“I know we are backed up so our business is fine”

If I asked you what the balance of your superannuation was right now, would you be able to provide me with an exact figure? I wouldn’t be able to.

You sort of just know your super is there—every now and then you get a statement, and you really only pay attention if your super company is losing you money.

A simple question I often ask clients is “Ok, somebody has just stolen your servers, or there’s a fire that destroys them. What is your disaster recovery plan to get your business up and running, and how long will it take?”

Usually, I’m met with one of three responses:

• A blank look, and seconds of awkward silence.
• “It’s all on the offsite copies!”
• “I’m not sure.”

Once we set something up, it’s very easy to forget the fine details.  Just like your superannuation.

The reality is that without a proper plan, it could be days or even weeks to get that data from the backups back into a working environment to get back to business.

Having backups is great, but it’s only a piece of the puzzle.

How many days could your business could afford to remain closed? One day? Two days? What would happen if you had to close shop for a full week?

If a major disaster were to take place, being inactive for more than a day could start impacting heavily on your business. Think I’m exaggerating?

A recent report found that in the event of a major data loss incident, 4 in 5 businesses either never re-open or close within the next 12 months. The scary thing is, 33% of Australian SMEs are not employing any means of data redundancy (Source: Acronis’ Global Disaster Recovery Index 2012).

Think about all those years of hard work down the drain, for a staggering 80% of businesses just like yours.

Conclusion

If you have a disaster recovery plan, great. Test it. Regularly. If you haven’t already, check out Mark Farrell’s 3-part disaster recovery plan series here.

If you don’t have one in place, get one. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a tiny start-up or have hundreds of employees. Have that conversation with your team, so that at least you know what is at stake, and how you plan to minimise your risk.

Greenlight ITC specialises in putting in place comprehensive disaster recovery plans, which we test regularly. This ensures that in the event of a disaster, there is no margin for error. But it’s more than just protecting your business. It’s about protecting your livelihood, the livelihood of your staff, and even your customers. Make sure your business is ready.