects, and can focus resources better on the business needs. Moreover, the small business can have access to a larger pool of knowledge because the MSP is likely to have the resources needed to improve information security, or even to drive technology decisions.
For these reasons, it is a good idea for every SME to have a tie-in with an MSP to handle their IT planning, disaster and recovery.
Edited by Rory J. Thompson