40 technology
Don’t just make hay while the sun shines, make your business continuity plan
50% of businesses do not have a business continuity/disaster recovery plan* and of those without a plan 80% fail within 13 months*, writes Russell Cook, director at SIRE Technology
Like the water, the memories of this year’s floods have receded. Organisations that weren’t affected won’t have given it a second thought and of those that were, up to 50% may no longer be in business. Although the sun is shining now, more extremes of weather are likely and next time it could be your business that suffers.
Think about these questions; what happens if my office is flooded or if my staff can’t get to work? How will this affect business? What plans are in place to ensure the continuity of my business? If you answered, ‘I don’t know’, to these questions then now is the time to think about a business continuity plan. Having your data housed on-site when you can’t access it would effectively put the business on standby, this would be hugely detrimental with statistics showing that *43% of businesses never re-open after a disaster.
If you and your staff are only able to access key data from your main business location and no one can get there, then you are effectively closed. As well as the possible loss of new business, current clients may feel frustrated, damaging the relationship and prompting them to look for an alternative supplier.
Preparation will pay dividends
Business downtime is serious. The key priority to continuity is access to company data. With a secure cloud solution, businesses can access all of their data from anywhere where there is an internet connection. Workers continue to respond to customers without the worry of trying to reach work. Working from home removes the additional stress that disrupted (or even day to day) commuting brings.
It is commonplace to be able to access your data, securely, 24/7. Mobile devices have paved the way and businesses need to recognise the benefits that this technology can bring to their organisation, regardless of size or sector.
Taking out insurance is something
www.businessmag.co.uk
that we do, in our private life, fervently hoping that we will never call upon it and investing in a disaster recovery programme for your business is in that category. When the unexpected happens we find ourselves thinking “if only”. Add to this the alarming statistic that 90% of companies that lose data shut within two years*, safeguarding against a range of hypothetical eventualities seems an obvious step for any business.
Questions about your business
When planning business continuity the first question is, ‘ What are the vital assets without which my business can’t function?’ Relocating staff is inconvenient but not impossible; buildings are a shell housing your business and can be replaced.
It is
the record of contacts, transactions, communications and contracts that represent years of trading, and the associated applications that have been developed to manage and evaluate this accumulated knowledge and intelligence that are the unique assets that need protecting. Maintaining reliable and secure access to this information is key to ensuring the continuity of your business. With this in mind take some time to assess your current situation; ask yourself; ‘Am I as protected as I can be?’
Consider the following: • Can you access your data remotely? • Is it backed up and accessible off site?
• Are staff able to work remotely, with access to relevant files?
• How long would it take to get alternative services up and running?
• Have you considered moving away from a dedicated IT infrastructure to hosted capacity and applications, delivered over the Internet?
Details: Russell Cook 01344-758700
rcook@sire.co.uk www.sire.co.uk
*London Chamber of Commerce
If you answered ‘yes’ to the last question there are some supplementary points you should consider checking with your provider:
1) What guarantees are within the Service Level Agreement (SLA)?
2) Where is my data? Check where your data is being housed: UK, Europe, America…
So despite the summer sunshine, take a moment to remember the cold, damp days of the winter. When you look back at those few weeks, think about what the implications and knock on effects might have been for your business.
If you
escaped last time you may not be as lucky next winter. The effect of your business not being protected will be far reaching, both financially and emotionally, not only to you but also your employees and customers.
Don’t wait until the rain is falling and staff wellies are lined up in reception. Now is the time to give business continuity serious thought before the rain pays us another visit.
THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – THAMES VALLEY – JULY/AUGUST 2014
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56