It’s safe to say that, in this digital age, nearly everyone has experienced a variation of loss when it comes to personal data and information. Whether it’s photos from a phone, or a PDF from a computer, we almost always go into mourning when these items disappear.
Now imagine this happening on a larger scale: say, to your business, and in regards to client databases, financial records, and working files. It could be a natural disaster at fault, or a crafty hacker, but without a recovery plan in place you’re gambling your ability to deliver uninterrupted services to your clients.
This is why a customized business continuity plan, supported by a reputable ICT company, is essential. It will outline the risks which might affect your company, the safeguards to be put into place to mitigate them, and regular testing procedures to ensure those safeguards are up to snuff and operating at maximum capacity. Key characteristics to look for in your partnering ICT company include:
1. A data centre
Read also: data storage at a facility, rather than on a device that will be housed in a cabinet in an office somewhere. This facility should be production-grade, offering redundant power sources, appropriate heating and cooling, as well as ongoing security.
2. Continuous backup
If your systems go down mid-afternoon on a Monday, will you be able to quickly recover using last week’s backup? If the answer is no, continuous, rather than routine, backup is critical to you.
3. The ability to recover data quickly
Your partnering ICT company should be able to provide instant access to a local copy of your data so you can have a new server set up within minutes of a catastrophe.
4. The ability to virtualize your server in the cloud
In the event of a fire or natural disaster, it’s possible your backup appliance(s) will be destroyed alongside your original server. But with a virtual server in a cloud environment, you can access data and information from anywhere, at anytime.
In short, as your company comes to rely more and more upon information and communication technologies to conduct business, the tolerance for information loss and service disruption inevitably goes down. The ability to recover from unpredictable catastrophes is directly linked to the implementation of a business continuity plan. Start planning yours with NetAccess today.