management best practices


Is Your Business Prepared for a Disaster


frankHUSTON


Frank Huston is vice president and COO of netDirective Technologies, located in Rockledge. For more information visit www.netdirective.com


Develop a Continuity Plan Now, Before It’s Too Late


Hurricane season is rearing its head once again. Back in 2004, the Space Coast suffered through the consecutive strikes of Hurricanes Frances and Jeanne and, as a result, many of us refocused on hurricane preparedness.


The question is: “Does your contingency plan encompass everything it should?” Though hurricanes are definitely a threat to Florida


commerce, they are just one peril that can disrupt daily operations and potentially devastate a thriving business. Lightning strikes, fire, telecommunication line breaks, flooding, theft, hardware failures, software corruptions, and disgruntled employees are far more common causes of business interruption. To reduce the impact of threats that are likelier to damage


your business on a day-to-day basis, don’t just think “hurricane preparedness,” think “business continuity.” A good business conti- nuity plan employs best practices in both outage prevention and operational continuity for technology and staff.


Action Plan


1 Review 2 Learn


Of businesses that experienced SIGNIFICANT loss of data


N 43%EVER REOPEN


SURVIVE LONG-TERM


ONLY 6% 80]JULY2010 spacecoastbusiness.com


your business plan, identify the technology area(s) that are crucial to the continuity of


your business, and take proactive measures to minimize service interruption.


from the mistakes of others. Research businesses similar to yours that have gone through disasters


or service interruptions and see how their plans faired.


3 Develop 4 Consider


an emergency staffing schedule and share it with all employees. Be clear in defining


expectations and responsibilities.


your businesses’ dependency on the Internet and define an “acceptable service


interruption” for your business. Once defined, consider possible network improvements including redundant Internet feeds from different providers, generator power, or offsite hosted services.


5 Maintain 6 Analyze 7 Review


and test your electrical gener- ator, on a regular basis, if


you have one. Set up a contract with a defined service level agreement for fuel delivery during a storm or disaster with a primary, secondary, and even a tertiary provider.


core business services and devel- opment plans for relocating


these services to alternate sites in the event of an extended outage. This may include a secondary “hot site” for your core business operations and technologies as well as telecommuting options for staff.


your data protection plans. Make sure corporate data and


computer server images are safely stored offsite


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